Dear Leader McCarthy,
We, the undersigned organizations, write to urge you to disband the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis when Republicans take back control of the House of Representatives next Congress.
There is no need for a select committee on climate change. The existing standing committees are fully capable of holding hearings and advancing legislation. The real purpose of the Select Committee
designed by Speaker Pelosi is obvious to everyone; it serves as a signal from House Democrats to environmental activists that their Green New Deal policies are a priority for them.
Democrats have installed the Select Committee every Congress they’ve held power since 2007. With no ability to advance legislation to the House floor, the Select Committee historically serves as a soap box for tax and spend politicians to intimidate American energy companies, energize climate activists and stump
for big-government policies that raise energy prices for consumers and weaken American energy independence.
Republican House leadership wisely disbanded the Select Committee upon retaking the House in 2011 and we ask you to keep with this precedent in the upcoming 118th Congress.
When Speaker Pelosi reestablished the Select Committee in 2019, there were bipartisan concerns raised that the work of the Select Committee was unnecessary and would overlap and tread on the efforts of standing committees with existing jurisdiction over the environment.
This same sentiment was recently echoed by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), the Ranking Member on the Energy and Commerce Committee, who noted the Select Committee’s lack of legislative authority and stated that “it’s important that the authorizing committee, the Energy and Commerce Committee, keeps the authority to legislate.”1
These concerns are warranted. In fact, during the 117th Congress alone there were no less 41 hearings conducted by standing committees in which the topic of the hearing centered on climate change – roughly twice the amount of all hearings held by the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.
Additionally, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology and the House Committee on Natural Resources all have formed subcommittees tasked with addressing climate change. The extensive body of work performed by these committees is evidence that this issue already falls under their scope.
We were encouraged by your recent interview in Punchbowl News in which you stated that you “[don’t] like the idea of select committees,” and expressed opposition to their creation.2 We applaud your position and believe this stance is in line with standard Republican governance of the House, which historically returns to a more normal order of business regarding committee work.
We urge you to disband the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis and let the committees with appropriate jurisdiction and legislative ability take up the topic of climate change.
Sincerely,
Grover Norquist
President, Americans for Tax Reform
Paul S. Teller
Executive Director, Advancing American Freedom
Phil Kerpen
President, American Commitment
Tom Pyle,
President, American Energy Alliance
Brent Wm. Gardner,
Chief Government Affairs Officer, Americans for Prosperity
Myron Ebell
Director, Center for Energy and Environment, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Isaac Orr,
Policy Fellow, Center for the American Experiment
David McIntosh
President, Club for Growth
Dr. Steven J. Allen
Vice Chairman, The Conservative Caucus
Craig Richardson,
President, E&E Legal
Adam Brandon,
President, FreedomWorks
James Taylor
President, The Heartland Institute
Garrett Bess
Vice President, Heritage Action for America
Heather R. Higgins
CEO, Independent Women’s Voice
Daniel Espemer
CEO, Pelican Institute for Public Policy
Donna Jackson
Director of Membership Development, Project 21 Black Leadership Network, The National Center for Public Policy Research
Derrick Hollie
President, Reaching America
Bette Grande
CEO, President, Roughrider Institute
1 “Analysis | Kevin McCarthy Weighs Future of Special Committee on Climate Change.” Washington Post
2 Punchbowl News. “10/19/22 Punchbowl News AM.” Punchbowl News, 19 Oct. 2022