The House chairman who oversees environmental policy on Thursday accused the EPA and administration of using fake news and “science fiction” to scare Americans into accepting expensive climate change regulations targeting the energy industry.
Texas Rep. Lamar Smith, chairman of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, said in a speech that the administration is hyping reports of global warming to implement anti-energy policies that will do virtually nothing to address climate change.
Smith, who also backed President-elect Trump’s controversial pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency, said, “The science is clear and overwhelming, but not in the way the president says. Statements by President Obama and others continually attempt to link extreme weather events to climate change.”
In his address to an event hosted by the Texas Public Policy Foundation and Heritage Institution, he added, “These claims are unfounded. The fact is, there is little evidence that climate change causes extreme weather events.”
His view lines up well with Trump and the president-elect’s EPA pick, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt.
“I look forward to working with the Trump administration and Attorney General Pruitt in bringing our country out of an era of red tape and into a more transparent age based on sound science,” Smith said after the EPA announcement from Trump Tower.
Smith said that the administration has hidden evidence questioning global warming claims from the public and promoted policies, such as the so-called “Clean Power Plan,” that won’t change the climate.
“This Power Plan will cost billions of dollars, cause financial hardship for American families, and diminish the competitiveness of American industry around the world with no significant benefit,” said the chairman.
“Even if all 190 countries keep their commitments to the agreement, the result would only prevent a one-sixth of one degree Celsius temperature rise,” he said.
“Regulations should be based on sound science, not science fiction,” Smith said, adding, “But providing accurate information on climate change is not important to the climate change alarmists in this administration.”
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
