Rep. Quigley Issues Statement on GAO’s Climate Change Costs Report

WASHINGTON, Oct. 24 -- Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., vice chair of the Sustainable Energy and Environments Coalition, issued the below statement following the release of a new report from the Government Accountability Office on the mounting costs of climate change:

"Today, the GAO confirmed a lot of what we already know: the costs of climate change are staggering and will only continue to mount in the future. As Congress votes on yet another multi-billion dollar hurricane relief package, the consequences of our failure to act decisively to reduce emissions could not be more stark.

"Climate change is a fiscal problem, an agricultural problem, a food and water problem, a housing and transportation problem. There is no area of society or sector of our economy that is immune to climate impacts. With an Administration that dangerously denies even the existence of the problem, the onus falls to Congress to act with the urgency this crisis demands.

"I call on my colleagues across the aisle to work with us to live up to our moral, ethical, and financial obligations to protect the environment, the earth, and the economy for future generations."

The GAO, a nonpartisan federal watchdog, said climate change has already cost U.S. taxpayers more than $350 billion over the last decade, according to a new report issued today that outlined government spending on disaster assistance programs and losses from crop and flood insurance. The report, which does not include spending on this year's natural disasters, comes as Congress prioritizes the passage of a major disaster relief bill.