Republican Representative Lauren Boebert has introduced her first three bills in Congress. All three take aim at President Biden's recent executives orders.
The first bill would prevent the U.S. from spending any money to rejoin the Paris Climate agreement unless the Senate ratifies the agreement.
“Responsible energy production supports more than 230,000 Colorado jobs,” she said in a statement. “The Paris Agreement puts these jobs at risk and will increase energy costs.”
The second bill would prevent funds going to the World Health Organization until America holds the international health organization and China “accountable for their role in the global pandemic.”
This was a constant refrain from former President Donald Trump, who downplayed the pandemic in its early days and whose administration was criticized for its response to the coronavirus and attempted to pull out from the WHO.
Boebert’s third bill would overturn Biden’s mask mandate on federal lands and interstate travel on planes, trains or buses. She called it “continued federal overreach.” Boebert defied public health orders by keeping her restaurant open during the early days of the pandemic.
None of these bills are expected to go anywhere in the Democratic-controlled House, where leaders have applauded Biden's efforts to tackle the pandemic and climate change.
Democratic Rep. Joe Neguse, who sits on the House Select Committee on Climate Crisis, said it’s important the U.S. play a leadership role. “Our communities are ready for bold leadership and bold action to tackle the existential threat of climate change.
“In Colorado, we have experienced the impacts of climate change tangibly through devastating wildfires, increased flooding and climate-related weather events,” he said. “Our communities are ready for bold leadership and bold action to tackle the existential threat of climate change.”
Boebert’s push for ratification of the Paris Climate agreement would require a two-thirds majority in the Senate, meaning 17 Republicans would need to vote alongside Democrats. When the Obama administration joined, former President Barack Obama used executive power granted to him by the Constitution, arguing that the binding parts of the agreement fell under the Senate ratified 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It’s those same executive powers that enabled then Trump to withdraw from the agreement.
The Paris agreement requires countries to set national goals that reduce greenhouse emissions.
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