Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) has decided that this is the perfect moment to launch a brand new congressional caucus. From The Hill:
[Boxer] said Tuesday that she’s forming a “climate change caucus,” and argues that Hurricane Sandy “changed a lot of minds” on the topic.
The move signals that Democrats might again be ready to aggressively promote bills to curb greenhouse gas emissions, even as the political prospects for global warming legislation remain remote in Congress.
“I am going to form a climate change caucus, because people are coming up to me, they really want to get into this. I think Sandy changed a lot of minds,” Boxer told reporters in the Capitol.
Pack it in, Chevron. Peace out, coal industry. Ya burnt, so to speak. After all, nothing gets things done like a congressional caucus.
That is why there are over 200 of them. A sampling:
- 2015 Caucus
- 30 Something Working Group
- Americans Abroad Caucus
- Armenian Caucus
- Bike Caucus AKA Bicycle Caucus
- Congressional Bourbon Caucus
- Center Aisle Caucus
- Congressional Automotive Caucus
- Congressional Bicameral Arthritis Caucus
- Congressional Boating Caucus
- Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Issues
- Congressional Caucus on Youth Sports
- Congressional Correctional Officers Caucus
- Congressional E-911 Caucus
- Congressional Fraternal Caucus
- Congressional HUBZone Caucus
- Congressional Hockey Caucus
- Congressional Horse Caucus
- Congressional Kidney Caucus
- Congressional Prayer Caucus
- Congressional Ski and Snowboard Caucus
- Congressional TRIO Caucus
- Congressional Zoo and Aquarium Caucus
- House Friends of Scotland Caucus
- Senate Friends of Scotland Caucus
- Future of American Media Caucus
- German-American Caucus
- House Afterschool Caucus
- House Baltic Caucus
- House Reading Caucus
- Hungarian American Caucus
- Interstate 69 Caucus
- Liberty Caucus
- Minor League Baseball Caucus
- North America’s Supercorridor Caucus
- Physics Caucus, The
- Qatari-American Economic Strategic Defense, Cultural, and Educational Partnership Caucus
- River of Trade Corridor Congressional Caucus
- Shellfish Caucus
- Stop DUI Caucus
- TEX-21 Congressional Caucus [Ed. – I mean, does this have multiple members?]
- Unexploded Ordnance Caucus
- U.S.-Mongolia Friendship Caucus
- Youth Challenge Caucus
- Zero Capital Gains Tax Caucus
Oh, and:
- Congressional Climate Caucus
… which was formed in 2006.
So the good news is that climate change is now one of the 250 or so most important issues in front of Congress. The bad news is that members will have to figure out which super-effective climate caucus is cooler.
