E2-Wire

Boehner: Obama climate proposal ‘absolutely crazy’

President Obama’s soon-to-be-revealed second-term climate change proposal is “absolutely crazy,” Speaker John Boehner said Thursday.

The Ohio Republican was incredulous when asked to react to reports that the White House plans to regulate carbon emissions from power plants as part of its climate change strategy.

“I think this is absolutely crazy,” Boehner said at his weekly press conference. “Why would you want to increase the cost of energy and kill more American jobs at a time when American people are asking, ‘Where are the jobs.’ “

{mosads}Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), one of the leading advocates for climate change rules, shot back that the House has become the “last refuge of the flat earth society.”

“Presidential action to protect the climate and future generations is absolutely essential. The House is controlled by leaders who deny the science and are recklessly ignoring the risks of a rapidly changing climate,” Waxman said.

Obama’s top climate adviser on Wednesday vowed that “meaningful” action on global warming was coming soon.

Heather Zichal, the deputy assistant to the president on energy and climate change, spoke of bolstering energy efficiency, expanding clean energy on public lands and using various “tools” — including the Clean Air Act — to address climate change.

Obama in his State of the Union address though vowed to act on climate change if Congress does not, saying it would be a second-term priority.

— This story was updated at 2:26 p.m

Tags Boehner John Boehner

Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

See all Hill.TV See all Video

Most Popular

Load more

Video

See all Video