Sheldon Whitehouse — Mar 20, 2024

← Findings

March 20, 2024, opening the Senate Budget Committee hearing “Recreation at Risk: The Nature of Climate Costs”: “There’s a pattern here: we offer the warnings, Republicans mock the warnings, and then the news proves the warnings true.” On this fire: “We held a hearing warning about wildfire risk, and this month the Smokehouse Creek fire in Texas—the state’s largest ever— burned more than 1.2 million acres. It killed livestock and destroyed crops, hammering Texas’ agricultural sector.”

Codes

• Disaster Mention yes — Names the Smokehouse Creek Fire in Texas as the state’s largest ever.
• Climate Connection yes — Places the fire in a series of climate-risk warnings that later came true.
• Mentioned Republican Obstruction of Climate Action yes — Republicans mock the warnings, then the news proves the warnings true.