Brian Fitzpatrick Splits From Trump, Joins GOP Fight Against Climate Change

By Kara Seymour and Justin Heinze

In a break from both the Republican establishment and President Donald Trump, Bucks County's GOP congressman is joining a conservative push to recognize and fight against climate change.

Brian Fitzpatrick is among 17 GOP congressmen who introduced the "Republican Climate Resolution" in the House of Representatives on Wednesday. Two other Philadelphia area Representatives, Ryan Costello (PA-6) and Pat Meehan (PA-07), are among that group.

"The reality is, climate change is real and that humans are a contributing factor. Leaders on both sides of the aisle must take serious and reasonable steps to protect our planet," Fitzpatrick said in a statement.

The Republican resolution, which can be read in its entirety here, cites a "marked increase in extreme weather events, including more frequent heat waves, extreme precipitation, wildfires, and water scarcity." It goes on to urge "fact-based" stewardship of the environment, calling climate change a "threat multiplier that will aggravate stressors abroad," including poverty, instability, and diminished resources.

Many Republicans in Congress, along with President Trump, have repeatedly said that climate change is either a hoax or is vastly over-exaggerated. Most infamously, the President called global warming a "Chinese hoax," although he later said he was joking.

The new head of Trump's EPA, Scott Pruitt, has long been a staunch foe of environmental regulation of any kind, and rejects the scientific consensus on climate change.

“I think that measuring with precision human activity on the climate is something very challenging to do and there’s tremendous disagreement about the degree of impact, so no, I would not agree that it’s a primary contributor to the global warming that we see,” Pruitt was recently quoted in The Washington Post.

While the resolution will need a seemingly insurmountable increase in support in order to pass through the Republican-dominated House of Representatives, its more significant message may be the one that it sends other moderate, science-friendly conservatives.

“The significance of this Republican climate resolution cannot be overstated," David Jenkins, President of the Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship, said in a statement. "Real conservatives don’t deny reality, they face it. They don’t avoid problems, they tackle them head on. The resolution’s 17 initial cosponsors are stepping up on an issue that grows more urgent every day, and showing the prudent, fact-based—and yes, conservative—leadership our nation needs. We are grateful for this important first step.”

Fourteen other Republican congressmen have thrown their support behind the climate resolution. Fitzpatrick, Costello and Meehan are joined by Reps. Mark Amodei (NV-02), Don Bacon (NE-02), Barbara Comstock (VA-10), John Faso (NY-19), , John Katko (NY-24), Mia Love (UT-04), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-27), Frank LoBiondo (NJ-02), Brian Mast (FL-18), , Tom Reed (NY-23), David Reichert (WA-08), and Mark Sanford (SC-01).

Patch file photo