[CTC] Senate Democrats want ‘climate-focused personnel’ at USTR, Treasury

[Arthur Stamoulis]

The letter referenced is online at: https://www.markey.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Biden-Harris%20climate%20transition%20letter.pdf


Inside US Trade

Senate Democrats want ‘climate-focused personnel’ at USTR, Treasury
  
The Biden-Harris administration should address the climate crisis “at each level of the federal government” by appointing people focused on climate change to key posts in agencies including the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the Treasury Department, a group of Senate Democrats wrote to the president-elect last week.

Sens. Ed Markey (MA), Richard Blumenthal (CT), Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), Martin Heinrich (NM) and Jeff Merkley (OR), in a Dec. 19 letter <https://insidetrade.com/sites/insidetrade.com/files/documents/2020/dec/wto2020_0583.pdf>, applauded former Vice President Joe Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), for making climate change a “foundational issue” for the incoming administration. “For climate action to be a day-one priority, however, the work cannot wait until January 20, 2021 – it must begin now as you determine your personnel appointments,” they wrote. “We applaud the clear emphasis that your transition team has already placed on climate action and on climate justice, and we look forward to working with you to ensure that your Administration delivers on this essential call to action.”

While Biden has announced plans for a slew of senior appointees focused on climate – including former Secretary of State John Kerry, set to take on a new White House advisory role – the senators say the new administration must provide climate-focused personnel “with the staff, budget, and coordinating power needed supercharge the federal fight against the existential threat of climate change, in a way that also catalyzes and empowers local and state initiatives.”

That extends to economic and trade policy, they contend. “Within cabinet-level departments and agencies, the Administration should continue to appoint senior officials dedicated to addressing the climate crisis,” the letter states. “To appropriately assess, address, and mitigate the costs of the climate crisis to the U.S. economy, the Administration should ensure that climate-focused personnel are given authority within key economic agencies and offices, such as the Department of Treasury, the Office of Management and Budget, the United States Trade Representative, and the National Economic Council and others.”

The senators also call for a new “Office of Climate Resiliency” at the Agriculture Department.

Moreover, they write, “even personnel in traditionally non-climate posts should be knowledgeable about domestic and international climate policy and politics, so that in all agency rulemaking proceedings, budget-setting, and program implementation, climate change and equity concerns are centered and grounded in the latest science.”

“We must fight boldly for intersectional climate solutions that move the nation toward clean, renewable energy and incorporate ambitious climate, health, labor, and equity standards at a scale commensurate with the crisis,” the letter states.

Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826




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