Letter from US Congressman John H. Rutherford RE: 2017-29906JOHN H. RUTHERFORD
4T6 DISTRICT, FLORIDA
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September 21, 2017
Rafael E. Granado
1700 Convention Center Dr
Miami Beach, FL 33139-1819
Dear Rafael,
COMMITTEES
JUDICIARY
HOMELAND SECURITY
VETERANS' AFFAIRS
Thank you for contacting me about the Paris Climate Accords. I appreciate you taking the time to
share with me your thoughts on this important matter.
As a proud outdoorsman, I agree with you about the environment's central importance to our
beautiful state and the many ways it supports our local economy and way of life. I recognize the
continued trend of rising global temperatures and the consequences associated with rising sea levels. As
demonstrated in the recent Hurricane Matthew, our coastlines are vulnerable to a range of environmental
threats, and I will advocate for policies that enhance their resiliency moving forward. I also believe that
we must not put our environment at risk when it is not necessary, which is why I was proud to lead a letter
with more than 100 of my congressional colleagues on June 29, 2017, to Interior Secretary Zinke
opposing President Trump's recent executive order to allow seismic testing for oil and gas in the
Atlantic.
As you know, on June 1, 2017, the Trump administration announced that the United States would
be pulling out of the Paris Agreement, an agreement adopted in December 2015 by 195 members of the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Under the Paris Agreement,
there is no uniform standard for participation; countries set voluntary non-binding commitments for
themselves to reduce carbon emissions. Then -President Obama pledged that the United States would cut
emissions by 26-28 percent by 2025 through executive order.
I believe President Obama should have treated the Paris Agreement as a treaty rather than a mere
executive agreement without any input from Congress. The American people deserve to weigh in through
their elected representatives on international agreements that will have sweeping effects on our economy
and policy choices long after the president leaves office. If the U.S. Senate had ratified the Paris
Agreement, the treaty would have the strength of a federal statute and could then only be nullified through
congressional action.
In his announcement, President Trump said that he was willing to negotiate the U.S.'s reentry into
the Paris Agreement under terms more favorable to the U.S. Please be assured that I will be certain to
keep your thoughts in mind should any legislation related to climate come before me for a vote in the
future.
230 CANNON HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING
WASHINGTON, DC 20515
(202) 225-2501
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4130 SALISBURY ROAD
SUITE 2500
JACKSONVILLE, FL 32216
(904) 831-5205
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me. It is my hope that you will continue to keep me
apprised of your thoughts on legislative issues important to you. Please also consider signing up for my
e -newsletter by visiting my website at rutherford.house.gov, so that I may keep you updated regarding
legislation, events, and other information you may find useful.
Sincerely,
John Rutherford
Member of Congress