WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-N.J.-09) today announced that he had signed on to cosponsor H.Res. 109, the landmark Green New Deal legislation seeking to combat climate change.

“Climate change is real, and its impacts are already here. Our earth is warming at alarming rates as the last five years have been the hottest on record. Climate scientists are in universal agreement that the continued warming of our planet will inflict catastrophic devastation on all life. Military and intelligence experts have warned it is a major national security threat.

“This package is lofty in its aspirations and I recognize that all of its goals may not be achievable in a narrow window. As we forge a new deal for our citizenry, we must be cognizant always of protecting the American middle class and the American worker. Any comprehensive deal must be constructed in close partnership with our brothers and sisters in labor. This framework signals that our nation acknowledges what is happening around us and sets forth a broad plan of action. For the naysayers, I am reminded that we went to the moon in a decade -- not because it was easy, but because it was hard. Ambitious national goals serve as a catalyst for mobilizing our skills and American ingenuity. Just as President John Kennedy’s vision and Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal marshalled forward-thinking urgency for a better America, the Green New Deal embodies that same urgency and aspiration. Our refusal to do the absolute most that we can to reverse the impact of climate change would be a crime against our children and the generations that will follow them.”