SENATOR JIM INHOFE ON GOVERNMENT REGULATION - CLIMATE CHANGE

SENATOR JIM INHOFE ON GOVERNMENT REGULATION - CLIMATE CHANGE

Jamie Jackson / August 26, 2015

Senator Jim Inhofe is no stranger to the climate change debate. The Oklahoma Republican, who leads the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, believes that government and regulation are a big problem.

In an interview with The Daily Signal, Inhofe explained why people should care about the climate debate and what prompted him to bring a snowball to the floor of the Senate earlier this year.

In a separate exchange, Inhofe talked about the government’s regulation of U.S. waterways. Earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers announced the Waters of the United States rule, known as WOTUS.

Machine generated transcript, expect errors

0:00 climate is changing climate has always change i mean throughout the Scriptures 0:04 archaeology everybody knows that climate is changing all the time the question is 0:09 is human beings early causing the climate change 0:19 he's certainly 0:21 blazed a trail when it comes to climate change it when it comes to fighting 0:27 against what you believe to be some inconsistencies in scientific 0:32 presentations is it worth it for you to fight against this it is because the 0:40 regulations or other people know for example in the Obama presidency what 0:46 he's doing he's added more debt than all president since George Washington 0:50 combine he's doing people know that they know what he's done to the military and 0:55 disarming America they know that he is in a hundred and twenty billion dollars 0:59 on global warming without any kind of picky and appropriation or authorization 1:03 from congress these things people are pretty much aware but they're not aware 1:07 of the cost of regulations in the farmers here there wherever it now so my 1:14 job is to make sure that people are aware of it and frankly we're winning 1:19 you have people like Tom Steyer who is admittedly put seventy two billion 1:24 dollars of his own money to try to resurrect the issue of global warming 1:30 selecting democrats isn't in to the to the senate and look what happened in the 1:35 last election so they're they're desperately trying to do it they will 1:39 talk about sciences the science is settled science is settled with the most 1:44 preeminent scientist in america is a guy named Richard Lindzen from MIT he said 1:50 that controlling carbon is it bureaucrats TreeView control carbon you 1:55 control life so what do you say to people who are watching this who may 2:02 agree with you that people that human beings are not contributing to any kind 2:07 of climate change 2:09 why is it important for them to pay attention to everything that you're 2:12 fighting for it not just saying today's hearing but everything that you have for 2:16 years and continue to fight for on this particular issue reasons important is 2:20 that it would be constitute the largest tax increase in the history of america 2:25 it's very able to do that either 2:28 regulation or by legislation to do we have a responsibility should we recycle 2:35 should we drive hybrid cars I mean is that going too far though that's 2:39 happening today a lot of people they're not so much doing it for because they 2:44 think this co2 emissions are causing all this much problem most of them are doing 2:49 it because it's economically in their favor we have laws on the books that 2:53 right now we have electric cars that are out there 2:58 electric cars don't have to buy they forget it had to pay into the Highway 3:02 Trust Fund forum for the guests that they use my last question is you 3:06 famously brought a snowball Johor my only question is how did you manage to 3:12 keep that snowball from Lt 3:13 young man D Chris Ferrari was a page he happens to be from oklahoma I went down 3:21 I thought you know how it is 3:23 was an unprecedented snowstorm this is just a few moments ago and I said I want 3:28 you to go out there and make you still go and bring it into me soon as a take 3:32 the slower it what I'm gonna do is use it as an example was happening this is 3:37 all in jest is I think we all realized it when you have a warm spell or cold 3:43 spell that's a climate that whether that's a different thing altogether but 3:47 just to kind of like people take things too seriously writer I said that still 3:52 go to me then I'm gonna throw it at the presiding officer but I'm going through 3:55 a little and I want you to catch it is very nervous so we did didn't have time 4:01 to melt 0:06 the big prob 0:08 language here is their regular over 0:11 relation 0:14 force 0:15 up on people from Cal poop 22 what kind of things 0:22 company may put into an air yet that's true it goes beyond that if you don't 0:27 mind let me bring up another issue because it's so easy right now is called 0:31 the world is issue instead of waters of the United States historically 0:37 throughout isn't my memory do in this country the water regulation has been 0:41 done by states it's been done very well it would exception to that is navigable 0:47 waters well liberalism they take the word navigable out and so there is 0:52 legislation through four years ago senator from Wisconsin in a House member 1:01 from Minnesota it to take the word navigable out in Li did we defeat their 1:06 legislation we defeated both of them in the next election as people realize what 1:11 the trustees this thing I mean that's rain puddles its swing state of Oklahoma 1:17 it's an Arab state in the western part of the state that they could be declared 1:22 a wetland we get it they will have your crash crawling all over tell you what 1:27 they can do we're gonna have to store their water they're pawns in this type 1:32 of thing when we don't have a we're doing very well and your state 1:37 regulation but that one issue of all the over regulation according to the farmers 1:41 in america specifically in oklahoma is giving up the jurisdiction of state 1:48 jurisdiction over waters within the same injuries so that's how that's how 1:53 significant this is 1:55 to that group as well as a lot of manufacturers and other people