Sen. Chris Coons is forming a group in the Senate to work on climate change legislation.
Coons and Sen. Mike Braun (R-Indiana) have launched the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus.
The senators plan to bring together an equal number of Republicans and Democrats to draft environmental policy. They will consult experts across the political spectrum and seek common ground.
Coons said Congress needs to do more on climate change and work in a bipartisan way to do it.
“So that we can try to have a conversation around a common set of assumptions," he said. "That something significant is going on, there is real change afoot in our climate, that humans are contributing to it and that we need to take some action.”
Coons says he hopes the caucus will consider his carbon pricing legislation. It would impose a fee on fossil fuels and provide households a monthly rebate. But he acknowledges it’s controversial.
“So, you know I’m hoping that that will be on the agenda for the caucus," he said. "But I also recognize that’s just one of many possible ideas we could be talking about.”
Coons said there’s interest from other senators on both sides of the aisle in joining the caucus. He welcomes anyone who believes there is a problem and wants to be constructive in helping solve it.
He adds the caucus will meet regularly and will only advance ideas that receive unanimous consent.
