Earlier this week, Rep. Scott Peters (CA-52) called attention to the cost of climate change and its risks to the federal budget during a meeting of the House Budget Committee, which covered the budgetary consequences of delaying action on climate change and included testimony from climate scientists, public policy experts, and budget specialists. The meeting follows reports on the catastrophic cost of climate—both in loss of biodiversity and increased disaster-related spending.

“My mom always told me to pray for the best, but plan for the worst. We need to make radical change in order to mitigate the consequences of climate change. To get radical results, we will need to moderate our politics to find common ground and work together. We are here to solve problems—and we have a big one in front of us,” said Rep. Peters.

Rep. Peters also highlighted his Climate Playbook as a resource for bipartisan action on climate and encouraged both the members and those watching the proceedings to read it and offer feedback. He also noted his concern with polarization over the Green New Deal when there is little time to waste.

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Watch Rep. Peters call for bipartisan, timely action on climate here.

Rep. Peters has worked on bipartisan proposals to ensure the federal government makes smart budgeting decisions before and after natural disasters. He introduced three disaster reform bills with Rep. Mark Meadows (NC-11), including the DISASTER Act, which would provide a single estimate of how much money the federal government spends on disaster relief. The other bills provide much-needed budgeting reforms following disasters; all three bills passed the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and await consideration on the House floor.