At Hearing, Senator Murray Highlights Budgetary Costs of Climate Crisis and Need for Long-term Investments 

ICYMI: Senator Murray Announces Nearly $3 Billion in Funding for Coastal Infrastructure – MORE HERE 

Senator Murray: “These hearings give us a chance to dive deeper into the budgetary costs related to climate change—because this is costing billions, if not trillions, of dollars a year.”

***WATCH SENATOR MURRAY’S FULL QUESTIONING HERE***

(Washington, DC) – Today, during a Senate Budget Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Budget Committee, joined her colleagues in highlighting the budgetary costs to coastal communities from rising sea levels, coastal inundation, and extreme weather events stemming from climate change. Senator Murray questioned witnesses on the budgetary pressures local governments are facing and drew attention to the full-scale relocation efforts currently underway for communities like Washington state’s Quinault Indian Nation made necessary by the climate crisis.

“These hearings give us a chance to dive deeper into the budgetary costs related to climate change—because this is costing billions, if not trillions, of dollars a year,” said Senator Murray during her questioning. “In my home state of Washington, more than 65 percent of our population lives in coastal areas. These communities are on the frontlines of the climate crisis…and we know that this will be felt unevenly depending on where you live and what resources you have.”

At the hearing, Senator Murray emphasized the impact of climate change on the millions of people who live in Washington state’s coastal communities. As one example, Senator Murray highlighted how the Quinault Indian Nation on the Olympic Peninsula has begun relocating the Tribe’s lower village to higher elevation to protect the village from rising sea levels, storm surges, and flooding. Senator Murray helped secure $25 million for the Quinault Indian Nation to support its relocation and climate resilience efforts in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and highlighted the importance of these sorts of investments at Wednesday’s hearing.

In the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Senator Murray secured nearly $3 billion in funding opportunities for coastal infrastructure and climate change resilience. The targeted investments will go towards habitat restoration across the country, coastal resilience, and climate data and services to build up climate resilience. Senator Murray was also a leader in passing the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest ever climate action investment in American history, which cuts emissions by nearly 40% by 2030 and makes historic investments into coastal resiliency. 

Senator Murray is also a cosponsor of the Climate Change Financial Risk Act, which would direct the Federal Reserve to conduct stress tests on large financial institutions to measure their resilience to climate-related financial risks.

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