Today Ted Cruz will hold a Congressional hearing to examine claims of global warming activists. Seriously. Despite the fact that 97 percent of climate scientists agree that global warming is real, Ted Cruz has decided to waste taxpayer dollars to further investigate the matter. Rather, what we should be investigating is how Ted Cruz and other Republicans continue to deny the science behind climate change.

The facts are clear and climate change is real. Through this hearing, Ted Cruz will only serve himself as he continues to perpetuate his extreme vision for America and disastrous climate policies.

Ted Cruz on Climate

Denied the science behind climate change

Climate scientist: Ted Cruz “understands less about science (and climate change) than the average kindergartner.” “At the request of The Associated Press, eight climate and biological scientists graded for scientific accuracy what a dozen top candidates said in debates, interviews and tweets, using a 0 to 100 scale. To try to eliminate possible bias, the candidates’ comments were stripped of names and given randomly generated numbers, so the professors would not know who made each statement they were grading. […] Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas had the lowest score, an average of 6. All eight put Cruz at the bottom of the class. ‘This individual understands less about science (and climate change) than the average kindergartner,’ Michael Mann, a Pennsylvania State University meteorology professor, wrote of Cruz’s statements. ‘That sort of ignorance would be dangerous in a doorman, let alone a president.’” [Associated Press, 11/22/15]

Ted Cruz: “Climate change is not science, it’s religion.” “When discussing climate change, Cruz related an experience where he made a point to make it clear to everyone he’s a ‘skeptic’ of climate change. Citing satellite data showing no significant warming, Cruz explained why he thinks those who promote the idea of climate change choose to ignore such facts. ‘Climate change is not science, it’s religion,’ Cruz said.” [GlennBeck.com, 10/29/15]

Ted Cruz said that climate scientists were “cooking the books” to support climate change. “Sen. Ted Cruz on Sunday said facts don’t support climate change, in a speech that described the notion as a front for power-hungry politicians who want to control Americans’ lives. […] Instead, Cruz said, government researchers are reverse engineering data sets to falsify changes in the climate. ‘They’re cooking the books. They’re actually adjusting the numbers,’ Cruz said. ‘Enron used to do their books the same way.’ Cruz said scientists four decades ago were studying ‘global cooling, a global ice age was coming,’ and they were as wrong as those who now say the earth is warming.” [TIME,8/2/15]

Ted Cruz said that people who believe global warming is real are “the equivalent of the flat-Earthers.” “Cruz, the red-meat Texas senator with an army of conservative followers, raised eyebrows on Tuesday when he told the Texas Tribune that people who believe global warming is real are ‘the equivalent of the flat-Earthers’. ‘It used to be it is accepted scientific wisdom the Earth is flat, and this heretic named Galileo was branded a denier,’ Cruz said.” [Guardian, 3/27/15]

Ted Cruz voted against legislation expressing the sense of Congress that “human activity significantly contributes to climate change.” “That amendment read, in part: ‘It is the sense of Congress that 1) climate change is real, and 2) human activity significantly contributes to climate change.’ Though the vote on the second amendment was 50-49 in favor, it needed 60 votes to pass. […] Inhofe, Rubio, and Ted Cruz, of Texas—another Republican presidential contender—all voted against the second amendment on the cause of climate change.” [Slate, 1/21/15; Senate roll call vote 12, 1/21/15]

Pushed disastrous climate policies

Ted Cruz voted in favor of two resolutions “aimed at killing the centerpiece of President Barack Obama’s climate agenda.” “The Senate on Tuesday approved a pair of resolutions aimed at killing the centerpiece of President Barack Obama’s climate agenda, part of a Republican-led effort to undercut the White House goal of striking a new global-warming deal in Paris next month. The Senate voted to greenlight two disapproval resolutions under the Congressional Review Act, a seldom-invoked law that allows lawmakers to reject a recently finalized regulation with a simply majority vote. One resolution targeted the Environmental Protection Agency’s climate rule for existing power plants, and a second focused on EPA’s climate rule for new and modified power plants. Both passed 52-46, largely along party lines.” [Politico, 11/17/15; Senate roll call vote 306, 11/17/15; Senate roll call vote 307, 11/17/15]

Ted Cruz introduced legislation that would repeal all federal climate change regulations. “Just a few days before Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) became the first official candidate for president in the 2016 election, he introduced a bill which, if enacted, would repeal all federal climate change regulation in the United States. The American Energy Renaissance Act, also sponsored in the House by Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-OK), seeks to prevent the federal government from regulating greenhouse gas emissions through any of its executive agencies, particularly the Environmental Protection Agency. It would do so by expressly forbidding any efforts to fight climate change under five laws — The Clean Air Act, The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, The Endangered Species Act, and The Solid Waste Disposal Act.” [Think Progress, 3/27/15; S. 791, 3/18/15]

Ted Cruz opposed cap-and-trade legislation. “The Obama administration has relentlessly pushed, in cap and trade, the largest energy tax in history, which would take thousands of dollars from every family in America. Unable to pass it through Congress, the EPA is attempting to bypass Congress and force cap and trade on Americans by adopting back-door regulations. We must stop both efforts now.” [Ted Cruz op-ed, National Review, 9/7/11]

Ted Cruz supported revoking Pres. Obama’s moratorium on offshore oil drilling. “Revoke the Offshore Drilling Moratorium. The Obama Administration unilaterally imposed a blanket moratorium on drilling, which a federal court subsequently found was contrary to federal law. Nonetheless, a de facto administrative moratorium remains, killing thousands of high-paying jobs and hindering economic growth in Texas and the entire Gulf Coast. It’s time to end the moratorium.” [Ted Cruz op-ed, National Review, 9/7/11]