Environment

That assertion underscores a new theme undertaken yesterday by the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC), a group of 50 Democratic House members. It focuses on the financial costs of natural calamities like Superstorm Sandy, damaging thunderstorms and wildfires. In floor speeches, lawmakers compared the amount of disaster spending last year, which they say amounted to $96 billion, to budget outlays for things like education, transportation and housing. Disasters won, they say.

Members of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC) tried to ensure that H.R. 3 maintains the accountability the American people expect from legislation that authorizes a potentially hazardous oil pipeline.

Arizona Rep. Raúl Grijalva, who has served as top Democrat on the committee’s public lands panel for the past three sessions of Congress, said he will continue to vie for the seat, promising to bring a progressive voice to the committee, which oversees the management of one-fifth of the U.S. landmass. Grijalva is also a member of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition, while DeFazio is not.