In the News

The Clean Power Plan implementation is critical to protecting public health and welfare.

More than 130 Members of Congress join call for more than 50 percent of U.S. electricity to come from clean and carbon-free sources by 2030.

SEEC Co-Chair Rep. Paul Tonko has beaten the drum for improved drinking water infrastructure for a year or more, leading tours to emphasize how much of the Capital Region's aging pipeline system dates back to the 1800s. An engineer by training and temperament, he saw disasters waiting to happen. And now they have, in Flint, Mich., as well as in Troy and Hoosick Falls.

As a Member of the House Intelligence Committee, I am briefed every week on our most pressing and urgent threats. And it is clear that climate change is one of them.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund is our nation’s premier program to help local communities protect the places they love. It has conserved iconic landscapes in every state and is responsible for more than 40,000 state and local outdoor recreation projects such as playgrounds, parks, refuges and baseball fields.

The urgency to act on climate has been recognized by a diverse group of global leaders, from Ronald Reagan’s secretary of state, George Schultz, to President Barack Obama to the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff to Pope Francis. But despite this growing global consensus on the need to arrest climate change, the Republican leaders who control Congress remain unwilling to act.

Democrats and Republicans came together 50 years ago around a simple idea: As we use up one natural resource, use the resulting profits to protect another. It was a novel and forward-thinking concept that balanced the demands of energy and the environment. Thus was born the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which remains a benchmark of across-the-aisle cooperation, as well as a paragon of conservation.

By SEEC Member Don Beyer (VA-08) | Have you found your park yet? Perhaps you've seen You Tube clips, billboards, or social media postings with the words "Find Your Park." This campaign - featuring stunning images of nature and history - is part of a year-plus celebration of the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service. The goal is to introduce - and reintroduce - our parks to a larger and younger audience.