At Start of Sunshine Week, Ernst Exposes Hypocrisy of Government Climate Officials, Pushes for Transparency

WASHINGTON – At the start of “Sunshine Week,” U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) is exposing the hypocrisy of government officials who are targeting fossil fuels while themselves relying on fossil fuel-powered transportation, like President Biden’s “Climate Czar” John Kerry who just took a trip to Europe on the taxpayers’ dime.

 

“Iowans rely on biofuel and fossil fuels every day to get to work, run their businesses, and to make a living. So when President Biden targets these energy sources right out of the gate while his administration continues to rely on these fossil fuels to travel—like “Climate Czar” John Kerry—it’s coastal elitism and hypocrisy at its worst,” said Ernst, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “If the Biden Administration is going to limit Iowans’ access to affordable and reliable fuels, kill thousands of American jobs, and implement heavy-handed energy regulations paid for by hardworking Iowans, taxpayers have a right to know about their blatant hypocrisy. My bill simply requires the executive branch to track and publicly release the amount of carbon emissions associated with all fossil-fuel powered travel.”

 

Ernst is introducing legislation, the Executive Branch Emissions Transparency Act, with Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), and Rick Scott (R-FL). The bill would create a publicly accessible database documenting the carbon emissions associated with all fossil fuel-powered travel by the president, vice president, and executive branch political appointees.

 

“Actions speak louder than words,” Capito said. “When you have coastal elites waging war on fossil fuels and at the same time traveling around the globe in private jets, it rings hollow. While the administration seems intent on eliminating energy jobs in West Virginia and across the country, we’ll continue to push for transparency so the American people know when those in power say one thing about fossil fuel-powered travel, and then do the opposite.”

 

“Climate czar John Kerry, with his private jet and multiple mansions, may have a bigger carbon footprint than many small nations. Yet the Biden administration destroyed American jobs in the name of ‘climate justice.’ This bill will expose their hypocrisy,” said Cotton.

 

“As President Biden continues his job-killing agenda, eliminating the Keystone Pipeline, and reducing our nation’s ability to be energy independent, his Administration travels the world on taxpayers’ dime using the same fossil fuels they condemn,” Scott said. “The hypocrisy is obvious. Our bill would require government officials to be transparent with the American people on any taxpayer-funded travel powered by fossil-fuel and associated carbon emissions. If the Administration is really focused on addressing climate change and reducing our nation’s carbon emissions, they should lead by example and be accountable for their own actions first.”

 

President Biden has issued a record-breaking number of executive orders in his first few days in office, many of which specifically target fossil fuels. He has revoked the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline and halted the sale of oil and gas leases on federal lands, which have had a devastating impact on workers and killed thousands of jobs. At the same time, his administration officials continue to use and rely on fossil fuels.

 

If Ernst’s bill becomes law, the carbon emissions resulting from Czar Kerry’s recent trip to Europe would be made public.

 

Before entering the Biden Administration, Czar Kerry was infamously caught taking a private jet to Iceland to accept a climate award.

 

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