Newsletter: Discussing Climate Change on Earth Day
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We had a wonderful, event-filled week spanning the entire Tenth District, and capped off with an incredible Earth Day forum on climate change at the Chicago Botanic Garden. We also helped clear invasive species brush near Fox Lake, hosted our first office open house in Lincolnshire and led a thought-provoking workshop on the federal budget at Lake Forest College. Read on for a recap of some of the week's highlights.
DISCUSSING CLIMATE CHANGE ON EARTH DAY
On Saturday, we marked Earth Day by hosting a conversation on global climate change at the Chicago Botanic Garden. This enlightening discussion was an opportunity to discuss the number one challenge we face as a planet, and how we can work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to pass on a healthier, more sustainable environment to the next generation.
We were lucky to be joined by an expert panel of three Ph.D.s and a world renown meteorologist to share their insight on this topic: Dr. Donald Weubbles of the University of Illinios, Dr. Gregory Mueller of the Chicago Botanic Garden, Dr. Elisabeth Moyer of the University of Chicago, and Meteorologist Tom Skilling of WGN-TV.
Watch a recording of the event on our Facebook page.
Earlier on Earth Day, I was excited to join the Lake County Veterans and Family Services Foundation at a clean-up event at Grant Woods Forest Preserve to remove invasive buckthorn. Thanks to everyone who came out and worked so hard!
OP-ED ON PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT
I also outlined my views on the Trump Administration's consideration of withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement in an op-ed published in the Lake County News-Sun. Unilaterally pulling out of the agreement would be a blow to our international leadership, economic competitiveness, and the environment we will pass on to our children.
President Trump's argument that cutting environmental safeguards will put Americans back to work is disingenuous and represents a fundamental misunderstanding of the problem. The transition to clean energy should not be viewed as a burden to be overcome, but rather, an extraordinary job creation opportunity for the United States.
FIGHTING TO KEEP THE EPA LOCAL
I'm very troubled by recent news reports that the EPA is considering closing its Chicago regional office as part of the devastating budget cuts proposed by the Trump Administration. The Great Lakes region needs, and deserves a seat at the table, and closing this office would outsource management to the Kansas office.
Last week, I sent a letter to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt urging him to maintain a strong presence here and reject any proposal that would move the office outside the Great Lakes region.
Read my full letter to the EPA online.
NEIGHBORHOOD OFFICE HOURS
As a reminder, our office hosts frequent Neighborhood Office Hours for constituents to more easily meet with caseworkers and staff to discuss any federal issues that they may have. We're here to help if you have issues with Medicare, Social Security, the Veterans Administration, immigration and more.
This week, we'll be at:
Wheeling Community Recreation Center
333 W Dundee Road, Wheeling, IL
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Lake Forest Library
360 E Deerpath Rd, Lake Forest, IL
Friday, April 28, 2017
9:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Check the schedule on our website to find out when our team will be in your community.
WEEKLY WRAP-UP
Speaking at Lake Forest College during our federal budget workshop hosted in partnership with the bipartisan Concord Coalition. Participants learned about the fiscal challenges we face and had the opportunity to work in small groups to find budget solutions.
Meeting with a younger constituent at our office open house in Lincolnshire on Wednesday.
Answering questions for seniors and offering a legislative update at a seniors town hall at Sedgebrook Retirement Community.
Meeting with the Lake County Opioid Initiative to discuss the Opioid Preventing Addiction through Continuing Education (PACE) Act. This bill would require doctors to complete continuing education to reduce overprescribing and better identify and treat addiction.
As always, please continue to stay in touch and share your thoughts, either by calling our DC office at (202) 225-4835 or emailing via our website.
Thanks for reading!
Sincerely,
Brad Schneider
Member of Congress