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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
House Memorial 1
A memorial to the Congress of the United States, 2
urging Congress to support solutions that examine the 3
pollution differential between United States 4
production and other countries and that hold foreign 5
polluters accountable for their pollution. 6
7
WHEREAS, Florida's natural resources and environment are 8
essential to the state's character, economy, and way of life, 9
and 10
WHEREAS, Florida, under Govern or DeSantis' leadership, has 11
recently delivered investments to protect the state's natural 12
resources and environment, including Everglades restoration, 13
waterway rehabilitation, and water quality infrastructure, and 14
WHEREAS, China, by far the world's large st polluter, 15
accounts for over 30 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions 16
and subsidizes its exports by not imposing or enforcing 17
reasonable environmental and labor standards, and 18
WHEREAS, Chinese government -owned industry is an arm of the 19
Communist Party and strives to increase its influence over the 20
global economy by pursuing predatory trade practices such as 21
stealing intellectual property from the United States, and 22
WHEREAS, the United States has reduced more carbon 23
emissions than any other country in the last 15 years and has an 24
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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economy that is 44 percent more carbon efficient than the world 25
average, and 26
WHEREAS, manufacturers in the United States are more 27
efficient in nearly every industry and yet are forced to compete 28
with companies in China and other countries that face few limits 29
on how much they pollute, and 30
WHEREAS, goods produced in China and Russia generate 300 31
percent and 400 percent on average, respectively, more in carbon 32
emissions compared to equivalent goods produced in the United 33
States, and 34
WHEREAS, United States trade policy has not taken into 35
account carbon emissions, and as a result, afforded foreign 36
polluters with loose carbon standards an advantage over the 37
United States for the past several decades, and 38
WHEREAS, China benefits from the current federal trade 39
policy, and 40
WHEREAS, rewarding United States firms for their 41
environmental performance would bolster domestic manufacturing, 42
generate good-paying jobs, and reduce dependence on imports from 43
high-emitting producers like Chin a and Russia, NOW, THEREFORE, 44
45
Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 46
47
That the Congress of the United States is urged to support 48
solutions that examine the pollution differential between United 49
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States production and other countrie s and that hold foreign 50
polluters accountable for their pollution. 51
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State dispatch 52
copies of this memorial to the President of the United States, 53
to the President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of 54
the United States House of Representatives, and to each member 55
of the Florida delegation to the United States Congress. 56