Washington, DC - 27 March 2019

1. Wide of start of press conference

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House

"Today, the House Democratic majority is honoring the will of the people, and taking first strong steps to protect our planet and our future. The bill, this is about jobs. It's about good paying green jobs. It's about advancing our economy, and our global preeminence in green technology. It's about health. It's about how public health and clean air and clean water for our children. It's about defending our national security. The evidence is clear. The national security experts have spoken. This is a national security issue. And for me and for many of us it's a moral issue."

3. Wide of press conference

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Eliot Engel, (D) New York, Chairman of House Foreign Affairs Committee:

"The Climate Action Now Act keeps the United States in the Paris Climate Accord, renewing our country's pledge to address climate change head on. It's not just smart policy. It's a moral obligation to our children and our grandchildren and generations to come."

5. Cutaway of cameras and reporters

6.  SOUNDBITE (English): Rep. Kathy Castor, (D) Florida, Chair, Select Committee on the Climate Crisis:

"America will not cut and run. America will keep its commitments. Climate Action Now (the bill) will unleash American ingenuity and innovation to power the future."

Wide of press conference

7. SOUNDBITE (English) ) Rep. Kathy Castor, (D) Florida, Chair, Select Committee on the Climate Crisis:

"We can create millions of good paying clean energy jobs right now. We can save billions of dollars in energy costs for working people and businesses right now. We can finally address decades of environmental injustice right now."

8. Wide of press conference

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Frank Pallone, (D) New Jersey, Chairman House Energy and Commerce Committee:

"We refuse to accept the notion that this is not something that needs to be addressed. So, Mr. President, we're saying to you with this legislation, we're not withdrawing from Paris. We want to know what your plan is and if you don't have one then we're going to move forward on our own and come up with things that we can do here in the Congress and in the Energy and Commerce Committee to address climate change in various ways."

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Eliot Engel, (D) New York, Chairman of House Foreign Affairs Committee:

"We're already seeing the consequences of inaction. Natural disasters, famines, instability, human suffering. So addressing climate change is a critical foreign policy priority. And it's up to Congress to lead."

11. Wide of end of press conference

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined key Democrats to announce legislation aimed at reducing carbon emissions and keeping the U.S. in the Paris climate agreement, which the Trump administration announced its intent to withdraw from nearly two years ago.

The bill is H.R. 9, called the Climate Action Now Act, and would recommit the United States to the Paris Agreement standards.

"This is about jobs. It's about good paying green jobs. It's about advancing our economy, and our global preeminence in green technology," said Pelosi.

"We can save billions of dollars in energy costs for working people and businesses right now," said Rep. Kathy Castor, the chairwoman of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.

"We can finally address decades of environmental injustice right now," she said.

The Climate Action Now Act is a far less ambitious proposal than the Green New Deal championed by Democratic activists in the party.  That plan, which calls for the U.S. to shift away from fossil fuels such as oil and coal and replace them with renewable sources such as wind and solar power, was shunned by the Republican-led Senate on Tuesday

"Mr. President, we're saying to you with this legislation, we're not withdrawing from Paris," said Rep. Frank Pallone, the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

"We want to know what your plan is, and if you don't have one then we're going to move forward on our own and come up with things that we can do here in the Congress," Pallone said.