WASHINGTON, DC, June 12, 2017 – Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR-03) today will introduce legislation to ensure Donald Trump has a stake in the catastrophic consequences of ignoring climate science. The Prohibiting Aid for Recipients Ignoring Science (PARIS) Act will prevent properties owned by a president or his or her family from receiving federally subsidized flood insurance from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

Introduction of the legislation follows Trump’s efforts to undermine environmental protections and reject the science of climate change – including his decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord. Most recently, media reports on Sunday indicate that Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt left a G7 two-day session on climate early. The United States today also refused to sign a G7 commitment on climate action.

“The American people should not be responsible for bailing out leaders who ignore science to gain political points, while subjecting the United States – and the rest of the world – to the catastrophic effects of climate change,” said Blumenauer. “Trump may choose to reject science, but he can’t ignore the impacts – especially as they happen in his own backyard.”

Climate change is already affecting us as sea levels are rising at an accelerated pace in communities in coastal Florida and elsewhere in the United States. Many of Trump’s own properties in Florida are prone to flooding. A recent analysis predicts that in 30 years Mar-a-Lago could be under at least a foot of water for more than half the year. With intensifying flooding and severe storms to come, the PARIS Act makes sure that Trump and his family do not receive the benefit of federally subsidized flood insurance while he ignores the science of climate change.

The PARIS Act is co-sponsored by Representatives Gerald Connolly (VA-11), Barbara Lee (CA-13), Alan Lowenthal (CA-47), Raúl Grijalva (AZ-03), Ro Khanna (CA-17), and Jamie Raskin (MD-08).

In response to Trump’s decision, Blumenauer also led a group of West Coast members of Congress urging the Governors of Oregon, California, and Washington to maintain a “green wall” of resistance by continuing their climate leadership and upholding the core tenets and goals of the landmark Paris Climate Accord.