Menendez Highlights Economic Benefits of Mitigation from Climate Change

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), a senior member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, in today's hearing "Borrowed Time: The Economic Costs of Climate Change," highlighted the cost benefit of funding mitigation projects as communities across New Jersey continue to face repetitive flooding due to severe weather events and nor'easters resulting from climate change.

"Flooding is one of the most expensive and most frequent natural disasters in the United States and climate change is only going to intensify these events and it is critical that our communities are prepared for the challenges that lie ahead," said Sen. Menendez, citing the example of the Hoboken Rebuild by Design mitigation initiative. "For every dollar we invest in mitigation, the federal government saves $6 in disaster relief spending."

"That's why I introduced the bipartisan NFIP-RE Act, which supercharges billions of dollars for pre-disaster mitigation and resilience in the nation's most flood prone areas. I hope we can get to that because that is not only to save us money and save lives, it is also going to create a lot of jobs along the way," added Sen. Menendez.

In response to Republican senators who said Democrats were "over-reacting" about the threat of climate change, Sen. Menendez highlighted how the climate is costing lives and livelihoods across the country.

"The suggestion that […] those of us who are concerned about climate changes are an overreaction, well, look at the wildfires in the West - how many acres have to go up in smoke? Look at the flooding in Kentucky, how many lives have to be lost? Look at the droughts in the Midwest where farmers are producing a fraction of the crop they would normally produce [. . .] "These are tectonic shifts that are affecting our very lives and livelihoods and that's an overreaction? I think Mother Nature is not overreacting, she is sending us a message."

The Senator also highlighted how mass transit and transit-oriented communities can play an important role in addressing climate change, such as through his Livable Communities Act which encourages local communities to develop bold, innovative solutions that reflect their unique character, while leveraging existing assets, including access to transit to help revitalize neighborhoods, spur economic development, create jobs, and address their affordable housing needs.

Sen. Menendez has long been a leader in the fight to fund flood mitigation projects in New Jersey such as the Hoboken Rebuild by Design Project in Hoboken for which he helped secure $230 million in funding. Last November, Sen. Menendez introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to extend the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) for five years, while implementing a series of sweeping reforms to address the waste, abuse and mismanagement plaguing the system.

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