Representative Chris Stewart (R-UT, 2nd District) has been serving in the House of Representatives since 2013. Stewart sits on the House Appropriations Committee, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and the House Committee on the Budget.
Chris Stewart and Climate Change
As a Representative from Utah, one of our nation’s most climate-conservative states, Stewart is a self-proclaimed “moderate” climate change denier. Shortly after beginning his term in 2013, Stewart began chairing for the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. He immediately drew a lot of criticism following an op-ed he published in the Salt Lake Tribune for his views on climate change. In the publication, he tried to establish that humans are not the ones causing climate change. “First, there is no doubt that climate change is real. But it has always been real. The earth’s climate is always in flux, with long-standing patterns of warming and cooling. There is no ideal temperature the earth is trying to achieve”. He then, falsely, explained that most Democrats also believe climate change evidence is “uncertain”. Again, this is a false assertion. The op-ed also includes statements regarding climate change and its relation to worsening natural disasters: “the emotion behind climate change has led to other scientifically questionable claims, some even asserting that events such as drought, wildfires and storms like Sandy are the direct result of climate change. Officials at NOAA, NASA and other agencies that are tasked to further our understanding of climate change have repeatedly rejected such outlandish connections.” Stewart’s full op-ed can be viewed here.
According to his League of Conservation Scorecard, Chris Stewart votes in favor of pro-environmental policies at a rate of 3%. He is running for reelection in 2020.
Chris Stewart and Friends
Throughout his career in the House of Representatives, Chris Stewart has received the largest sum of campaign donations from big oil and gas. Between 2011 and the present, this total has reached $296,100.
See Also
Sen. Cory Gardner
Climate of Denial