On behalf of our activist community, I urge you to contact your senators and urge them to support S.Con.Res. 17, introduced by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). The resolution expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should withdraw from the Paris Agreement, which was signed by President Barack Obama in April 2016.

Spearheaded by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Paris Agreement requires participating countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as part of an effort to prevent the global temperature from rising 2°C above pre-industrial levels. President Obama and his administration committed to the United States to a reduction of 26 percent to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025.

While no one disagrees with the need to be good stewards of the environment, the Paris Agreement fails to strike anything close to a proper balance between preserving the environment and economic prosperity. A Heritage Foundation analysis found that the Paris Agreement would lead to $2.5 trillion in lost gross domestic product, the loss of nearly 400,000 jobs, and an increase in energy costs for American households of as much as 20 percent.

A separate analysis by National Economic Research Associates (NERA) Economic Consulting found that the Paris Agreement would cost the economy more than $1 trillion and 1.1 million industrial sector jobs by 2025 and $3 trillion and 6.5 million industrial sector jobs by 2040.

Another reason that Congress should urge the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Agreement is because President Obama failed to submit the agreement to the Senate. Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution states that a president “shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur.”

The Obama White House knew the Paris Agreement would not receive the 67 votes constitutionally required for ratification. The Constitution, however, does not have a “Making Policy Is Hard” Clause to allow a president to bind the United States to such draconian requirements.

The Paris Agreement is too costly for the United States and the Obama administration unconstitutionally authorized the agreement without the consent of the Senate. For these reasons, I urge you to contact your senators and urge them to support S.Con.Res. 17.

Sincerely,

Adam Brandon, President, FreedomWorks