Sen. James Inhofe continued his attacks Wednesday on the international climate agreement reached in Paris over the weekend, warning the Obama administration that if it shifted money around to pay for new programs it risked running afoul of the law.
"Neither the American people, nor the U.S. Senate support the international climate agreement," Inhofe, chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, told Newsmax.
The Oklahoma Republican said this was why Congress provided no funding for President Barack Obama's Green Climate Fund in the year-end budget bill passed late Tuesday to avert a federal government shutdown.
"The administration attempts to shift around money to appease the president's legacy initiative is not only a misuse of U.S. taxpayer dollars, but would mean the president’s budget requests were disingenuous," Inhofe said.
The climate agreement would set emissions standards and other guidelines to address global warming. The pact sets a goal of limiting average warming to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit above pre-industrial temperatures — and of striving for a limit of 2.7 degrees if possible.
"Congress has an oversight mechanism, should the State Department choose to move money around," said Inhofe, long a skeptic on climate change. "Whatever funds are offered up for reprogramming purposes will be cut in the next round of appropriations, since they are clearly superfluous."
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