Global warming can't destroy humanity because flood won't kill mankind, GOP congressman says
Representative John Shimkus (R-IL), who said he opposed cap and trade legislation because God would not allow the Earth to be destroyed by global warming, is seeking the chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Shimkus is one of four Republicans vying to head the committee, which oversees legislation related to public health, air quality and environmental health, the supply and delivery of energy, and interstate and foreign commerce in general. He is not favored to win; the likely chairman will probably be Michigan Republican Fred Upton (R-MI)
He has served on the committee since he was first elected to represent 19th District of Illinois in 1997.
"I do believe in the Bible as the final word of God," Shimkus told Politico Wednesday. "And I do believe that God said the Earth would not be destroyed by a flood."
During a congressional hearing in March of 2009 on a proposed cap and trade bill, Shimkus quoted Genesis, saying, "Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though all inclinations of his heart are evil from childhood and never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done."
"I believe that's the infallible word of God, and that's the way it's going to be for his creation," he added. "The Earth will end only when God declares it's time to be over. Man will not destroy this Earth. This Earth will not be destroyed by a Flood. I do believe that God's word is infallible, unchanging, perfect."
He also said the cap and trade legislation, which he says is the "largest assault on democracy and freedom in this country that I've ever experienced," would hurt plant life by reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the air.
"It's plant food," Shimkus said. "So if we decrease the use of carbon dioxide, are we not taking away plant food from the atmosphere?… So all our good intentions could be for naught. In fact, we could be doing just the opposite of what the people who want to save the world are saying."
Representative Joe Barton (R-TX), Representative Fred Upton (R-MI) and Representative Cliff Stearns (R-FL) are also seeking the chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
All four Republicans have vowed to repeal the health care reform laws passed by Congress.
"Clearly, the American people are looking for us to repeal and replace Obamacare while ensuring basic health care principles that will improve health care delivery for all of us," Shimkus writes in a letter to Representative John Boehner (R-OH). "The time for debate is over and a vote to repeal and replace it should be something the House of Representatives addresses in the first week of the 112th Congress."
"I believe that I have the credentials within the Committee to bring fairness, without protests from the other side of the aisle," he writes.
In 2007, Shimkus provoked a flurry of criticism by comparing the Iraq war to a baseball game between his "beloved" St. Louis Cardinals and the "much despised" Chicago Cubs.
Below is video of Rep. John Shimkus saying "Man will not destroy this Earth" during a congressional hearing in March of 2009.
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