GOP reps who called climate change 'false emergency' prepare for 15-foot storm surge in districts

Two Florida congressmen — Reps. Greg Steube (R) and Byron Donalds (R) — co-sponsored a bill that "would bar U.S. presidents from declaring a climate emergency," according to Rolling Stone.

Per the report, the legislation refers to "the climate crisis as a 'false emergency.'"

Steube, who "represents Sarasota and Charlotte counties, both south of Tampa," Rolling Stone notes, has voted "against environmental measures, including the Environmental Protection Agency’s attempt to set cleaner car and truck standardsand efforts to reduce pollution and climate threats impacting communities on the front line of environmental and health hazards."

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Donalds, on the other hand, "voted against $20 billion in disaster relief funds for the Federal Emergency Management Agency in a stopgap spending bill that passed both chambers."

Both of the GOP leaders' districts face evacuation orders as Hurricane Milton approaches the Sunshine State.

Rolling Stone reports:

The bill — dubbed the 'Real Emergencies Act' — would bar U.S. presidents from declaring a climate emergency using three federal laws that give the executive branch additional powers in times of crisis: the National Emergencies Act, the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, and the Public Health Service Act. The proposed legislation would still allow for an emergency to be declared in the event of a hurricane or other climate-change-fueled extreme weather.

The publication notes that Donalds — who's up for reelection next month — is financially backed by Koch Industries, which "has a long history of funding climate denialism, contributing more than $145 million to such efforts from 1997 to 2018, according to data collected by Greenpeace, a network of campaigning organizations dedicated to protecting the Earth."

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Rolling Stone's full report is available here (subscription required).