NEWARK — U.S. Senate candidate Rush Holt said his claim made Monday that "millions will die" if something isn't done to address global warming was reality, not hyperbole.

“I think it’s no exaggeration at all to say that millions will die. And in fact there’s pretty good evidence that millions already have died because of climate change,” Holt, a congressman from central New Jersey who’s seeking the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, said in a Star-Ledger editorial board meeting this morning.

Holt made the statement in an internet-only campaign ad, in which he called for a tax on carbon emissions. It drew criticism from Republican U.S. Senate candidate Steve Lonegan, who called the 15-second spot "silly hysteria." Lonegan also said it's "highly questionable" that global warming is a man-made problem, despite widespread scientific consensus on the issue.

“It’s not hysteria. It’s documented,” Holt said, saying that global warming’s effects are felt in more than just natural disasters.

“If you talk to the World Health Organization and International Health Groups, they’ll tell you because of diseases – it’s not just from storm damage, it’s other aspects of climate change affecting our oceans,” he said.

On Lonegan, Holt said “shouting from one soap box to somebody else’s soap box across the way is not a very effective way of advancing the public interest and helping people.”

Lonegan responded there are "different reports, different opinions of what creates climate change."

"But I do know this: The kind of carbon tax Holt is promoting will destroy jobs, and according to the National Association of Manufacturers would destroy 34,000 jobs in New jersey alone," Lonegan said, referring to a report from the organization that said the tax would result in a loss of worker income equivalent to between 34,000 to 38,000 jobs in 2013.

The global warming ad was the fourth in a series of short issues-oriented videos Holt has put out in his underdog campaign for U.S. Senate to succeed the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg.

In the Aug. 13 Democratic primary, Holt faces Newark Mayor Cory Booker, the frontrunner, as well as U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-6th Dist.) and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver. The winner will face the Republican who prevails in the GOP primary: Lonegan, the frontrunner, or Dr. Alieta Eck.

In previous web-only spots, Holt has detailed his ideas on issues such as taxing stock trades, charging banks the same interest rates to borrow from the government as students and establishing a single-payer health care system.



Holt has also drawn attention nationally — especially on the internet — for his call to repeal the Patriot Act and roll back 2008 amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that allowed for large scale data collection.

On the issues, Holt said he has been more specific and aggressive than any of his Democratic opponents.

“I don’t hear many people out therem, certainly among the contestants in this Senate primary, calling for a carbon tax,” Holt said. “Calling for an end to domestic surveillance. They’ll use some weasel words and say ‘Yes, I would like to see universal health care’ or something. They’re not out there pounding away at it.”

Holt also pushed back against the notion that Booker has built a better record on bipartisanship than he has. He noted that he worked with Pennsylvania Republicans to add the Delware River to the National Wild and Scenic River program; worked with U.S. Rep. Jon Runyan (R-3rd Dist.) to secure millions in suicide prevention funds for veterans; and worked with U.S. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-11th Dist.) to designate the state’s Revolutionary War sites as a National Heritage Area.

“Sometimes there’s an avenue for bipartisanship. Sometimes there isn’t. The skill is to be able to use one’s legislative position to advance the things that one needs to advance, " Holt said.

Added Holt: "Cory Booker’s bipartisanship and bringing people together is most in evidence in areas that don’t count. In his speaking tours. Whether it’s city council or the schools or the utilities here, boy I don’t see a lot of bringing people together."

Booker spokesman Kevin Griffis responded that "evidently, the Congressman’s Internet was down this morning."

"A quick search would have turned up a long list of bipartisan initiatives — from development projects to ex-offender re-entry — that have created thousands of jobs and improved the lives of Newarkers," Griffis said. "We hope his service returns soon.”

RELATED COVERAGE

•Lonegan signs pledge against climate change legislation with 'hidden taxes'

•Booker, Pallone and Holt unveil new U.S. Senate campaign ads

• Complete coverage of the 2013 special U.S. Senate election

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