GOP ex-rep to get JFK award for climate work

Former Rep. Bob Inglis (R-S.C.) will receive the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation’s Profile in Courage Award for his advocacy for policies to fight climate change.

In a Monday announcement, the foundation said Inglis showed great political courage by bucking the Republican Party and saying that climate change is real and the federal government should take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

{mosads}His climate position, which he adopted in 2010 after meeting with scientists, brought criticism from within the party and led to him losing in a Republican primary that year.

“In reversing his own position and breaking with his party to acknowledge the realities of a changing climate and its threat to human progress, he displayed the courage to keep an open mind and uphold his responsibilities as a leader and citizen at the expense of his own political career,” Jack Schlossberg, Kennedy’s grandson and a member of the committee that picks the award winner, said in a statement from the foundation.

“His evolution in thought, brave stand and continued dedication to tackling the single biggest environmental and humanitarian crisis of our time inspires us all,” he continued.

Inglis founded and leads the Energy and Enterprise Initiative, a center at George Mason University that advocates for a tax on carbon dioxide emissions. He believes a revenue-neutral carbon tax is compatible with Republican priorities.

The courage award, named after a book Kennedy wrote, will be presented in May. Previous winners include former President George H.W. Bush and former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.).