AOC Reads the Green New Deal Into the Congressional Record

By Jordan Davidson, EcoWatch

29 February 20

 

ep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) took to the floor of the House of Representatives yesterday to chide Republicans for not reading the Green New Deal, which she introduced over one year ago, as The Hill reported. She then read the entire 14-page document into the congressional record.

Republicans have frequently mischaracterized what is actually in the bill and argued that the ambitious proposal to stop the climate crisis flies in the face of American values. The proposal, which was sponsored by Ocasio-Cortez in the House and by Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) in the Senate in February 2019, has failed to come up for a vote in either chamber, as Common Dreams noted.

"But throughout this entire year, as we've discussed the Green New Deal, I've noticed there's been an awful lot of misinformation about what's inside this resolution, a tremendous amount of wild claims: everything from saying we're seeking to ban airplanes to ending ice cream," Ocasio-Cortez said on the House floor, as The Hill reported.

"And, as a consequence I've realized that many of my colleagues have never even read the resolution that they're speaking on," she added. "They haven't opened a single word of it — and it's actually only about… just 14 pages long. So I have decided that since some of my colleagues across the aisle could not for some reason read the resolution, that perhaps this hour would be spent best reading it to them, for the public record."

The Green New Deal looks to move the U.S. toward a net zero greenhouse gas emissions future "through a fair and just transition." The 10-year national mobilization plan looks to create millions of jobs through an investment in infrastructure, to ensure a sustainable future, and to protect vulnerable communities, as Common Dreams reported.

The cornerstone of the plan is the rapid and complete conversion to a 100 percent renewable energy system for electricity and transportation by 2030. The resolution also seeks a full decarbonization of the economy by 2050, at the latest, as Newsweek reported.

Ocasio-Cortez also shared her dismay that Tuesday night's presidential primary debate was conspicuously absent of questions about the climate crisis.

"As I was preparing for this evening, I would be remiss but to say that last night we had a national Democratic debate and not a single question was asked about our climate crisis," she said, as The Hill reported.

The New York Democrat also prefaced her reading of the resolution by sharing data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that has made dire predictions for how the world will suffer if emissions are not reined in within the next 10 years, according to The Hill.

The Green New Deal has is now endorsed by over one hundred lawmakers across both chambers of the Capitol. Not a single Republican has backed the measure though, as Common Dreams reported.

Several of the Democratic presidential candidates have adopted the Green New Deal into their climate legislation proposals, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).