Democrats, facing conservative resistance to New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s “Green New Deal,” are now pivoting toward other environmental legislation.
Ocasio-Cortez had an ambitious goal: 100% renewable energy by 2030, and a wave of “green” jobs to replace the ones lost in the abandonment of more traditional sources of power. But after heated debate with the other side of the aisle, many liberal politicians are pulling back from the freshman congresswoman’s radical vision.
On Tuesday, the Senate voted against crucial Green New Deal legislation. According to The Hill, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell “set up the vote to test the Democratic Party’s unity over climate change.” Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey introduced the Green New Deal to the Senate in February, and sees this failure as a call for action from Congress.
“We’re now in the process where the hearings have started on the House side,” Markey said. “Committee after committee have had the first hearings that haven’t been held for eight years. And ideas and legislation will start emanating from committee after committee looking specifically at what has to happen.” – READ MORE