Members of the progressive ‘Squad’ on Tuesday joined a new push for the ‘Green New Deal’ with separate bills for public housing, a civil climate corps and funding for cities.
“For so long, our movement toward a sustainable future has been divided with this false notion that we must choose between our planet and our economy,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, DN.Y. at a press conference in DC
“And we have decided to join forces in comprehensive legislation that will not only reject the idea, but also create a plan for 20 million unions in the United States to rebuild our infrastructure, to restore public housing, to be sure to make us increase our access not just for EV [electric vehicles] and EV infrastructure, but mass transit. “
She is teaming up with Senator Ed Markey, D-Mass., Who helped launch the original Green New Deal and co-sponsored a bill to create climate-related jobs.
REPUBLICAN SENATORS RIDE AGAINST NECESSARY MASSIVE $ 2T EDITION BILL: ‘CREATED’ FROM INFRASTRUCTURE
Ocasio-Cortez’s “Green New Deal Week” comes as the Biden government promotes a $ 2.3 billion infrastructure package, which could be criticized by Democrats for not spending enough. Her legislation for public housing, co-sponsored by Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Would apparently triple the amount Biden proposes.
Markey announced on Tuesday that he would push Biden to expand his ambitions, pointing out that the president’s policies include the “DNA of the Green New Deal”.
“The Biden government is incorporating climate action, environmental justice and the health care economy into its recovery plan,” he said. “This is the DNA of the Green New Deal we introduced.”
It is unlikely that the ambitious outline of reforms will achieve much success in a Congress that is bitterly divided over infrastructure and climate. While Republicans have long denounced the original Green New Deal, they have already criticized Biden’s proposal to spend too much.
However, progressive people have insisted that the extent of climate mitigation should conform to what they call an ‘existential crisis’. Ocasio-Cortez and co-member of the Squad, Cori Bush, D-Mo., Co-sponsor legislation that may authorize $ 1 trillion for the Green New Deal for Cities Act.
At Tuesday’s press conference, Bush promised that her legislation would “immediately fund a Green New Deal in every city, every city, every state, every tribe and every area.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Behind the Republican opposition, there are concerns about its feasibility. According to critics, the large-scale government regulations would restrict the freedoms and cause serious financial damage to the country.
During the campaign, then-candidate Joe Biden said he would use the Green New Deal as a framework for his climate plan, although his proposal cost significantly less than other plans that adopted the framework. Regardless, Biden’s plan is aimed at the type of economic transformation advocated by more left-wing members of his party.