Incoming congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez marched into Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi’s office Tuesday to address the sit-in being staged by environmental activists.
Ocasio-Cortez received a hero’s welcome from the group and gave them a rousing speech by saying “we don’t have a choice” in combating climate change.
The environmental group called Sunrise took over Pelosi’s office waiting room on Capitol Hill to call for immediate action on climate change. Ocasio-Cortez, a newly-elected democratic socialist from New York, is still weeks away from being sworn into office. Yet, Ocasio-Cortez could be found protesting inside the office of Pelosi, who will odds-on be leading the new Democratic majority in the House.
Ocasio-Cortez told the protesters that environmental activism starts “with everyday people doing exactly what you are doing here.”
Incoming Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joins sit-in in Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi’s office calling for efforts to combat climate change: “We don’t have a choice.” https://t.co/uEMkN3JpIz pic.twitter.com/tMaaFGL0hR
— ABC News (@ABC) November 13, 2018
According to The Intercept, “The Sunrise protesters, including Ocasio-Cortez, are calling on Pelosi to create and give teeth to a new select committee on climate change.”
The Intercept continued explaining the bigger congressional issue:
“The proposed committee, called the Select Committee for a Green New Deal, would be similar to something Pelosi established as House speaker in 2007, but with more authority. Back then, Pelosi created the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, and assigned her ally, then-Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., who has a strong environmental record, to chair it. The committee held dozens of hearings over the course of four years, until the tea party-led Congress, which took over in 2010, mothballed it.”
Pelosi said she was “inspired” by the protest.
“I have recommended to my House Democratic colleagues that we reinstate the select committee to address the climate crisis,” she said in a statement Tuesday. “House Democrats ran on and won on our bold campaign for a $1 trillion investment in our infrastructure that will make our communities more resilient to the climate crisis, while creating 16 million new good-paying jobs across the country.”
“We welcome the presence of these activists, and we strongly urge the Capitol Police to allow them to continue to organize and participate in our democracy,” she said.