WASHINGTON — New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez says Republicans just wanted to play games by bringing the Democrats’ Green New Deal to the Senate floor Tuesday for a vote.
“We have thousands of people whose lives are at risk. There are towns in Iowa that went completely underwater and they want to play games with this. Something that I think is getting lost in this conversation is that people are forgetting that this is not a bill,” Ocasio-Cortez said of the plan she helped spearhead to a reporter Tuesday.
She added, “It’s not even a bill. It’s a resolution, which means it gets introduced in both the House and the Senate, and even if it gets passed in both chambers, it doesn’t go to the president. These are visionary documents. They’re goal-setting documents.”
The Green New Deal proposed by Ocasio Cortez and Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Ed Markey is a non-binding resolution. (RELATED: Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal Is So Urgent That She’s Mad Gop Wants To Vote On It)
The deal was brought to the floor Tuesday by Senate Majority Mitch McConnell and is expected to fail, but the intention for Republicans is to get Democrats on record.
U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) … REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst – RC153D8EA530
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the vote “Gotcha Politics,” saying on the Senate floor Tuesday morning, “Make no mistake: Republicans want to force this political stunt to distract from the fact that they neither have a plan nor a sense of urgency to deal with the threat of climate change.”
He continued, “With this exercise, the Republican Majority has made a mockery of the legislative process. It is a political act — a political stunt. Everyone here knows it’s a stunt, including the Majority Leader himself. He put something on the floor and then votes no. What’s the point of that other than showing how hypocritical this act is?”
Republicans took great pleasure in taking shots at the Green New Deal after a disorganized rollout of the plan back in February resulted in the release of background documents that included language promising to phase out all forms of transportation that use fossil fuels as well as provide financial security to those “unwilling to work.”
Senate Majority Leader McConnell said Tuesday at his weekly press conference that he was “reading with some amusement that our friends on the other side seem to be reluctant to vote on the Green New Deal.”
He went on to say, “The only question I would ask is if this is such a popular thing to do and so necessary why would one want to dodge the vote? This is an opportunity to go on record.”
Kerry Picket is a host on SiriusXM Patriot 125