"The climate crisis is a crisis born of injustice, and it is a crisis born of the pursuit of profit at any and all human and ecological cost, which means that we must recognize in legislation that the trampling of indigenous rights is a cause of climate change," the New York Democrat said, "that the trampling of racial justice is a cause of climate change because we are allowing people and we are allowing folks to deny ourselves human rights and deny people the right to healthcare, the right to housing and education."
Ocasio-Cortez delivered the remarks during an announcement where she plans to reintroduce the Green New Deal and the Civilian Climate Corps. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is set to co-sponsor the bill that would transition the public housing system "as swiftly and seamlessly as possible" to zero-carbon communities that produce on-site renewable energy.
The pair said the $172 billion proposal would be invested over a period of 10 years and would affect nearly 2 million people living in some 950,000 public housing homes. The sponsors claim that the legislation would reduce the cost of water bills among public housing residents by 30% and would slash energy bills by up to 70% per year. It also would create about 240,000 union jobs, according to Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez.
The first iteration of the Green New Deal, which was introduced in 2019, was projected to cost $93 trillion. The bill later fell flat after garnering little support from Congress.
"I am reintroducing the Green New Deal and announcing the Civilian Climate Corps with @AOC because we can't wait to deliver environmental justice, create millions of new jobs, and save our planet for generations to come," Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, who was present at the Tuesday event, wrote in a tweet. "We must go bold, be ambitious, and transform our economy."
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy railed against the legislation and said the plan "would destroy our economy."
"Today, Democrats plan to reintroduce the Green New Deal," McCarthy wrote in a Tuesday tweet. "Their plan would destroy our economy — plain and simple. Socialism isn't the answer to climate change — Republicans have a plan to tackle emissions without upending our way of life."
McCarthy indicated that the GOP supports "innovation," investments in "clean energy infrastructure," and "conservation" to reverse the effects of climate change.
Tax the Bitch! (Some would probably request that the 'T' be dropped.)
R.C.