Democratic members of Congress today reintroduced a more substantial Green New Deal, calling for more significant funding than the Biden administration’s proposal to reshape U.S. climate and economic policy, a plan Republicans oppose.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and U.S. Sen. Ed Markey proposed an initial version of the Green New Deal in early 2019 that would have expanded investment in renewable energy and paved the way for the United States to reach “net zero emissions” by 2050.
The proposal was blocked by Republican members of the Senate in March 2019; Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said at the time that the Green New Deal was not only radical, but that it would transform the entire U.S. economy from the top down with a socialist approach.
With Biden in office and the Democrats in control of Congress with only a narrow majority, Biden proposed a $2 trillion infrastructure plan, much of which was aimed at so-called climate crisis mitigation.
The Green New Deal proposal includes a number of new elements, including the creation of a “universal climate action plan.
Republicans were quick to express their opposition to the plan. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) tweeted that the Green New Deal “will only ruin our economy.
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