Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., is sounding the alarm over Democrat “hysteria” and “fear mongering” amid the party’s green energy push.
“I think that’s what you’re seeing right now, is this whipping the people up with ridiculous predictions and they’re trying to, again, fear monger, and it’s having a devastating impact on our economy,” he told FOX News Digital on Wednesday.
“People are being told they have to live without things while the climate czar John Kerry flies around [in his] private jet,” he continued. “People see this for what it is. It’s a raw power grab.”
Schmitt participated in a Joint Economic Committee hearing this week when a panel of experts discussed job training needs for the transition to clean energy. Economist Douglas Holtz-Eakin testified, warning there will be “no return” on investments made in green energy.
The senator noted that the Biden administration has spent upwards of $5 trillion since taking office to push climate change initiatives and clean energy expansion. In June, the president announced another $600 million would go towards addressing climate change.
In order to stop the spending, and redirect the trillions of dollars to the high demand for blue-and-mixed-collar careers, “Republicans are going to have to take the majority back,” Schmitt claimed.
“These folks have completely lost their minds. And again, they’re trying to scare the American people,” Schmitt said. “You’ve seen a hollowing out of the middle class. We have all the energy we’ll ever need directly under our feet, but Joe Biden and Democrats have declared war on domestic energy production. They’ve shifted a massive amount of wealth over to China. They’re having to get the raw materials from China, so it’s a national security risk. We’re jeopardizing those supply chains.”
“It’s also driving up inflation,” he added. “The inflation we’ve seen is reckless spending and a disastrous energy policy in this Green New Deal that they’re trying to do, whether it was in the Inflation Reduction Act or by administrative fiat, it’s wrecking the American economy and it’s costing blue-collar jobs.”
The green energy transition’s elimination of hands-on, American jobs due to electric vehicles (EVs) is an issue also being spotlighted in the United Auto Workers (UAW) union’s strikes. Some strikes are taking place in Missouri plant towns Winfield and Claycomo, Schmitt pointed out.
“These EVs require, if that’s what they’re really transitioning to, I think they need 40% fewer employees. That EV line has cost $4.5 billion for Ford alone. And so you look at these negotiations, you see fewer jobs, you’re having, obviously, these negotiations on pay, it’s been a total disaster,” the senator noted. “And they’re just obsessed with this, and they’ve pushed on every segment of the economy.”
“This is the tip of the iceberg. This is just the auto industry right now,” he continued. “This is going to play out and have ripples in other industries in our economy, again, because of this disastrous policy from energy policy by the Biden administration.”
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With more of the “Big Three” plants – General Motors, Ford and Stellantis – anticipating joining the strikes if a deal isn’t reached by Friday at noon, Schmitt hopes a “favorable resolution” is made sooner than later.
“I bet you those Winfield workers and Claycomo workers wish the $4.5 billion on EV losses could be used for them. And that’s what we’re dealing with,” Schmitt said. “This is the practical impact now of this disastrous Biden policy.”
“It is costing jobs and it is making life more difficult for blue-collar workers, and those are the people I was sent here to represent: the forgotten men and women of this country who’ve been left behind by this obsession with the Green New Deal,” the senator added. “They want good-paying jobs. They want cheap, reliable energy. And that’s what I’m fighting for.”
Democrats “have a reckoning with voters coming” now that they see the everyday implications of the green energy transition, Schmitt argued.
“They see gas stoves being banned. They’re being asked to turn off their AC when it’s 100 degrees. Meanwhile, again, you see these climate summits with private jets, and people like John Kerry are never going to sacrifice anything,” he criticized. “The chickens are coming home to roost here. Working families understand this is a disaster.”
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“They’re totally out of touch with real Americans,” Schmitt said of the Democratic Party. “Americans want cheap, reliable energy. And again, this obsession and bowing to the altar of this climate alarmism is terrible for this country.”
The White House Council of Economic Advisers and Department of Energy did not respond to FOX News Digital’s request for comment.