Senate to hold vote on “Green New Deal” resolution — live updates

FAN Editor

The Senate is expected to vote Tuesday afternoon at 4:00 PM to begin debate on a sweeping resolution to combat climate change, the Green New Deal, which was introduced by freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, of New York, and Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey. 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, is bringing the bill to the Senate floor in order to put Democrats on record to use the vote against them in the upcoming 2020 elections. He has referred to the measure as a “huge, self-inflicted, national wound the Democrats are agitating for” and is using the issue to portray Democrats as socialists. Many of the 47 Democrats in the Senate plan to vote present, thwarting McConnell. The resolution, which is non-binding and would never carry the force of law, would need 60 votes to proceed.

The “Green New Deal” includes plans to drastically reduce greenhouse gases, bringing the levels to 0 percent over the next decade, by 2030, and moving the nation to 100 percent renewable energy. In addition to other dramatic environmental features, the resolution also calls for universal health care and infrastructure investment. 

In a press conference on Capitol Hill, Markey said Tuesday’s vote was on a “life or death” issue.

“We cannot deny the devastating consequences of climate change, it is the national security, economic, health care and moral issue of our time. We must act now,” Markey urged. “The Green New Deal is not just a resolution, it is a revolution,” he added. 

What the resolution includes:

  • Net-zero greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade
  • Creation of millions of “good, high-wage jobs”
  • Investment in infrastructure and industry
  • Prevention and repair of “historic oppression to frontline and vulnerable communities”
  • A goal for 100 percent renewable energy in the U.S.
  • Clean air and water, climate resiliency, healthy food, access to nature, and “a sustainable environment for all for generations to come”
  • Investments in buildings to make them more energy efficient 
  • “Eliminating pollution and greenhouse gas emissions as much as technologically feasible”
  • “Universal access” to clean water

Criticism of the plan

On the Senate floor Monday, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell slammed the legislation as “socialist fantasy.”

“I could not be more glad that the American people can learn where their senators stand on this radical idea. Hard-working Americans will see if their senators want to suffocate their livelihoods. Families who have to budget will see which senators vote to increase their electricity bills by $300 a month,” said McConnell. He added that the American public deserved to know “which Senators can stand up and which refuse.”

Critics point to estimates of the cost of converting to 100 percent renewable energy reaching into the trillions. So far, Ocasio-Cortez has floated some ideas to pay for it — including a fee or tax on carbon emissions and her idea for a marginal tax rate of 70 percent on earnings of more than $10 million for wealthy Americans, a proposal she outlined for CBS’s “60 Minutes” last month.

Meanwhile, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said that it was “long past time” for his Republican colleagues to take the issue of climate change “seriously.”

“Let’s not do a sham vote. This is too serious. Republicans owe the American people some real answers,” Schumer added. 

Democrats blast Republican efforts 

Markey slammed McConnell and Senate Republicans before Tuesday’s vote, saying the leader wanted to “sabotage” Democrats’ call for climate action by holding a vote without hearings or expert testimony. 

“He and his colleagues want to make a mockery of the national debate we have started with the Green New Deal because they have no plan to fight climate change and no intention of passing legislation to combat change,” said Markey. He added that Tuesday’s vote is just the beginning of the debate on the resolution, saying all Democrats are united in support of climate action.

Meanwhile, 2020 Democratic contender Kirsten Gillibrand of New York said Republicans were treating climate change like a “political stunt”, slamming her colleagues in the senate for “refusing to put forward any real legislation” to tackle climate issues. 

“We will not fall for this stunt,” Gillibrand said of the vote. “Climate change shouldn’t be treated like a game.” 

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