Democratic lawmakers introduced a stripped-down climate bill Wednesday less than a day after Senate Republicans dinged a more ambitious plan.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi described the Climate Action Now Act as one of many steps toward Democratic efforts to confront global warming. In particular, the bill aims to prevent President Donald Trump from removing the United States from the non-binding Paris Climate accord. (RELATED: McConnell And Senate Republicans Vote To Kill Green New Deal)
The bill is a watered-down version of New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal, which called for shifting completely away from fossil fuels and toward green energy. The GND was torpedoed in the Senate on Tuesday after Republicans voted en masse against the resolution while Democrats voted present.
Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat, was not present Wednesday during the roll out of the Climate Action Act.
House Dems unveil Climate Action Now Act. Noticeably absent: AOC, who proposed the Green New Deal. pic.twitter.com/N1tjuEk01P
— Rebecca Shabad (@RebeccaShabad) March 27, 2019
The GND was introduced in February and called for “10-year national mobilizations” toward a series of goals aimed at fighting global warming. A fact sheet posted online during the introduction claimed the plan would “mobilize every aspect of American society on a scale not seen since World War 2.” It also became an object of ridicule as a draft suggested the end of cows and drastically curbing airplane travel.
House Democrats along with most of the Democratic Party’s quickly expanding 2020 presidential field have voiced support for the measure. Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Cory Booker of New Jersey, who both announced their bids for the 2020 nomination, for instance, signed on as Senate co-sponsors of the proposal.
Pelosi’s office has not yet responded to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment about why Ocasio-Cortez was absent.
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