Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Thursday praised House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her work on climate change, and rejected initial reports that said Pelosi kept her off a new select committee on that issue.
“Nancy Pelosi is a leader on climate; has always been a leader on climate,” said Ocasio-Cortez as she rolled out a resolution calling for drastic action to fight climate change. “I will not allow our caucus to be divided up by silly notions of whatever narrative. We are 100 percent in this together.”
Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., will not be on the committee, but Pelosi, D-Calif., said she invited the freshman Democrat and she declined. For that reason, Ocasio-Cortez said, “I don’t think this is a snub” when asked why she wasn’t on the committee.
While she declined to serve on the committee, Ocasio-Cortez said she is happy to be leading the push for climate legislation by introducing Thursday’s resolution, which begins the push for climate legislation down the road. She also supports the role of the climate committee, which she explained will be focused on investigations.
“We can have the conversation about the committee another day, but today is about the vision that we’re putting forward and the actual legislative plan,” she said.
She said it’s going to take several committees working together on the issue to address a comprehensive climate policy and legislation. The effort will include the select committee on climate change, the energy committee, the judiciary committee, all playing roles.
Both Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., heaped praise on Pelosi, repeatedly calling her the climate leader in the House. There is “no greater champion than Nancy Pelosi” when it comes to climate change, Markey said.
Markey added that even Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., who heads the Rules Committee, and decides what bills will come to the floor, is part of the solution. The Rules Committee, “you don’t get much more powerful than that,” Markey said.
