House Republicans are ready to seize on the failed Green New Deal vote in the Senate by laying the groundwork for a rebuke in the lower chamber.
Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga., plans to circulate a discharge petition “after Easter,” he told reporters Wednesday during a Capitol Hill press conference. If Hice’s effort attracts support from a majority of lawmakers in the House, it will begin the process by which the GOP minority can call for a vote on the nonbinding resolution without the approval of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
But given the number of Republicans in the chamber, Hice cautioned the petition will require backing from a “handful” of House Democrats. “The reason we are here today is very simple,” Hice said. “The American people need to know where their representatives stand on this radical proposal, the Green New Deal.”
The vote is part of a GOP strategy aimed at cornering Democratic members into taking a position ahead of the next election on Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s, D-N.Y., ambitious environmental agenda, which is considered extreme by the more moderate members of her caucus.
The move will be the opening salvo by the newly formed House Energy Action Team, nicknamed HEAT. The Republican coalition endorses “the development, deployment, and efficient use of all-of-the-above energy resources,” namely fossil fuels, to contrast with Democratic ideas on the subject.
HEAT will be co-chaired by Reps. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., and Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., House Minority Whip Steve Scalise said Wednesday during the launch event.
Scalise also hinted that discharge petitions will become a regular part of the Republican arsenal to cause problems for House Democrats, given the GOP’s limited power. They have been successfully using another parliamentary tool called a “motion to recommit” to make last-minute changes to bills.
“Well, you’ll see this Tuesday coming up. I will be filling a discharge petition on Ann Wagner’s Born Alive Act,” Scalise said of the Missouri Republican’s anti-abortion measure. “I’m sure a lot of our colleagues are looking at all the procedures available to us as elected voting members of Congress to advocate for the policies we know will get America back on track.”
Senators on Tuesday blocked the Green New Deal in a process vote the GOP brought forward to ensure Democrats took a stance on the Green New Deal, which calls for a drastic reduction in carbon emissions across the U.S. by 2030.
