Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Tuesday her massive Green New Deal proposal will move forward — in pieces.
“One of the things I think is really exciting,” said the first-term New York Democrat, is that “the legislation that we are planning on introducing is not one broad sweeping piece of legislation.”
Ocasio-Cortez said, “We are breaking it up into parts.”
The liberal Democrat said lawmakers are at work on different pieces of legislation derived from the Green New Deal, which calls for eliminating carbon emissions in the United States in 10 years.
One of the first measures will promote the transition to electric vehicles, she said.
Ocasio-Cortez said she plans to introduce a bill this month aimed at transitioning the U.S. to carbon-neutral buildings, which she called a “Green New Deal housing plan.”
The Green New Deal calls for providing “safe, adequate housing” for everyone and the complete transition away from gasoline-powered cars.
“We are really excited about it,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “That’s going to be dropping this month, and it’s going to be really a focus on buildings, which is one of the three major industries we have to focus on when it comes to reducing carbon emissions.”
Ocasio-Cortez introduced the Green New Deal as a resolution in February, but it is unlikely to get a floor vote because it is so broad and would require a drastic overhaul of the U.S. economy. The original text associated with the resolution suggested ending air travel and eliminating methane-producing cows, although Ocasio-Cortez said the text was published in error.
Many Democratic presidential candidates have endorsed the Green New Deal in principle, but when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell brought the resolution up for a vote, most Democrats voted “present.”
