Democrats back Republican Lamar Alexander's 'Green New Deal' alternative

Senate Democrats expressed support Wednesday for a Republican alternative to the progressive “Green New Deal,” one that calls for doubling federal energy research funding to spur clean and affordable energy.

Democrats said Sen. Lamar Alexander’s, R-Tenn., “New Manhattan Project for Clean Energy” could produce bipartisan agreement on areas such as spending on advanced nuclear energy research, natural gas, carbon capture technologies for fossil fuel plants, advanced batteries for energy storage, energy efficient buildings, cheaper solar energy technologies, and electric cars.