WASHINGTON, D.C. – Members of the Western Caucus led the charge to defeat the disastrous Green New Deal and released several statements today following its defeat in the U.S. Senate.
Green New Deal Laid to Rest in the U.S. Senate,
Western Caucus Applauds Vote
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Members of the Western Caucus led the charge to defeat the disastrous Green New Deal and released several statements today following its defeat in the U.S. Senate:
Chairman Paul Gosar (AZ-04): "The Green New Deal is a soviet style takeover of our entire economy that would radically transform America into a country that would be very bleak and unrecognizable from what we know and love today. This trojan horse for socialism includes a one-size-fits-all government-run health care system as well as extremely expensive job, housing and education guarantees. The Green New Deal costs $93 trillion and every single American family $600,000 in the first 10 years alone. The Green New Deal would significantly increase taxes for all taxpayers in order to pay for this exorbitant fantasy. Make no mistake, the Green New Deal is a death sentence for the American Dream. I am pleased to see my colleagues in the Senate put this half-backed proposal out to pasture. I applaud Senate Majority Leader McConnell for his leadership and putting this bill on the floor. Democrats can try to run and hide but with more than 100 Members of Congress cosponsoring the bill, more than a dozen Democratic presidential candidates endorsing the proposal and 43 Members refusing to vote against the bill, the stench associated with the Green New Deal isn't going away anytime soon."
Chief Agriculture and Business Officer Doug LaMalfa (CA-01): "The refusal of Senate Democrats to vote for their own bill is proof that this legislation has always been pure fantasy. The Green New Deal is a false promise to the American public. Supporters of this bill would benefit from the lessons learned from California’s disastrous high-speed rail project, with costs tripling the initial estimates. This bill would kill millions of good-paying jobs across the country and would devastate our economy. I’m glad Leader McConnell brought this legislation to the Senate floor and gave Senate Democrats an opportunity to put their money where their mouth is."
Chief Water and Wildlife Officer Tom McClintock (CA-04): "The fact that 43 Senate Democrats couldn’t bear to vote no on the Green New Deal should frighten the hell out of the country."
Chief Rules Officer Dan Newhouse (WA-04): "The Green New Deal would devastate our nation’s economy, and American families would pay a high price. I applaud Senate Majority Leader McConnell for bringing this ill-advised proposal to a vote so that it is clear to Americans where their senators stand on a misguided and radical attempt to realign the economy along socialist lines."
Chief Infrastructure and Forestry Officer Bruce Westerman (AR-04): "The Green New Deal would cripple taxpayers and give the federal government radical control over our personal lives while accomplishing little to nothing in sustainable environmental stewardship. I’m glad Senate Majority Leader McConnell brought this resolution to the Senate floor for a vote – Americans deserve to know exactly where their elected representatives stand on this socialist agenda."
House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Ranking Member Frank Lucas (OK-03): "Since taking the majority 3 months ago, Congressional Democrats have enabled anti-Semitism, defended illegal immigration, and embraced socialism. While retreating from their established and moderate bases, Congressional Democrats have excitedly lunged even farther to the left further embracing socialist policies such as the Green New Deal. I applaud my Senate Republican colleagues for defeating this flawed proposal while at the same time holding Senate Democrats accountable to the policy positions their party now embraces. When it comes to representing the people of Oklahoma’s Third Congressional District, it is my responsibility to address how climate change impacts them and to ensure that Congress keeps energy prices competitive- protecting critical jobs and promoting economic growth. Oklahoma is a national leader in energy production where we rank second in net electricity generation from wind and is the fourth-largest natural gas producer in the United States. Adopting this proposal would cripple the people of Oklahoma, dramatically raise energy prices, and would stifle jobs and economic competitiveness across the United States. While the U.S. Senate has unequivocally rejected the Green New Deal, I look forward to addressing how it will affect hardworking Americans as debate continues in the U.S. House."
Rep. Morgan Griffith (VA-09): "Today’s vote in the Senate shows that even Democrat politicians recognize what Americans already know: the Green New Deal is unhelpful, unaffordable, and unrealistic. Obviously, the Green New Deal is a bad deal. Instead of pursuing this liberal fantasy, let’s work on innovation, technology, and all-of-the-above energy policies to protect the environment."
Rep. Duncan Hunter (CA-50): "The Green New Deal is the old socialist steal. Now that its dead in the Senate, I hope Democrats can move on from their efforts to impose costly government mandates on America’s families and work with Republicans on a pro-growth agenda."
Rep. Jeff Duncan (SC-03): "The Green New Deal is a socialist Trojan Horse chock-full of radical proposals that would upend our entire economy and bankrupt the U.S. with its nearly $93 trillion price tag. I’m glad the Senate took a vote today to see where Members of Congress stand on this dangerous push towards socialism that would have the government dictate every moment of our lives."
Rep. Pete Olson (TX-22): "We all agree we need to leave our world better than we found it, however, the Green New Deal will NOT do that. Instead, this deal is a massive government overreach that will crush our economy with little benefit to the environment through a socialist agenda. From 2016 to 2017 alone, the EPA reported a 2.7% DECLINE in greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. We are making progress thanks to common-sense ideas and a free market, not by Washington dictating America’s economy! I’m pleased that the Senate opposed this dangerous deal."
Rep. Kevin Hern (OK-01): “I applaud my Senate colleagues for taking a stand against the dangerous rise of radical socialism in our country today. The Green New Deal is not legitimate legislation – that’s why even its creator was against the Senate taking a vote today! This bill was little more than a half-baked plan to decimate American culture and our economy without a realistic framework to move forward. It would cause a lot of pain in my home state, destroying the aviation, aerospace, and oil and gas industries that makes up more than half of Oklahoma’s economic output. Let’s shut the door on this poorly-crafted bill and move on to legislation that will move our country forward.”
Rep. Ron Estes (KS-04): "The radical Green New Deal would bankrupt our country and decimate jobs in two of the largest industries in Kansas: agriculture and aviation. I applaud the Senate for voting this proposal down and putting politicians on record. Kansans know the importance of protecting our environment and resources without the government telling them what to do and I stand with them in opposing the Green New Deal."
Rep. Markwayne Mullin (OK-02): "The socialist policies put forth in the far-fetched Green New Deal are radical and dangerous. America is great because it isn’t a socialist country. The American people deserve to know which of their elected officials support a move to full-blown socialism. I respect Senate Leader McConnell for putting every Senator on the record."
In pushing the Green New Deal, Rep. Ocasio Cortez initially claimed she wanted to “get rid of farting cows,” then doubled down in an interview stating, "In the [Green New] Deal, what we talk about is...that we need to take a look at factory farming, period. It’s wild…Maybe we shouldn’t be eating a hamburger for breakfast, lunch and dinner…We have to take a look at everything."
To show his support and appreciation for dairy farmers, cows and American agriculture, and push-back against these attacks, Chairman Gosar took a drink of a glass of milk at today's press conference.
Background:
Today, the Green New Deal was defeated in the United States Senate by a vote of 57 - Nay, 0 -Yea, 43 - Present. The Western Caucus held a press conference several hours prior to the vote and a special order last night slamming this ludicrous legislation.
On February 27, 2019, a Western Caucus Policy Forum and initial press conference provided the first in-depth public review of the Green New Deal by Congress and closely examined this proposal in order to gain a better understanding of its details and implications. Members of the Western Caucus and outside witnesses were adamant at the Forum that a transition of this magnitude can not occur in 10 years and expressed numerous other concerns.
To learn more about the Green New Deal and Western Caucus efforts to defeat this bill, click HERE to visit our Green New Deal page.
Videos and pictures of the Western Caucus forum and press conferences can be found on the Western Caucus website HERE.
A fact page containing the estimated costs of the Green New Deal can be found HERE.
Click HERE to read the Green New Deal FAQs Rep. Ocasio-Cortez's office provided to NPR.
Click HERE to read Green New Deal FAQ’s posted on Rep. Ocasio-Cortez's website that was deleted.
Green New Deal Quick Facts:
H.Res.109, by Democrat Socialist Ocasio-Cortez, is a bill that seeks to implement the GND.
The bill calls for a 10-year national, social, industrial and economic mobilization effort.
Proponents of the GND want all American power to come from wind, solar and batteries.
GND footprint is large as solar & wind power need 90-100 times more space than gas.
GND proponents want to eliminate use of hydropower, nuclear, oil, natural gas & coal.
All gas & diesel vehicles would be replaced by electric vehicles, mass transit & high-speed trains under the GND.
Upgrading & replacing every home & building as directed by the GND will cost $2.5 trillion in the first 10 years.
Rail has to be laid in a straight line. Eminent domain would be used on a massive scale under the GND.
The GND includes an expensive job guarantee.
The GND includes an expensive housing guarantee.
The GND includes an expensive health care guarantee.
The GND includes an expensive education guarantee.
The cost of the GND health care guarantee is $32 trillion in the first 10 years alone.
The GND will cost American households $650,000 each in 10 years.
The GND is projected to cost $93 trillion in the first 10 years alone.
Achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions as directed by the GND will cost $11 trillion in the first 10 years.
Americans will spend $155.5 billion to replace furnaces & $11.9 billion to replace gas dryers as a result of the GND.
Americans will spend $50 billion to replace water heaters & $26 billion to replace stoves as a result of the GND.
The GND will cause significant harm to our health care, transportation, energy & agricultural sectors.
The GND will significantly increase taxes for all Americans.
The GND seeks to authorize the government to control every aspect of our lives.
The GND aims to replace planes & combustion engines with electric cars, rail & transit.
If the $77 billion bullet train can’t connect LA & Bay, high-speed rail can't connect rural America.
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez attacked agriculture, cows, planes and hamburgers in pushing the GND.
A carbon tax could end up being included in the Green New Deal.
Ocasio-Cortez proposed economic security for all, including those unable or unwilling to work.
The GND has no plan for the trash that will result from millions of appliances, buildings & batteries.
Nothing in the GND specifies how this legislation will actually be paid for.
The GND includes a liberal trade regime.
The GND will kill 10.3 million O&G jobs, 600K aviation jobs, 1.4 million hyrdro jobs, 100,000 nuclear jobs, 50,000 coal jobs.
According to @DataProgress, the Green New Deal will:
Ban plastic straws.
Ban hydraulic fracturing.
Reinstate Obama Admin's Land and Water Grab (WOTUS Rule).
Reinstate Obama Admin's attack on baseload energy (So-called 'Clean Power Plan').
End oil exports.
End leases on federal lands.
Ban groundwater irrigation by large-scale agribusiness.
Reduce current farming practices and land use by 70% by 2050.
Spend a lot of money on pedestrian travel, bicycle travel and mass transit.
Allow zero-net waste by 2040.
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