A fight broke out in a closed-door meeting of House Democrats over climate change as a powerful veteran lawmaker fought with freshman star Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other members-elect over the creation of a special panel for the issue.
New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone, incoming chairman of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee - backed by a number of other committee members - slammed the creation of the new climate panel, according to multiple sources in the room.
"We need to act on climate change NOW w/ a *fossil fuel $-free* Select Committee *with a mandate* to draft a Green New Deal," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted earlier Thursday.
"My fear is that if you have a select committee, by the time the select committee gets going, gets appointed and hires staff that it might actually delay what we're doing," the New Jersey Democrat told reporters.
"We've got people who are in charge of these committees who are very progressive and I just don't see the need for the select committee. I think it may actually delay what the progressives are trying to achieve."
Ocasio-Cortez's chief of staff, Saikat Chakrabarti, was not in the meeting but said he heard it included "a pretty lively discussion" of climate change.
Other chairmen-in-waiting, including Natural Resources ranking member Raúl Grijalva and Transportation ranking member Peter DeFazio, have also questioned whether the climate committee is necessary.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/ocasio-cortez-gets-in-closed-door-fight-with-veteran-lawmaker-over-climate-change/ar-BBPKX46?li=BBnb7Kz
New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone, incoming chairman of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee - backed by a number of other committee members - slammed the creation of the new climate panel, according to multiple sources in the room.
"We need to act on climate change NOW w/ a *fossil fuel $-free* Select Committee *with a mandate* to draft a Green New Deal," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted earlier Thursday.
"My fear is that if you have a select committee, by the time the select committee gets going, gets appointed and hires staff that it might actually delay what we're doing," the New Jersey Democrat told reporters.
"We've got people who are in charge of these committees who are very progressive and I just don't see the need for the select committee. I think it may actually delay what the progressives are trying to achieve."
Ocasio-Cortez's chief of staff, Saikat Chakrabarti, was not in the meeting but said he heard it included "a pretty lively discussion" of climate change.
Other chairmen-in-waiting, including Natural Resources ranking member Raúl Grijalva and Transportation ranking member Peter DeFazio, have also questioned whether the climate committee is necessary.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/ocasio-cortez-gets-in-closed-door-fight-with-veteran-lawmaker-over-climate-change/ar-BBPKX46?li=BBnb7Kz
No comments:
Post a Comment