New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) delivered a passionate, bold, necessary defence of her proposed Green New Deal, as Republicans pushed back on the climate change policy.

The senate voted down the radical, non-binding proposal that would work to eliminate greenhouse gases and strengthen social equality. It was voted down 57-0. AOC encourage Democrats to vote ‘present’ rather than yes or no on the directive, after she says senate majority leader Mitch O’Connell attempted to rush it through.

At a meeting of the House Committee on Financial Services on Tuesday (March 27), the politician fired back against criticism of her proposed policy. The Green New Deal plans to eradicate basically all greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, turning away from fossil fuels like coal and oil. It would instigate work on existing US be made energy efficient. The policy would also encourage jobs, better education, affordable housing, and national healthcare coverage. It has received support from across the Democrats, including all those vying for the presidency, but Republicans largely oppose it for fear it would affect the economy and taxes. Trump called it “job crushing”. Democrat activists have championed it as a necessary policy to combat the deadly issue of climate change. 

“We’re going to pay for this whether we pass a Green New Deal or not. We need to decide whether we’re going to pay to react or we’re going to pay to be proactive. I’m very sad to say that the government knew that climate change was real starting as far back as 1989,” Ocasio-Cortez said in her address to the house. “I’m going to turn 30 this year, and for the entire 30 years of my lifetime, we did not make substantial investments to prepare our entire country for what we knew was coming.” 

AOC pushed back against Republican criticism that climate change concern is “elitist”, and slammed passive inaction. 

“You want to tell people that their concern and their desire for clean air and clean water is elitist? Tell that to the kids of the South Bronx, which are suffering from the highest rates of child asthma in the country,” she said.

“This is about our lives, and this should not be partisan,” she added. “Science should not be partisan.”