EPA’s Acting Administrator Criticizes Green New Deal: It Wasn’t ‘Ready for Prime Time’
Acting Environmental Protection Agency chief Andrew Wheeler criticized Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Ed Markey’s (D-MA) Green New Deal and its disastrous rollout in an interview with ABC News.
“I’ve read the resolution that they put out, I’ve also read the fact sheet that they later disavowed, I’d say probably the roll out was not really ready for prime time,” Wheeler told ABC News’ Devin Dwyer. “But, I am concerned that they really don’t seem to value a stable electricity source, grid reliability and for human health and the environment here at the agency, I have to be very concerned about that because it’s the electricity system that supplies our drinking water system that runs it.”
Wheeler also noted how the U.S. is already taking steps to reduce its emissions.
“I mean, we’re moving forward, we’re addressing climate change CO2 under our proposal, our ACE regulation. We’re also addressing it under our CAFE standard for automobiles. We’re using the tools that Congress gave us to address CO2, climate change and we’re moving forward on multiple fronts,” he said.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) said he’ll be holding a vote on the Green New Deal on the Senate floor, to which Markey said he was trying to silence voters.
Don’t let Mitch McConnell fool you: this is nothing but an attempt to sabotage the movement we are building. He wants to silence your voice so Republicans don’t have to explain why they are climate change deniers. McConnell wants this to be the end, this is just the beginning. https://t.co/GUxJ5HG2jb
— Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) February 12, 2019
“This isn’t a new Republican trick. By rushing a vote on the #GreenNewDeal resolution, Republicans want to avoid a true national debate & kill our efforts to organize,” he added. “We’re having the first national conversation on climate change in a decade. We can’t let Republicans sabotage it.”
Watch the video above, via ABC News.
