You turn to us for voices you won't hear anywhere else.

Sign up for Democracy Now!'s Daily Digest to get our latest headlines and stories delivered to your inbox every day.

Democratic House Leaders Reject Green New Deal for Weaker Climate Committee

HeadlineJan 02, 2019

Climate activists pushing for the creation of a Green New Deal Committee when Democrats take control of the House this week were met with disappointment Friday when presumptive incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the creation of another environmental panel instead. The Select Committee on the Climate Crisis is set to be led by long-standing Florida Congressmember Kathy Castor. Proponents of the Green New Deal have argued that the panel will be too weak, as it will not have legislative power and may not have subpoena power. The proposal for a Green New Deal also sought to bar congressmembers who accept money from the fossil fuel industry. At least 45 congressmembers have backed the Green New Deal, spearheaded by incoming New York Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. High-profile senators including Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren have also come out in support of the proposal.

The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top