U.S. Senate to vote on Green New Deal - republican leader

(Reuters News, 5 Mar 2019) The document introduced last month marked the first formal attempt by lawmakers to define legislation to create big government-led investments in clean energy, infrastructure and social programs.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday the U.S. Senate would vote in coming weeks on the "Green New Deal," an ambitious Democratic environmental proposal that has become a lightning rod for Republican criticism.

"The Green New Deal continues to be an interesting discussion for, particularly, Republicans and we will, of course, give our Democratic friends who've been advocating this proposal an opportunity to debate it and vote on it on the Senate floor sometime in the next couple of weeks," McConnell said.

Other Republicans speaking to reporters at the Capitol denounced the plan, which aims to slash U.S. carbon dioxide emissions to negligible levels in a decade.

Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa called it the "green raw deal" and said: "It is a slam to our agricultural community."

The document introduced last month marked the first formal attempt by lawmakers to define legislation to create big government-led investments in clean energy, infrastructure and social programs. The goal is to transition the U.S. economy away from burning fossil fuels and emitting greenhouse gasses blamed for climate change, rising sea levels and severe storms.

Republicans have pounced on the proposal, saying it was too expensive and would raise taxes and energy costs. Republican President Donald Trump's administration opposes action on climate change and favors boosting U.S. production of oil, gas and coal.

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Reuters News, 5 Mar 2019: U.S. Senate to vote on Green New Deal - republican leader