Ocasio-Cortez flips out after congressman calls Green New Deal ‘elitist’

Freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez got into a heated exchange with a GOP congressman from Wisconsin after he called the Green New Deal “elitist” during a committee hearing Monday. Ocasio-Cortez invoked her experience as a waitress while mentioning the water in Flint, Michigan, and flooding in the Midwest after GOP Rep. Sean Duffy mocked her ambitious plan. “People are dying. They are dying,” she exclaimed. “And the response across the other side of the aisle is to introduce an amendment five minutes before a hearing.” During the Financial Services Committee hearing, Duffy introduced an amendment to a homelessness bill that would impose “green” standards on the measure. Duffy introduced the amendment to vote against it — and spark debate about the legislation that Ocasio-Cortez has been championing. “The Green New Deal is one that if you are a rich liberal from maybe New York or California, it sounds great because you can afford to retrofit your home or build a new home that has a zero emissions, that is energy-efficient, affordable and safe,” Duffy seethed during the hearing. He added that the US Department of Housing and Urban Development did a study that found that to retrofit all their existing houses to meet the Green New Deal’s standards, it would cost up to $172 billion.Duffy introduced the amendment to vote against it — and spark debate about the legislation that Ocasio-Cortez has been championing. “The Green New Deal is one that if you are a rich liberal from maybe New York or California, it sounds great because you can afford to retrofit your home or build a new home that has a zero emissions, that is energy-efficient, affordable and safe,” Duffy seethed during the hearing. He added that the US Department of Housing and Urban Development did a study that found that to retrofit all their existing houses to meet the Green New Deal’s standards, it would cost up to $172 billion...MORE