There’s been a lot of talk in Washington recently about the “Green New Deal,” introduced by House Democrats to address climate change. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell forced a vote on the bill in the Senate this week.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) joined 56 other Republicans in rejecting the “Green New Deal,” calling it “a laundry list of irresponsible promises with a sky-high price tag.”
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) joined 42 Democrats in voting “present.”
“It’s kind of all over the board. There are things I like, there are things I don’t like,” Brown said.
Brown criticized McConnell’s forced vote for distracting from the issue of climate change.
“We all voted present because it’s a sham what Sen. McConnell did,” Brown said. “He used the floor time instead of addressing the real issue and having committee hearings and discussion and real debate, he puts this on the floor just because he thought it would divide Democrats.”
Brown calls climate change one of the most important moral issues of our time. He says it’s disappointing that McConnell, in his nearly five years as Senate leader, has never brought a climate change proposal to the Senate floor.
