U.S. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez 'encouraged' despite Senate rejecting 'Green New Deal'

The non-binding resolution, which proposes to eliminate U.S. greenhouse gas emissions within a decade, lost 57-0 in the Senate, with 43 Democrats voting "present." "You had the Republicans voting 'no' and you had virtually the entire Democratic caucus voting 'present,' even those in tough states," Ocasio-Cortez said on Friday. "That is an extraordinary amount of unity within the Senate to actually vote in that cohesive of a bloc, so I'm very encouraged." The Green New Deal, unveiled last month by Ocasio-Cortez and U.S. Senator Edward Markey, marks the first formal attempt by lawmakers to define potential legislation to create government-led investments in clean energy and infrastructure to transition the U.S. economy away from fossil fuels. The plan's name is an homage to the New Deal of the 1930s, a series of government-led programs and projects that President Franklin Roosevelt implemented to aid Americans during the Great Depression.

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