Sunrise Movement visits a representative in Rhode Island to demand a Green New Deal.
Statement from Varshini Prakash, founder of Sunrise Movement, after hundreds of young people filled Congressional offices and ushered in new support for a Green New Deal
“Last week, we changed history when we sat-in at Nancy Pelosi’s office to demand she champion Ocasio-Cortez’s proposal for a Select Committee on a Green New Deal. Since then, 13 Democratic Representatives have announced support for the proposal, with Rep. Ted Lieu (CA-33) joining yesterday after young people showed up at his Los Angeles office.
“Yesterday, Nov. 20, thousands of young people rose up around the nation to demand their representatives champion this strategy to have Congress develop a plan for how we will transform our society to stop climate change at the speed and scale that science and justice demand. We know that doing so properly would create millions of new good jobs and offer the greatest opportunity to lift Americans out of poverty that we have ever seen.
“As young people have stood up demanding what is essential for the survival of our generation, we’ve heard excuses from too many members of Congress that either a Select Committee is not needed, or that the existing committees ‘have it under control.’ With people being burned alive in California right now, it’s time for members of Congress to stop making excuses and start showing the leadership required of them in this moment.
“We don’t have time for petty political squabbling or bureaucratic turf wars. Now is the time to come together to develop a plan to get us out of this crisis. Ocasio-Cortez’s proposed Select Committee on a Green New Deal is currently the only proposal on a table that matches the scale and urgency of what is required in this moment, and we encourage all members of Congress to join us and the 73 other organizations who have come out in support of it.”
