Kevin McCarthy ‘Disappointed’ by What Green New Deal ‘Would Do to Our Middle Class’

House Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said during a press conference on Friday that he is “disappointed” by the Democrats’ Green New Deal and “what it would do to our middle class.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) introduced their Green New Deal legislation this week, which would bring about a “massive transformation of society,” that also promised guaranteed jobs for those who want to work, economic security for those who do not want to work, and a “just transition for all communities and workers.”

McCarthy, the leader of House Republicans, expressed dismay about the Democrats’ radical Green New Deal.

McCarthy said:

When we talk about lifting up all communities, when we talk about working together, continuing to build, I’m disappointed by what I saw come out yesterday and what it would do to our communities and our middle class with this Green New Deal, how it would affect those who are the most vulnerable and [how it might impact] the economic ladder to rise, it gives me a real challenge.

Progressive Democrats in their Green New Deal outline admitted that the resources of every billionaire and company would not cover the climate change proposal’s costs.

McCarthy then said that House Republicans prioritized their first ten bill numbers for important issues such as cutting taxes for middle-class Americans and prioritizing the economy.

Republicans passed H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017, which lowered taxes for America’s middle class and repealed Obamacare’s individual mandate. Many Americans have contended that because 80 percent of those who paid the Obamacare mandate made less than $50,000 a year, the individual mandate repeal serves as a significant middle-class tax break.

Many Democrats have lauded how the Green New Deal will transform society. Presidential candidate Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) compared the Green New Deal to defeating the Nazis during World War II and landing on the moon.

“We need to be bold again in America. We need to have dreams that other people say are impossible. We need to push the bounds of human potential because that is our history,” Booker said.

“When the planet has been in peril in the past, who came forward to save the earth from the scourge of Nazi and totalitarian regimes? We came forward,” Booker added. “Who came forward to save the planet or continents from financial ruin? We came forward with the Marshall Plan.”