Freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) took a shot at Republicans who are concerned about the estimated cost of the Green New Deal, saying they "sound like Dr. Evil."
During a town hall that aired on MSNBC Friday night, Ocasio-Cortez and multiple panelists discussed the Green New Deal and how supporters can help make the proposal a political reality.
"They wave this wand and they say, 'Oh it's going to cost a bazillion dollars.' They sound like Dr. Evil, like 100 million dollars," Ocasio-Cortez said, referring to the villain of the Austin Powers movies.
She then said that Congress should fully fund the pensions of coal miners in West Virginia and rebuild Flint, Michigan, which is still experiencing unsafe drinking water.
"Let's just start now," Ocasio-Cortez said.
The Green New Deal is a 14-page economic stimulus resolution that was released last month by self-described democratic socialist Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey (D., Mass.) that aims to fight income inequality and climate change. The American Action Forum study offered an estimate last month of the Green New Deal costing up to $94.4 trillion, or over $600,000 per household in the United States.
S.J.R. 9, "A joint resolution recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green New Deal," failed a cloture vote on Tuesday. Forty-three Democrats and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) voted "present." Four Democratic caucus members—Sens. Doug Jones (Ala.), Angus King (I., Maine), Joe Manchin (W.Va.), and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.)—voted "no."
Ocasio-Cortez addressed concerns over the estimated cost of the Green New Deal earlier this week by saying, "I wish it didn't have to costs so much, but I'm going to turn 30 this year and for the entire 30 years of my lifetime we did not make substantial investments to prepare our entire country for what we knew was coming."