Freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., confirmed this week she will join one of her Republican colleagues for a visit to a Kentucky coal mine — notable because of her views against the use of fossil fuels.
As the Lexington Herald-Leader pointed out, Ocasio-Cortez had a discussion with Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., during a House Financial Services Committee hearing earlier this week. Barr extended the invitation across the room, and Ocasio-Cortez happily accepted.
"I want to invite the gentlelady to Eastern Kentucky, my home area, where thousands of coal miners no longer have paychecks. I invite her to go underground with me and meet the men and women who do heroic work to power the American economy," Barr said.
"And, I would invite the gentlelady to come to Eastern Kentucky and meet the coal miners who will tell you what the Green New Deal would mean for their families, their paychecks."
Ocasio-Cortez was quick to respond to the invite.
"I'd be happy to go to Kentucky," she said. "And I'd also like to note that in the Green New Deal, one of the things that I advocate for is fully funding the pensions of coal miners in West Virginia and throughout Appalachia because we want a just transition to make sure that we're investing in jobs across those swaths of the country."
Ocasio-Cortez and other Democrats rolled out the Green New Deal in February, a piece of legislation that calls for radical changes to transportation and housing, among other things.
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