Rep. Peter Welch still likes Green New Deal despite controversies, unrealistic goals

Rep. Peter Welch is among 67 House Democratic lawmakers who have signed on in support of the Green New Deal, a grab-bag of utopian green goals put forth by New York freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts.

The Democrat-backed deal proposes a full makeover of U.S. infrastructure and energy in an effort to address global warming. Critics, however, are calling it a massive government intervention complete with centralized control of the private sector and the lives of individual Americans.

Wikimedia Commons

GREEN AGENDA IS COMING: The Green New Deal looks to overhaul the U.S. economy, energy and infrastructure at any cost.

Key points from the resolution’s text include “meeting 100 percent of the power demand in the United States through clean, renewable, and zero-emission energy sources.”

The FAQ sheet from Ocasio-Cortez’s website — now taken down amid criticism and dispute — states that Green New Deal projects include “upgrading virtually every home and building for energy efficiency, building 100 percent greenhouse gas neutral power generation systems, removing greenhouse gases from industry and agriculture, and more.”

One bullet point listed in the disputed FAQ said the deal would provide “economic security to all who are unable or unwilling to work.”

The document also includes a general statement on how to pay for the green initiatives.

“Even if every billionaire and company came together and were willing to pour all their resources into this investment, the aggregate value of investments would not be sufficient. That’s why we must utilize World War II era and New Deal-style financing which commits to long-term benefits instead of short-term quarterly returns,” the original document states.

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt.

Despite backlash from critics who say the Green New Deal is extreme in its attempt to control everything from air travel to cow flatulence, Vermont’s lone Democratic representative on Tuesday doubled down on the plan, saying it’s necessary to avert weather disaster.

“It is indisputable that climate change is a grave threat to our environment, public health and the economy. Its effects are already being felt by Vermont’s sugar makers, ski areas, and farmers,” Welch told True North.

“Across the country and around the world, historic weather patterns are being disrupted, triggering extreme weather. Taking bold action now will not only be good for the planet, but doing so will also create good new jobs and economic opportunity for renewable energy and energy efficiency businesses,” he added.

Welch called the Green New Deal “a broad outline” of ambitious goals, and said Congress over the next two years would be drafting legislation and conducting hearings to make progress toward those goals.

“Time is of the essence,” he said.

Deborah Billado, chair of the Vermont GOP, said she believes Welch is out of touch with Vermonters and most Americans.

“He’s clearly not reading what the rest of America is reading, and he’s not interpreting it in the way that the majority of Americans are interpreting the proposal,” she said. “It’s pretty out there. I’m a little bit surprised that any of our delegation from Vermont, except for perhaps Bernie Sanders, would have signed onto that.”

She noted that even green energy backers such as billionaire Bill Gates have backed off from support of the plan.

“Clear-thinking people are not really paying attention to this because you can’t take this seriously,” Billado said. “And those that are taking it seriously, I think we need to take a real look at those people. Are they really in leadership roles?”

On the national scene, there’s been more backlash to the deal in media and social media. Writing for World Net Daily, political commentator Patrick Buchanan commented on the implications of overhauling the transportation sector.

“Gas-powered cars are out. How long will that train trip from D.C. to L.A. take?” he wrote. “And if China continues its relentless rise in carbon emissions until 2030, as permitted by the Paris climate accord, while the U.S. spends itself into bankruptcy going green, where would that leave America and China at mid-century?”

Nonetheless, Ocasio-Cortez this week said she is serious about the goals of her plan.

“Don’t mess with our future,” she wrote on Twitter. “When it comes to climate, it’s all our lives at stake. The younger you are, the more consequences you’ll see. It’s life and death for us. And we will fight like it.”

The green movement appears to be counting on a mobilized youth movement to push the Green New Deal forward.

“We’re building an army of young people to make climate change an urgent priority across America, end the corrupting influence of fossil fuel executives on our politics, and elect leaders who stand up for the health and wellbeing of all people,” states the green website sunrisemovement.org.

Michael Bielawski is a reporter for True North Reports. Send him news tips at bielawski82@yahoo.com and follow him on Twitter @TrueNorthMikeB.

Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/David Monniaux and U.S. House of Representatives

14 thoughts on “Rep. Peter Welch still likes Green New Deal despite controversies, unrealistic goals

  1. Isn’t it amazing that the Democrats are balking at a little over $5 billion for border security but for a pie in the sky move the dollars can flow freely? Of course not.

  2. Poor Welch and poor Bernie, they are between a rock and a hard place regarding the GREEN NEW DEAL.

    On the one hand they want to be a good Neo-Socialists, i.e., not the evil Cuban, Soviet, China kind.
    But they cannot do that unless they help Wall Street make many, many $billions

    Forgive them, oh Lord. They know not what they have wrought.

    WIND AND SOLAR SUBSIDIES WOULD PROVIDE A BONANZA FOR WALL STREET

    This URL has references which show wind and solar prices per kWh would be at least 45% to 55% higher without subsidies, and they would be even higher, if the costs of other items were properly allocated to the owners of wind and solar projects.
    http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/partial-capital-cost-of-green-new-deal

    The references show about 2/3 of the financial value of a wind and solar project is due to DIRECT AND INDIRECT subsidies, and the other 1/3 is due to electricity sales.

    An owner of a wind and solar project, looking to shelter taxable income, is allowed to depreciate in 6 years almost the entire cost of a wind and solar project under the IRS scheme called Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System, MARCS.

    Then, with help of Wall Street financial wizardry from Bloomberg (the same guy who was mayor of New York City) New Energy Finance, BNEF, JPMorgan, etc., the owner sells the project to a new owner who is allowed to depreciate almost HIS entire cost all over again.

    The loss of tax revenues to federal and state governments due to MARCS is estimated by the IRS at $266 billion for the 5-y period of 2017 – 2021. This largesse is in addition to total of DIRECT federal and state subsidies to such projects of about $25 billion per year.

    Warren Buffett quote: “I will do anything that is basically covered by the law to reduce Berkshire’s tax rate,” Buffet told an audience in Omaha, Nebraska recently. “For example, on wind energy, we get a tax credit if we build a lot of wind farms. That’s the only reason to build them. They don’t make sense without the tax credit.”

  3. Not surprised that Welch supports this pie in the sky, feel good scheme drummed up by a simplton loud mouth. After all, he got all his training in Montpelier.

  4. It is amazing what bartenders come up with or do they get help from Community organizers?
    Either way, they never had to sign the front of a check.

  5. Cortez is a neophyte, about life in general. She’s on the big stage because of a political fluke. She is incapable of articulating any merit to any of her ideas. She’s simply a wild eyed liberal radical with a once in a lifetime opportunity. At least Obama is a professed Alinskyite so we all knew what his roots were. And where did his ideas and deceptions take us? Thankfully to Donald Trump and not to his nirvana! How the wonderful Peter Welch can publicly glom onto the Green New Deal is a no-brainer. He’s just as empty-headed as the better known radicals; a loyal soldier to the socialistic slave mentality but he has no charisma. Maybe if we offer him a trophy (and a watch) as a token of VT’s appreciation he’ll retire.

  6. “When it comes to climate, it’s all our lives at stake. The younger you are, the more consequences you’ll see. It’s life and death for us.” said the Westchester Communist who’s only audience is young ’cause old are to smart to fall for her unfettered bunch of bullcrap..

    “Green S☭rew Deal”

    The only green is that stuff called money flying out of your wallet into the incompetent hands of corrupted political hacks. Why is it so many congress critters become millionaires on 170.000 yr salary????

  7. Of the Three Stooges that the rest of us stooges repeatedly send to Washington, I thought that Welch had enough basic intelligence to stay clear of the AOC train wreck. I gave him too much credit. Shame on me.

    • Yes Larry I as well had a little hope for the seemingly less of a political hack then the other 2 bozos but he seems to be slinking into the leftarded stink hole at an alarming rate lately.

  8. Agenda, Agenda Rep. Peter Welch is among 60 House Democratic lawmakers who have signed
    on in support of the Green New Deal ( wow ) !! Welch, they say you can’t lead a horse to water,

    The Nation is $22Trillion in Debt and these elected officials have signed up for this boondoggle
    bill, I have just one question how do you pay for it ????

    It’s time for Peter Welch to have a reality check, apparently spending time in DC has caused him
    to lose any bit of common sense he had !!

    This show he doesn’t care one bit for the Country and he surely doesn’t care about Vermont he
    only cares about his Political Parties Agenda………………. Shameful.

    Maybe this foolishness will get him voted out of office.

    • Thé biggest winner will be Wall Street.
      There will be thousands of financial wizards to help their well heeled clients take advantage of all the wind,solar and other subsidies.

      • Not only Wall Street Willem,
        The Chinese have cornered the Carbon Credits markets, ironic the biggest polluter in the world gets the biggest profits.. Kinda like fat Alberto Gore the original warming whiner carbon spewer..

    • This is Vermont. Land of Idiots. They will vote him back in. They vote on name recognition; not much else.

  9. Congress isn’t doing anything on this, just like every other single bill that comes through, it’s all done by lobbyists, PAC’s, our leaders (many) are used as pawns. It’s really sickening, how can they say they are working on it when they vote for something they haven’t and couldn’t have if they wanted to, read before signing on?

    We need a major transformation from this nasty swamp.

    I’m looking for the swamp videos produced by Matt Whitworth and I’m having trouble locating them…….couldn’t possibly be censorship.

    We’ve saved them on our site, the first four anyway, there are 5 to my knowledge….they are really good, enjoy.

    https://greenmountainparty.com/the-swamp-we-have-similar-activities-in-montpelier/

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