Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) called the Green New Deal “destructive” and “dangerous” in an interview with Breitbart News on Wednesday and said the fact that not one member of the U.S. Senate voted for it shows the climate change plan is “not a serious proposal.”
Sen. Lee presented a picture of former President Ronald Reagan riding a velociraptor Tuesday during a procedural vote for the Green New Deal. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) scheduled the vote to show how little support the Senate has for the Green New Deal.
The Senate voted down the measure, 0-57, with all Republicans, three Democrats, and one Independent voting against the bill.
“I rise today to consider the Green New Deal with the seriousness it deserves… This, of course, is a picture of former President Ronald Reagan, firing a machine gun while riding on the back of a dinosaur,” Sen. Lee said on the Senate floor.
“There was no battle with, or without, velociraptors. The Cold War was won without firing a shot,” Mr. Lee said.
Lee added that the picture was about “overcoming communism in the 20th century as the Green New Deal has to do with overcoming climate change in the 21st.”
The Utah Republican told Breitbart News that he delivered his speech to show how “destructive” and “dangerous” the Green New Deal is.
Lee said that he was also inspired to deliver the speech because of how some Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), said that Americans should stop having kids to combat climate change.
Lee said, “I reacted to the [idea] that some have suggested that people shouldn’t have children in light of climate change. I think that gets it exactly wrong, I think that’s really harmful, and it’s one of the reasons I gave that speech. I think that is a very mistaken conclusion and that’s destructive and even dangerous. I want to make that point in a way that would resonate with a lot of people, and I think it did that.”
“I need no other evidence of the fact that this proposal … we had 57 people vote against it including four Democrats and everyone else voted not for it but present. The fact that not one member of the United States Senate was not willing to put his or her name … behind this matter further supports the conclusion that this was not a serious proposal. It is less serious than even some of the images that I highlighted in my speech,” Lee added.
Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.
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