Florida Democrats Pass 'Green New Deal' INVEST in America Act

Dubbed the "Green New Deal"  by Texas Rep. Troy Nehls (R), INVEST in America Act or the Transportation Inflation Act,” H.R. 3684 passed the House this week with 221 votes. All Democrats in the House voted for the bill while 2 Republicans voted in favor and 201 voted against it. However, that was not enough to stop the bill in its tracks.

The bill is marketed as a “comprehensive legislation that would modernize our roads, bridges, transit, rail, drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, and so much more.” Moreover, “the transformational bill would move our country away from the status quo and would lay the groundwork for an infrastructure package for the modern era.”

The INVEST Act states that the federal government must be"taking into account current and future climate conditions in planning, designing, building, operating, maintaining, investing in, and upgrading any federally funded transportation infrastructure investments."

Sound familiar?

Here are some of the bullet points found in Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's "Green New Deal":

• "upgrading all existing buildings" in the country for energy efficiency;
• working with farmers "to eliminate pollution and greenhouse gas emissions ... as much as is technologically feasible" (while supporting family farms and promoting "universal access to healthy food");
• "Overhauling transportation systems" to reduce emissions — including expanding electric car manufacturing, building "charging stations everywhere," and expanding high-speed rail to "a scale where air travel stops becoming necessary";
• A guaranteed job "with a family-sustaining wage, adequate family and medical leave, paid vacations and retirement security" for every American;
• "High-quality health care" for all Americans.

House members from Florida voted along party lines, which means that members like Rep. Val Demings (D) and Stephanie Murphy (D) voted for it while members like Reps. Maria Elvira Salazar (R) and Brian Mast (R) voted against the legislation.

"In today’s infrastructure bill, I secured funding for five community projects to keep pedestrians safe on I-Drive, repair and upgrade paths and sidewalks, and expand the improvements to President Barack Obama Parkway," Rep. Demings.

Rep. Murphy added, "I'm thrilled 8 of my project requests—totaling $28 million—are funded in the transportation bill the House passed this week."

A full list of the voters can be seen below: