Klobuchar and McCollum Back Green New Deal, But Omar’s Missing from List of Sponsors

Two of Minnesota’s most prominent politicians, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN-04), are backing the controversial Green New Deal, but Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) is conspicuously missing from the list of House sponsors.

The House version of the resolution currently has 67 co-sponsors, including McCollum, who has received $52,733 in campaign contributions from environmental groups over the course of her career, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Klobuchar, who is expected to declare candidacy for president Sunday, is one of 10 co-sponsors of the Senate resolution, which has the backing of other presidential hopefuls, such as Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Cory Booker (D-NJ). The Center for Responsive Politics estimates that Klobuchar has received $220,463 from environmental groups throughout her career.

Omar is a public ally of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14), the resolution’s chief author, and was an early advocate of the Green New Deal. Omar, however, currently isn’t listed as a co-sponsor of the resolution.

She addressed her support of the Green New Deal in a statement Thursday, but seemed to take issue with the fact that it is just a resolution rather than actual legislation.

“We need to pass a Green New Deal to shift away from fossil fuels and create millions of jobs. We are here to legislate to our reality. And the reality is we’re in the majority. That’s why one of my top priorities is a bill to fully divest from dirty energy,” Omar said.

We cannot let the urgency of this die. We can’t just settle for a select committee or resolution. We rallied for a big bold solution and momentum for our policies is at an all-time high.

— Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) February 7, 2019

“We cannot let the urgency of this die. We can’t just settle for a select committee or resolution. We rallied for a big bold solution and momentum for our policies is at an all-time high,” she added. “Let’s put the policies behind the Green New Deal into law.”

As has been widely reported, the Green New Deal has received substantial criticism from conservatives, who have mocked the resolution for addressing issues seemingly unrelated to climate change.

The full text of the resolution can be read here.

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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].