Ocasio-Cortez defends climate provisions in spending bill: ‘I have to live in this future’

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is defending the importance of climate change provisions in Democrats’ budget reconciliation package, saying as the youngest member of the progressive caucus, she will have to “live in this future.” 

In an interview for Showtime’s “The Circus” shared in advance exclusively with The Hill, the New York Democrat sought to warn against the risks of “rushing” the social spending legislation as Democrats fiercely debate what will make the final version.

“There’s always this idea of ‘progressives don’t compromise’ — we’re being petulant children,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

“If we rush it, the risks of doing that is that we could lose everything — health care, Medicaid. And for me, most importantly is climate,” she continued. “As the youngest member of this caucus, I think sometimes what’s hard for some of my peers to understand is that I have to live in this future that they are willing to set on fire.”

President Biden on Thursday introduced to congressional Democrats a greatly slimmed down Build Back Better reconciliation framework that includes more than $500 billion in climate provisions, including $320 billion in clean energy tax credits and $130 for renewable energy development.

The proposal also includes $105 billion for environmental resilience, such as funding for extreme weather events like wildfires and hurricanes. 

However, the proposal made no mention of a methane fee or carbon tax, both of which were progressive-backed ideas that had been opposed by key centrist Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).

This week’s episode of “The Circus,” airing Sunday at 8 p.m., is set to focus on the push to find common ground on the package.

The episode is also set to include interviews from Manchin, as well as progressive Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).