Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Slams Republican Who Urged Her To 'Educate' Herself

Ben Blanchet

Thu, January 26, 2023 

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) went after Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), who called on her to “educate” herself during a debate Thursday over a bill on the House floor.

The Democrat responded to Duncan’s comments to her as the House considered a bill to require the federal government “to approve a plan to increase drilling on federal lands and waters” before drawing from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in non-emergency cases, Roll Call reported.

Ocasio-Cortez, who proposed an amendment to the bill, argued in a speech on the House floor Thursday that leasing more land to fossil fuel companies wouldn’t guarantee a drop in gas prices and added that companies making profits won’t “pass along” the savings to consumers.

“What leasing more land does do, however, is guarantee that we will accelerate the devastating impact of climate change,” Ocasio-Cortez argued.

Duncan addressed Ocasio-Cortez and urged her to educate herself on how “America attained its low emissions.”

“You care about the air quality, you care about climate change. Natural gas is what got America there. Educate yourself on that,” the Republican said.

Ocasio-Cortez didn’t hold back when she responded to Duncan’s remarks.

“I understand in this body it’s not the first time that it seems as though the opposing side can’t seem to be able to debate the issue and so they must come after my character,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

She added: “While I cannot control the fact that the other side seems to have made the assumption that I am uneducated, one of the things I can say... is while I may not work for Wall Street, that is true. I may not be here with the mission to increase profits for corporations, that is true. My mission here is for the well-being and dignity of our family and our planet’s future, for our children’s ability to live on this planet.”

Ocasio-Cortez later addressed Duncan’s comments on Twitter, writing that “fewer things are more predictable than Republicans having a meltdown when I’m clearing them in a debate.”

“In case you’re curious about why this man is so angry with me, it may be because I introduced an amendment to a GOP bill that would prohibit oil and gas companies who engage in stock buybacks from leasing federal lands,” she wrote, adding “Seems as though I hit a nerve!”