The Green New Deal

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. YOUNG. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about the so-called Green New Deal and its impact on Indiana's agricultural community and our Hoosier farmers.

As I said last week, this misguided Green New Deal is unaffordable, unattainable, and unrealistic. In fact, over the next decade, this so- called deal would cost up to $65,000 per American household per year.

This proposal is a job killer, and it is bad news for hard-working Hoosiers. This is especially true for Hoosiers who rely on our vital agriculture industry for their incomes.

Allow me to run through a few numbers. In Indiana, agriculture supports more than 107,000 Hoosier jobs. Agriculture also contributes an estimated $30 billion to Indiana's economy. Indiana is the 10th largest farming state in the Nation, and we are the 8th largest ag export. Perhaps most importantly, 97 percent of Hoosier farms are family owned or operated.

Agriculture is a main driver of our State's economy. It is often said that Indiana feeds the world, and we take a lot of pride in that. We need our ag community to continue thriving. Yet the sponsors of this Green New Deal have spoken about cutting back on the farming practices that employ Hoosiers and put food on the table.

Imagine the crushing cost to Hoosier farmers of changing out all farm equipment for electric vehicles or the cost of upgrading every single building on every farm in Indiana. This is on top of the sharp climb in energy prices that we would see under the Green New Deal. This bad deal would force the cost of doing business to skyrocket for Hoosier manufacturers and our farmers, which would mean higher prices for consumers and less money in the pockets of hard-working Hoosiers.

Jim, a small business owner from Muncie, wrote to my office recently. He said: ``Please stop the Green New Deal in its tracks NOW.''

I also heard from Patrick in Bloomington, who said: ``As a man who has served my country in combat in Vietnam 50 years ago and someone who loves my country deeply--I am very concerned about the direction our nation is heading.'' Regarding the Green New Deal, he added: ``I hope you won't give this idea a second thought.''

Dennis from Greenwood wrote: ``My wife and I are strongly against the `Green New Deal'. . . . We would recommend that you not support this crazy idea.''

Well, Dennis, I don't intend to.

Susan from Lafayette wrote: ``Please hold strong and promote the values of Indiana and many Americans. . . . ''

The bottom line is this: Hoosiers don't want this harmful Green New Deal. It sets unattainable goals that are bad for Hoosier farmers. It is bad for our economy, and it is bad for our families.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source