IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 398 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Green New 

Deal is antithetical to the principles of free market capitalism and 

private property rights, is simply a thinly veiled attempt to usher in 

policies that create a socialist society in America, and is impossible 

to fully implement. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 22, 2019 

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana (for himself, Mr. BYRNE, Mr. OLSON, Mr. YOHO, 

Mr. GROTHMAN, Mr. DUNCAN, Mrs. HARTZLER, Mr. CARTER of Texas, 

Mr. FLORES, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. BARR, Mr. HUIZENGA, Mr. DAVID P. 

ROE of Tennessee, Mr. HICE of Georgia, Mr. ABRAHAM, Mr. BUDD, Mr. 

WALKER, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Mr. WATKINS, Mr. STEUBE, Mr. PALAZZO, 

Mr. MARSHALL, Mr. CONAWAY, Mr. STEWART, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. 

NEWHOUSE, Mr. MOONEY of West Virginia, Mr. BABIN, Mr. KEVIN

HERN of Oklahoma, Mr. RIGGLEMAN, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr. ESTES, Mr. 

FLEISCHMANN, Mr. KUSTOFF of Tennessee, Mr. KELLY of Mississippi, 

Mr. BALDERSON, Mr. CLOUD, Mr. BANKS, Mr. BAIRD, Mr. ROUZER, Mr. 

WALBERG, Mr. SCALISE, Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana, Mr. NORMAN, Mr. 

WRIGHT, Mr. GREEN of Tennessee, Mr. DAVIDSON of Ohio, Mr. GIBBS, 

Mr. DESJARLAIS, Mr. BROOKS of Alabama, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. 

MITCHELL, Mr. LOUDERMILK, and Mr. DUNN) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Reform, 

Science, Space, and Technology, Education and Labor, Transportation 

and Infrastructure, Agriculture, Natural Resources, Foreign Affairs, Financial Services, the Judiciary, and Ways and Means, for a period to be 

subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 

of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 


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•HRES 398 IH 

the Green New Deal is antithetical to the principles 

of free market capitalism and private property rights, 

is simply a thinly veiled attempt to usher in policies 

that create a socialist society in America, and is impossible to fully implement. 

Whereas, on February 7, 2019, Representative Alexandria 

Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Edward Markey introduced 

H. Res. 109 and S. Res. 59, respectively, resolutions recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a 

Green New Deal; 

Whereas, on March 26, 2019, the Senate voted to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to S. J. Res. 8, a joint resolution containing the text of the Green New Deal; 

Whereas the recorded vote on the cloture motion for S. J. 

Res. 8 failed with the sponsor and cosponsors of S. Res. 

59 and all other Democrats voting ‘‘present’’; 

Whereas the cost of implementing the Green New Deal, while 

difficult to accurately estimate due to the lack of a coherent framework, is— 

(1) estimated by the American Action Forum to 

total as high as $93 trillion over 10 years; and 

(2) estimated by the American Enterprise Institute 

to total approximately $9 trillion annually; 

Whereas the previously published Frequently Asked Questions document for the Green New Deal (in this resolution referred to as the ‘‘FAQ document’’) acknowledges 

that the combined resources of every billionaire and company are insufficient to cover the cost of the Green New 

Deal; 

Whereas the Green New Deal’s goal of meeting 100 percent 

of the power demand in the United States through reVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:49 May 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR398.IH HR398

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•HRES 398 IH 

newable energy resources within 10 years is likely technologically impossible because— 

(1) while fossil fuel power generation can be increased or decreased based on consumer demand, renewable energy resources are dependent on environmental 

conditions beyond human control; 

(2) according to the Energy Information Administration, the energy efficiency or capacity factor ratio of 

wind and solar electricity generation are 35 percent and 

26 percent, respectively, while the energy efficiency of nuclear, coal, and natural gas electricity generation are 92 

percent, 54 percent, and 51 percent, respectively; and 

(3) according to the Heartland Institute, the Green 

New Deal would require the mining of tons of minerals 

that are not currently produced in quantities that would 

satisfy such an expansion of renewable energy resources; 

Whereas the Green New Deal’s goal of meeting 100 percent 

of the power demand in the United States through renewable energy resources within 10 years is likely fiscally 

impossible because— 

(1) the intermittency of wind and solar electricity 

generation necessitate a vast expansion of storage infrastructure, and, according to the MIT Technology Review, 

a battery system that provides just 12 hours of electricity 

storage throughout the United States would cost more 

than $2.5 trillion; 

(2) according to the American Action Forum, the 

capital expenditures to transition to 100 percent renewable electricity production could cost the United States at 

least $5.7 trillion, which, based on estimates from the 

International Food Policy Research Institute, the World 

Bank, and the Economist, is enough money to simultaVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:49 May 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR398.IH HR398

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•HRES 398 IH 

neously end world hunger for 20 years, provide clean 

water to the entire world, and end malaria; 

(3) according to the American Action Forum, operating expenses for wind turbine and solar panel maintenance and operation would cost $387 billion annually; 

and 

(4) according to the American Action Forum, the 

average amount of energy bills would increase between 

$576 and $3,882 per year, resulting in widespread energy poverty; 

Whereas according to the United Kingdom Office for National Statistics, cold indoor temperatures are associated 

with excess winter deaths, contributing to an estimated 

50,100 excess winter deaths in the 2017 to 2018 winter 

period; 

Whereas the Green New Deal’s goal of meeting 100 percent 

of the power demand in the United States through renewable energy resources within 10 years would have severely detrimental impacts to the environment and wildlife because— 

(1) according to the American Enterprise Institute, 

the need for solar panel and wind turbine expansion 

would require over 115 million of acres of land, which is 

15 percent larger than the land area of California; 

(2) solar farms incinerate thousands of birds each 

year, as reported by the Los Angeles Times, and according to a report published by the Wildlife Society Bulletin, 

wind turbines were estimated to have killed 573,000 

birds and 880,000 bats in 2012 alone; and 

(3) under the Obama administration, the U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service finalized a rule allowing wind energy 

companies to avoid penalties for the slaughter of golden 


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eagles and up to 4,200 bald eagles that would have otherwise violated the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act 

and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act; 

Whereas according to a report published by the College of 

Family Physicians of Canada, the adverse health effects 

for those living near wind turbines includes sleep disturbance, headaches, anxiety, depression, and cognitive dysfunction; 

Whereas the FAQ document sets a goal to replace every combustion-engine vehicle in the United States, which, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, would 

require replacing the majority of— 

(1) almost 270 million cars; 

(2) nearly 12 million boats; 

(3) over 130,000 transit vehicles; and 

(4) almost 27,000 trains; 

Whereas the FAQ document sets a goal to build out highspeed rail infrastructure at a scale where air travel stops 

becoming necessary, which, according to the American 

Action Forum, would cost between $1.1 and $2.5 trillion 

and require the construction of 19,453 miles of track; 

Whereas the Green New Deal’s goal of upgrading all existing 

buildings to achieve maximum energy and water efficiency within 10 years is likely impossible because the 

United States has— 

(1) almost 100 million residential buildings; 

(2) approximately 140,000 schools; 

(3) over 306,000 Federal Government buildings; and 

(4) approximately 384,000 churches; 


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Whereas the Green New Deal calls for Federal subsidies and 

intervention in the private marketplace, which tend to 

distort economic activity and disincentivize innovation; 

Whereas the Green New Deal and the FAQ document call for 

the enactment of policies with no semblance of a connection to emissions or climate change, including— 

(1) providing ‘‘free’’ college to all Americans, which 

the American Enterprise Institute estimates will cost at 

least $70 billion per year; 

(2) providing Government health care to all Americans, which the Committee for a Responsible Federal 

Budget estimates would cost $28 trillion over a decade; 

and 

(3) providing economic security for those ‘‘unwilling’’ to work; 

Whereas socialism and communism rely upon dictatorships 

that deny freedoms enjoyed by all Americans, including 

freedom of speech, a free press, free assembly, free and 

open elections, due process, and a free and independent 

judiciary; and 

Whereas in the 20th century alone, socialist and communist 

regimes were responsible for the deaths of over 100 million men, women, and children: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that— 

3 (1) the Green New Deal would violate all Amer4 icans’ right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happi5 ness; 

6 (2) the Green New Deal would have an almost 

7 incomprehensibly devastating effect on the national 


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1 debt of the United States, and no collection of rev2 enue-raising measures could pay for its implementa3 tion without completely destroying the economy and 

4 societal fabric of the United States; 

5 (3) the Green New Deal is antithetical to the 

6 principles of free market capitalism and our private 

7 property rights, bedrock principles that have made 

8 the United States the greatest country in the world; 

9 (4) many of the proposals in the Green New 

10 Deal have no connection at all to climate change, 

11 and reveal the true nature of the Green New Deal; 

12 (5) the Green New Deal is simply a thinly 

13 veiled attempt to usher in policies that create a so14 cialist society in America; and 

15 (6) the United States is a free society that has 

16 fought against socialist regimes for decades and 

17 must continue to fight against socialism in the fu18 ture. 

Æ 


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