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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Are Democrats immediately going to work on the Green New Deal?

Friday, January 29, 2021

By Mia Dillon

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With a slim majority in Congress and a focus on the pandemic, Democrats are not making the legislative goals of the Green New Deal immediate priorities.

In the Senate, West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin is a brake on enacting many aspects of the Green New Deal, outlined in a resolution passed by the House in 2019. He was one of four Democrats who helped block the resolution in the Senate. And in the new 50-50 Senate he could hold a deciding vote on any further measures. Moreover, he has vowed to block any change in debate rules that would allow more legislation to pass on a simple majority vote. “I will not vote” for that, he told Politico on Jan. 25.

Many Green New Deal goals would need such legislation to have the broad, lasting impact its backers seek.

President Biden has outlined related but more conservative goals, including net zero emissions by 2050.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

US Congress: Text of Green New Deal resolution

US Senate: Manchin votes against the Green New Deal

Politico: Manchin emphatic he 'will not vote' to kill the filibuster

White House: Priorities

White House: Executive order on tackling the climate crisis

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Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.