Republicans block AOC amendment to explore negative impacts of oil and gas drilling

New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez failed to secure support for an amendment that would have required the House Natural Resources Committee to explore the potential negative impacts of oil and gas drilling.

The New York Democrat had sought to require such studies in the committee work plan, introducing an amendment that committee Republicans defeated in a 21-15 vote, Fox News reported.

"There is a failure to acknowledge the disproportionate impact that these changes have on communities of color and other frontline communities," she said while pushing her amendment, adding that lawmakers should offer "no objection to gathering better data on the health impact of these policies," per Fox.

Ocasio-Cortez conceded to her Republican colleagues that expanded energy output could conceivably result in long-term positive impacts on public health, but specifically reiterated that her amendment sought to require the exploration of the negatives.

The New York Democrat fervently denied that the amendment was an attempt to halt the plan or to end drilling on federal lands, instead expressing concerns for the individuals living near potential excavation sites, saying "[p]eople deserve to know if they're being poisoned, people deserve to know if there is no health impact."

House Republicans in late January passed a measure that would require the federal government to devise plans to match any drawdown of the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve with a corresponding increase in the percent of federal lands leased for oil and gas production.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.