By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - ESPN
NEW YORK, SDNY & EDNY, Dec 17 – The difference between retail and wholesale politics was on display Thursday night, on calls on Zoom and video, DC, The Bronx and Queens.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez held a Zoom town hall from 7:30 to 8:30 pm, at which she took constituent and three media questions, focused on the stimulus negotiations but the Paycheck Protection Program or bank re-regulation aspects of it.
But as DC based sources report, there was a video call to vote on contested seats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where Democratic leadership set up a vote between Ocasio-Cortez and Long Island former prosecutor Kathleen Rice, which as set up the latter won, 46-13.
Surprisingly, this showdown did not come up in the questions selected in the questions picked on Thursday night, except perhaps indirectly.
A constituent in the Bronx' Parkchester housing development asked about how the Green New Deal deals with such issues as pollution from trucks on the nearby Cross Bronx Expressway.
Ocasio-Cortez replied among other things that corporations are given tax breaks to come into the Bronx and then pollute it; she spoke about health problems caused by older housing stock like Parkchester.
She also said that earmarks are in the past, and that Federal Congresspeople have to work on nationwide issues.
As an example, a constituent from Astoria, Queens was given an update on negotiations on PPP and other stimulus (but again, not the bank regulatory aspect of PPP).
In full disclosure, Inner City Press which is headquartered in Ocasio-Cortez' district had asked in writing, and in advance, about PPP and the Community Reinvestment Act, specifically anti-CRA Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks. We hope to have more on this. Watch this site.
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