Commerce Sec’y: We Won’t ‘Compromise’ on Core Values Like Climate in Infrastructure Bill

On Wednesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “The ReidOut,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said that the White House is “not going to compromise on core values” in the infrastructure bill “and meeting the challenges of climate change is a core value. Equity is a core value.”

Host Joy Reid asked, “[C]limate change is a big deal. It’s a big issue and this bill’s supposed to help address it, but would you be willing to trade things that would increase the amount of coal or the amount of oil that’s being used? Because that’s the kind of stuff that I can foresee prince Joe Manchin coming in and demanding. Are you willing to do that or is the president going to do what he did on the stimulus and say, no, there are certain red lines here?”

Raimondo responded, “Yeah, look, this is a values-based package, and he is not going to — we are not going to compromise on core values and meeting the challenges of climate change is a core value. Equity is a core value. But, certainly, I would not want to speak for my friend Sen. Manchin, but there’s a lot in this package that he would like I think and that’s great for the people of West Virginia. It’s about putting people back to work in West Virginia. It’s about putting people to work in manufacturing. It’s about training folks so they can be prepared to get the jobs of today and tomorrow. It’s about housing in West Virginia and in every state in America. So, there really is a lot to like. If you’re serious about putting Americans back to work in good-paying jobs, you have to be for this, and yes, there will be compromise, but not on the core values to the point that you’re asking.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett

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