Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., pitching high-speed rail funding in negotiations for a bipartisan infrastructure package, claimed bipartisan deals do not work for her underserved communities.
"Usually, I have to say, representing the Bronx and Queens, when these bipartisan deals come together, they tend to underserve the communities that are already underserved," Ocasio-Cortez told MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "Places like the South Bronx, Baltimore, areas of Chicago, across the country – not only do those communities get left behind and cut out in these bipartisan deals, but corporate interests gets centered in these deals, as well."
But Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., are lobbying for a high-speed rail to be added to any infrastructure deal being weighed in Congress. Even MSNBC host Joe Scarborough spoke about how he would benefit from the fast service train system, along with a reporter for The Associated Press, who asked Ocasio-Cortez a question on the show.
Moulton said "you should be able to get from New York City to Albany in 36 minutes," pitching the high-speed rail plan, while Ocasio-Cortez spoke about her "underserved" residents in the South Bronx, who likely care more about intra-city travel than travel for an Albany lawmaker.
Despite talking about a travel system for those who can afford to ride quicker trains, still, Ocasio-Cortez called it "good politics" to pitch the big spending to underserved communities.
"It's not just good policy, it's good politics, too," she said. That's what I think is politics at its best, when it's people who are helping the people the most win, but we have to communicate that well, too."
Ocasio-Cortez claimed Democrats need to stand firm on bold infrastructure packages.
"Are we passing the deal that helps working people the most?" she said. "Are we passing the deal that makes the most jobs? Are we passing a deal that brings down the most climate emissions? Are we passing a deal that raises wages and actually improves our infrastructure for the next generation?
"If a bipartisan deal sucks up trillions of dollars in bridges to nowhere because it makes people feel good, then that's going to be a huge concern.
"We need to make sure that we're creating economic opportunities for people who are ignored in this country."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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