On Tuesday (March 26), AOC spoke at a House Financial Services Committee meeting and rebutted accusations that her Green New Deal, a piece of legislation introduced to aggressively combat climate change though public works programs and new regulations, is “elitist.”

It’s been widely known that most in the Republican Party both do not believe in climate change or that it is human-caused. It’s probably why, among other racist and sexist reasons, they’re attacking the bill. But if you know Ocasio-Cortez’ brief past of very thoughtful and poignant exchanges within the walls of Congress, she wasn’t gonna let any snide slide.

“This is not an elitist issue, this is a quality of life issue,” she said sternly. “You want to tell people that their concern and their desire for clean air and clean water is elitist? Tell that to the kids in the South Bronx, which are suffering from the highest rates of childhood asthma in the country. Tell that to the families in Flint.”

“This is about American lives, and it should not be partisan. Science should not be partisan,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “We talk about cost. We’re going to pay for this whether we pass a Green New Deal or not. Because as towns and cities go underwater, as wildfires ravage our communities, we are going to pay. And we’re either going to decide if we’re going to pay to react, or if we’re going to pay to be proactive.”

The GOP is facing criticism for bringing up concerns of government spending when it comes to environmental protection, but not when it comes to the military or immigration

We’re all certainly here for Clapback Cortez. If you’ve missed some of her greatest hits, I’d start with her grilling of former Donald Trump fixer Michael Cohen during his hearing or her line of questioning about legal campaign finance corruption.