Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez demonstrated again yesterday that she is the best political communicator in the United States when she torched congressional Republicans for climate denialism and inaction as “vast swaths of the Midwest are drowning” and children in Flint, Michigan, are suffering lifelong brain damage from polluted water.

Republican Representative Sean Duffy said in a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee that “I think it’s rich that we talk about how we care about the poor, but all the while we’ll sign on to bills that dramatically increase the cost of a family to get into a home.”

Offered a chance to respond by Representative Maxine Waters, Ocasio-Cortez did—and created a viral moment that registered some 3 million views by early Wednesday morning, The Guardian reported. Ocasio-Cortez blasted the notion that caring about the environment is elitist. “Tell that to the kids in the South Bronx, who have the highest asthma rates in the country,” she said.

Urging the United States to “ascend” to the same levels of commitment it did in the face of the Great Depression and World War II, Ocasio-Cortez said that a Green New Deal is necessary today because US political leaders ignored the climate threat for 30 years. Now, as damages mount, she added, “The cost of pursuing a Green New Deal will be far less than the cost of not pursuing it.”