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Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., announced Tuesday that he was pulling his permitting reform language from the continuing resolution to fund the government.
CHARLESTON — Unable to get all 50 members of the Democratic caucus on board and with Republicans unwilling to throw him a lifeline, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin asked that his permitting reform language be pulled from a bill to keep the federal government funded.
In a statement released Tuesday evening, Manchin, D-W.Va., said he requested that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., remove his permitting reform package from the continuing resolution that Senators planned to vote for later that evening to fund the government past a Sept. 30 deadline.
“It is unfortunate that members of the United States Senate are allowing politics to put the energy security of our nation at risk,” Manchin said. “Over the last several weeks there has been broad consensus on the urgent need to address our nation’s flawed permitting system. I stand ready to work with my colleagues to move forward on this critical legislation to meet the challenges of delivering affordable reliable energy Americans desperately need.”
Manchin released the language for the permitting reform deal last week that he secured from Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., that was part of a larger deal that secured Manchin’s support from the $737 billion Inflation Reduction Act – the latest rendition of President Joe Biden’s $1.75 trillion Build Back Better social spending bill that Manchin rejected nearly a year ago.
Manchin’s permitting reform plan, called the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2022, would have streamlined the process for federal authorizations of energy and natural resources projects, such as oil and natural gas drilling and pipeline projects. It also would have lifted impediments to completing the Mountain Valley Pipeline from the top of West Virginia to the coast of Virginia.
Citing the recent spike in oil and gasoline prices and the war in Ukraine started by Russian President Vladimir Putin affecting international energy markets, Manchin said the Energy Independent and Security Act would have helped spur domestic energy production. But a number of members of Manchin’s own party – including U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. – said they could not support it, leaving Manchin scrambling to find the votes to get to 60 and avoid a filibuster.
“A failed vote on something as critical as comprehensive permitting reform only serves to embolden leaders like Putin who wish to see America fail,” Manchin said Tuesday. “For that reason and my firmly held belief that we should never come to the brink of a government shutdown over politics, I have asked Majority Leader Schumer to remove the permitting language from the Continuing Resolution we will vote on this evening.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was whipping Republicans to oppose the bill as well. U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., announced her support last Thursday for Manchin’s bill. She had introduced her own permitting reform bill that had near total support from Senate Republicans that would have done much of the same as Manchin’s bill, codified some permitting regulations out in place by former president Donald Trump, and expedited completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
“… When legislating is done via backroom deals and with input from only one party, it is extremely difficult to garner broad support,” Capito said in a statement Tuesday evening. “That’s exactly why I called for permitting reform to be crafted, negotiated, and passed in a transparent way months ago and laid down real legislative solutions that unite Republicans to begin that process.”
Both Manchin and Capito said they were committed to pushing for permitting reform and completing the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
from
https://digitalalaskanews.com/manchin-pulls-permitting-reform-language/
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https://digitalalaskanews.weebly.com/blog/manchin-pulls-permitting-reform-language
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