Pressure mounts on Manchin on permitting reform language
Trending
WASHINGTON -- With a possible shutdown of the federal government just 10 days away, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin said his permitting reform language, part of a continuing resolution to keep the government funded, will be released today.
Manchin, D-W.Va., held a press conference Tuesday on Capitol Hill announcing the impending release of the permitting reform language and a vote on the continuing resolution next week as both Democrats and Republicans express concerns and opposition.
"We've got a good piece of legislation that is extremely balanced. I think it will prove itself in time," Manchin said. "The bottom line is how much suffering and how much pain do you want to inflict on the American people?"
Manchin's permitting reform package in the continuing resolution is part of a larger deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., that resulted in the passage of the $737 billion Inflation Reduction Act. Items in the permitting reform proposal could include caps on environmental review deadlines, limits to legal challenges for energy projects and expediting oil and natural gas projects, such as the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
Despite the agreement between Manchin and Democratic congressional leaders, many Democratic lawmakers in both the Senate and House of Representatives have balked at supporting the package to keep the government funded, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
"I know that part of the Democrats in my caucus and the far-left liberals that (Sanders) is so proud of were never going to be for this. I knew that," Manchin said. "This is bipartisan. It doesn't pass without the Republicans."
Republicans in the Senate, including U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., have expressed support for permitting reform. Capito introduced a failed amendment to the Inflation Reduction Act for permitting reform and introduced a stand-alone bill dealing with permitting reform.
But Capito and fellow Republicans have not been happy with Manchin putting the pressure on them to save his permitting reform plan when they've not seen the language and when Democrats keep rebuffing Republican efforts at permitting reform.
"I'm hearing that Republican leadership is upset and saying that 'I'm not going to give a victory to Joe Manchin.' I'm not looking for a victory," Manchin said. "I applaud my colleague, Sen. Capito, for putting something out and dropping a marker, a messaging bill, that they support. They support permitting reform. How on Earth do you go home and explain that this wasn't perfect enough, so the perfect will be the enemy of the good."
Capito and Senate Republicans are also not happy with Manchin for making a deal that made the Inflation Reduction Act, a much-smaller version of the $1.74 trillion Build Back Better social spending bill that Manchin opposed nearly a year ago, possible. The IRA includes new investments in clean energy, climate change mitigation, and healthcare and prescription drug price reform.
Speaking on the Senate floor Tuesday morning during Manchin's press conference, Capito said that Democratic efforts to curb inflation have not worked. While the Consumer Price Index was dropped from a June high of 9.1 percent to 8.3 percent due to decreases in fuel prices, the price of groceries and other goods remains at record highs.
"Simply put: elected Democrats and the Biden administration celebrated the Inflation Reduction Act on a day when the Consumer Price Index on inflation increased," Capito said, referring to a celebration of the IRA last week at the White House. "Inflation remains the number one concern, so this irony is not lost on me or the American public."
Manchin believes the Inflation Reduction Act combined with his permitting reform package will continue to drive down the cost of goods by increasing domestic oil and natural gas production, while also using fossil fuels in a cleaner way.
"When you look at inflation … it's a tremendous factor in the quality of life that people have today," Manchin said. "When we talk about inflation-reducing, if you're not producing more products to put into the market, I can guarantee you inflation is not going to end anytime soon.
"The energy we produce in America is cleaner and can be even more clean than fossil energy produced around the world," Manchin continued. "If you're going to replace the energy and backfill, shouldn't you replace the dirtiest in the world?"