Sen. Joe Manchin pulls down his controversial amendment accelerate energy project Permitted by a stopgap spending bill on Tuesday, bowing to the inevitable after protests from both sides intimidated A partial government shutdown this weekend.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced on the chamber floor that West Virginia Democrats had called for their plan to be removed from the bill and nearly blamed Republicans for the face before a trial vote on the measure. was.
“Senate Republicans have made it very clear that they would block legislation to fund the government if it included bipartisan permitting reform, because they chose to obstruct rather than work in a bipartisan way to achieve something.” Which they have long claimed they want to do,” Schumer said.
“Since American households should not be subject to Republican-made government shutdowns, Senator Manchin requested and I agree to pursue and pass the recently filed Continuing Resolution Act without the Energy Freedom and Security Act of 2022, ” said Schumer.
“It is unfortunate that members of the US Senate are allowing politics to jeopardize our nation’s energy security,” Manchin said in a separate statement. “A failed vote on something as important as comprehensive permitting reform only serves to encourage leaders such as [Vladimir] Putin who wants to see America fail… Inaction is not a strategy for energy independence and security.”
The spending bill, which will fund the government by December 16, must pass the House and Senate by midnight Friday to prevent the lapse in operation. Munchkin’s backlash on the issue of permission means Congress must remedy that with little trouble.
The bill passed its initial test vote Tuesday night 72-23, with all “no” votes coming from Republicans.
Schumer promised Munchkin that his proposal would be included in the bill as a reward for his support. President Biden’s $740 Billion Passage Inflation Reduction Act last month.
However, the amendment faced criticism from both progressive Democrats, who said it gives energy companies too much, and Republicans bitter over Munchkin’s support for the Inflation Reduction Act.
“The last thing we need is a side deal that will build more pipelines and fossil fuel projects that will significantly increase carbon emissions,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said in a statement. “This is a victory for the survival of the planet and a great loss for the fossil fuel industry.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called Munchkin’s amendment “a poison pill” and urged lawmakers to back a competing resolution by the Senate’s other West Virginian, Republican Shelley Moore Capito. did.
“What our Democratic allies have produced is a fake fig leaf that will actually set back the cause of real permission reform,” McConnell said. “This should be an issue where it should be very easy to improve the status quo. But surprisingly our Democratic allies have managed to write language that actually listens to it, making things worse.”
Manchin, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said his proposal would speed up the permitting process for projects including the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline, which would carry natural gas from West Virginia to Virginia.
The funding bill is about $12.3 billion in military aid to Ukraine, $1 billion in aid to low-income families to heat this winter, $20 million to address water quality issues in Jackson, Miss., and additional disaster Provides billions in aid.