Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia at a hearing on Capitol Hill on September 22, 2022.
Shuran Huang for The Washington Post via Getty Images
Manchin’s permitting reform plan was struck from a must-pass government funding bill on Tuesday.
Progressives opposed it for environmental reasons, while Republicans want an even stronger bill.
It’s a major defeat for the West Virginia Democrat, who might otherwise have a hard time passing it.
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia suffered a major setback on Tuesday after his legislation to reform permitting for energy projects was struck from a must-pass government funding bill shortly before it was set to receive a vote.
“I have asked Majority Leader Schumer to remove the permitting language from the Continuing Resolution we will vote on this evening,” said Manchin in a statement. Shortly thereafter, Schumer announced the removal of the provisions.
—Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) September 27, 2022
The bill had met opposition from Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and other progressive Democrats, who raised environmental concerns about the bill. The bill would’ve green-lit a pipeline in Manchin’s home state of West Virginia.
But the bill was also opposed by Republicans, who favor a more expansive proposal from Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and remain embittered by Manchin’s support for the Inflation Reduction Act.
—Richard Shelby (@SenShelby) September 27, 2022
Manchin, noting the lack of votes for the continuing resolution, declared that a “failed vote on something as critical as comprehensive permitting reform only serves to embolden leaders like [Russian President Vladimir] Putin who wish to see America fail.”
The removal of Manchin’s permitting reform legislation represents an unusual defeat for the usually-pivotal conservative Democrat.
Capito told Bloomberg’s Erik Wasson that she’s willing to work with Manchin on putting the bill into the National Defense Authorization Act, which the Senate will likely consider in October.
But there is now less pressure on Democratic senators to support the controversial provisions, which came about as the result of a side deal between Manchin and Schumer ahead of the Senate vote on the Inflation Reduction Act, a slimmed-down version of Democrats’ “Build Back Better” social spending and climate bill that Manchin killed last year.
“I want to congratulate the more than 650 environmental groups and community organizations who made clear that, in the midst of the horrific climate crisis that we face, the last thing we need is a side deal which would build more pipelines and fossil fuel projects that would have substantially increased carbon emissions,” said Sanders in a statement about the change to the continuing resolution.
“This is a victory for the survival of the planet and a major loss for the fossil fuel industry,” he added.