Manchin permitting reform rider fails a second time with NDAA agreement
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Congressional negotiators reached an agreement Tuesday on annual defense legislation that excludes Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) permitting reform legislation, a second failed attempt for the Energy and Natural Resources chairman to get his bill passed this year.
Manchin sought to have his Energy Independence and Security Act of 2022, which would overhaul various environmental review and permitting processes for energy infrastructure projects, attached as a rider on the National Defense Authorization Act. Many liberal Democrats, as well as top Republican negotiators, opposed the attempt to attach the bill to must-pass legislation.
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Manchin, who struck a deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to advance permitting reform, had earlier gotten his measure tacked on to a government funding bill in the Senate but later asked leadership to remove it after bipartisan opposition.
Schumer agreed to support permitting reform in exchange for Manchin’s vote in favor of the Inflation Reduction Act, the Democrats’ green energy and healthcare spending bill passed in August.
Opposition to Manchin’s bill has been widespread among Democrats and liberal interest groups, which objected to what they dubbed a “dirty deal” for its favorable treatment of fossil fuel energy projects and other measures, including changes to environmental laws.
Many Republicans also opposed Manchin’s legislation, not wanting to help Manchin in achieving his legislative deal.
Manchin said late Tuesday that “America’s energy security has never been more threatened” in response to the news.
“Failing to pass bipartisan energy permitting reform that both Republicans and Democrats have called for will have long-term consequences for our energy independence,” he said.
Contingents of both political parties support speeding up the siting and permitting of energy projects and electric transmission but disagree on what reforms to make.
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The NDAA bill text released Tuesday evening also left out other major provisions unrelated to defense that some legislators had hoped to attach, such as the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act authored by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) meant to boost smaller and conservative news outlets in negotiations with Big Tech.
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Tags: Joe Manchin, Energy, Congress, NDAA
Original Author: Jeremy Beaman
Original Location: Manchin permitting reform rider fails a second time with NDAA agreement