Sen. Joe Manchin is expressing frustration after a permitting reform policy he’d backed was left out of a broader bill.
The permitting reform policy got a vote as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. But the resulting tie, 47-47, short of the 60 votes needed, meant the amendment was not included in the bill. The defense authorization act itself passed.
Manchin had been pushing the “Building American Energy Security Act of 2022” for months. The permitting policies have sometimes been described as the senator’s “side deal” in reference to attempts to gain his support for a package of Biden Administration policies that were called “Build Back Better.” The climate, tax and healthcare bill came to be called the “Inflation Reduction Act.”
Among Manchin’s goals was a smoother regulatory path for the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a major project that has been held up in the court system through challenges to its permitting.
“I believe anyone who voted against permitting reform has failed to act in the best interest of our country as they dismissed the opportunity to strengthen our nation’s economic and energy security,” Manchin, D-W.Va., said in statement distributed by his office.
Congressional progressives objected to the permitting bill, contending it would weaken environmental standards, while Republicans objected to being left out of the broader discussions and suggesting the changes would not go far enough. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., earlier this month said the policies would amount to permitting reform “in name only.”
Manchin’s comments were critical of McConnell.
“Once again, Mitch McConnell and Republican leadership have put their own political agenda above the needs of the American people. Energy costs continue to rise as we move into the winter months and geopolitical uncertainty continues to test the strength of international bonds while Putin weaponizes energy,” Manchin stated.
“Despite these challenges, Mitch McConnell and his Republican caucus voted down a bill that would have completed the Mountain Valley Pipeline and quickly delivered natural gas to the market lowering home heating costs for families and making America more energy secure and independent.”
In a Senate floor speech on Thursday, Manchin was dismissive of this particular vote’s potential effect on his 2024 re-election. And Manchin was critical of Republicans who might be anticipating more aggressive permitting reform in the next congress.
“I’ve been on the ballot for 40 years. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t know what tomorrow’s going to bring. I know what we have before us today. You have an unbelievable opportunity that’s not going to happen in our lifetime again,” Manchin said.
“If we don’t pass permitting reform, right now my Republican friends are saying ‘Oh don’t worry. When we have control of the House we’ll be able to have a better deal.’ My friends, let me say this, you had from 2016 to 2020. The president was Republican. The House was Republican. The Senate was Republican. You only had one vote for permitting reform and that was mine, as a Democrat. Nobody else.”
President Joe Biden, prior to the Senate vote, released a statement in support of the permitting reform policy.
“I support Senator Manchin’s permitting reform proposal as a way to cut Americans’ energy bills, promote US energy security, and boost our ability to get energy projects built and connected to the grid,” Biden stated.
“Today, far too many projects face delays — keeping us from generating critical, cost-saving energy needed by families and businesses across America. That’s an impediment to our economic growth, for creating new jobs, and for lessening our reliance on foreign imports.”
One of the goals of the permitting reform was to ease the path for completing the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which would extend 303 miles to transport West Virginia natural gas into southern Virginia.
Developers say the pipeline construction is almost complete, but it has faced a series of delays over permitting and court challenges. Earlier this year, federal regulators granted the project four more years to move toward completion. The $6.6 billion pipeline project first got authorization from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in 2017.
Groups like Appalachian Voices, which has been fighting the Mountain Valley Pipeline, objected to bringing up the fast-track permitting policies again.
“We commend the senators from both sides of the aisle who voted to exclude this bill from the National Defense Authorization Act,” stated Chelsea Barnes, the legislative director for Appalachian Voices.
“We are deeply disappointed in the president and in the legislators who profess support for environmental justice and acted against the interests of communities directly impacted by energy projects.”
Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., supported the permitting legislation although she also has floated her own version.
“I’m going to be voting for it,” Capito said in a briefing with West Virginia reporters prior to the vote this week. “We’ll see what the numbers bear out, but it looks like early reports are that it will not make it across the finish line. But I hope that it does, because I want that pipeline.”
The full national defense authorization legislation passed on an 83-11 Senate vote Thursday. Capito praised the legislation’s passage.
She singled out several aspects of the bill that specifically affect West Virginia. One promotes developments at Green Bank Observatory. Another promotes the West Virginia National Guard’s Army Interagency Training and Education Center. Another prohibits the Air Force from reducing the number of C-130 aircraft assigned to the National Guard.
“We have to ensure our military is best equipped and prepared to face whatever challenge it may have to face, and that our personnel and equipment are able to meet those pressing needs in defense of our nation and our allies,” Capito stated. “This legislation accomplishes that goal.”