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Manchin’s permitting bill sets up dramatic clash over government funding

cigaretteman

HR King
May 29, 2001
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Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) on Wednesday unveiled the long-awaited text of legislation to speed up the nation’s permitting process for energy infrastructure, including for polluting fossil fuel projects and the clean energy projects crucial to President Biden’s climate goals.
But the bill, dubbed the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2022, faces staunch opposition from Republicans and a growing group of Democrats in both chambers of Congress, The Post’s Maxine Joselow writes in The Climate 202.
Per Maxine:
The mounting opposition threatens to undermine an agreement between Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and President Biden to pass the permitting proposal as part of a government funding bill — an unusual compromise that secured Manchin’s elusive support for the Inflation Reduction Act.
The 91-page bill would take the following steps aimed at streamlining federal agencies’ approval process for new energy projects, according to a summary from Manchin’s office: set a two-year time limit for reviews of major projects under the National Environmental Policy Act; set a 150-day statute of limitations for lawsuits over projects; and create a rolling list of 25 projects that are in the “national interest,” including five fossil fuel projects.
Most controversially, the measure seeks to expedite the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which would transport natural gas about 300 miles from West Virginia to Virginia and is a key priority of Manchin’s.
You can read the full analysis here.
 
Seems like Manchin is being punished by the GOP for the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act, and rejected by the Dems for using, and potentially abusing, the environment.
 
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