Manchin caves, Senate advances continuing resolution without permitting reform
Category: News & Politics
Via: vic-eldred • 2 years ago • 18 commentsBy: Ben Whedon (Just The News)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin on Tuesday asked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to remove his energy permitting reform plan from a continuing resolution in the face of bipartisan opposition.
Schumer promised that he would "continue to have conversations about the best way," to advance Manchin's plan by the end of the year, per Politico. Senate Republicans were poised to block the continuing resolution amid concerns about the Manchin proposal attached to it.
The Senate ultimately advanced the resolution without the permitting reform plan in a 72-23 vote, per NBC. The funding measure will keep the government operating until Dec. 16, pending a longer term funding plan.
The Tuesday concession leaves Manchin looking rather foolish after caving on a major policy position in exchange for what has amounted to an empty promise from his party.
The West Virginia Democrat announced in late July that he had struck a deal with Schumer in which he would trade his vote on the $740 billion Inflation Reduction Act for a separate deal streamlining the approval process for energy infrastructure projects. In particular, Manchin sought to curb local review of such projects and thereby advance the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which is planned to run through his state.
The plan faced opposition from progressive House Democrats over climate concerns. More than 70 House Democrats, led by Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., signed on to a letter voicing their opposition to the deal, arguing that since they were never party to Manchin's agreement with Schumer, they are not bound to its terms.
"We sure as hell don't owe Joe Manchin anything now," Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib said in late August, shortly after the Inflation Reduction Act's passage.
In the Senate, Manchin's effort faced opposition from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT, who derided the plan as a "giveaway" to the fossil fuel industry. Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine was a prominent Democratic opponent of the plan. Kaine specifically cited his opposition to the Mountain Valley Pipeline, the approval of which would likely occur following passage of the permitting reform.
Despite stiff intra-party opposition, Manchin has largely blamed Republicans for opposing the bill, noting that they previously had supported similar measures. The West Virginia Democrat decried the GOP for playing "revenge politics" by blocking permitting reform to punish him for backing the Inflation Reduction Act.
Throughout the process, Manchin had been adamant that the plan was both needed and would secure enough GOP support to pass. Many Republicans, however, expressed concern that the permitting reform plan Manchin introduced was an extremely narrow measure geared specifically toward approving the Mountain Valley Pipeline and offered little in the way of far-reaching reform on the wider issue.
"I'm trying to understand whether Sen. Manchin's proposal really is permitting reform," said Louisiana GOP Sen. John Kennedy prior to the plan's failure.
"I think it does as much harm as good, if it does any good at all," Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said of the effort. "If you own a pipeline in West Virginia, it's really great. Other than that, I don't see a lot of value to it."
Tags
Who is online
409 visitors
For a politician, Manchin has shown incredible naivete. First he thinks the far left wing of the democratic party is going to come back and make good on a pledge to support a deal that helps the American fossil fuel industry. Then he expected to rely on Republicans to pass Schumer's reward to him for voting up the antiinflation/green energy monstrosity.
It's not naivete, it not realizing that at this time it's not business as usual in congress... The normal quid-pro-quo of deal making is buried in mid-term election politics now...
Manchin gave in and got kicked in the teeth for it...
In a way you are right. Schumer thought he could deliver on the promise, but even he undersestimated the more left leaning dems in the House.
It was a humiliation for Manchin.
He's gone from the Right's favorite Democrat pet to something you avoid stepping in in less than a month.
He is gone from being a DINO and now is someone Democrats are willing to strike deals with.
Liz Cheney should take note. She will be suffering the same fate as soon as the Jan 6th committee is over.
She is only useful to Democrats so long as she is bashing Trump.
His reward is coming ...... Nov 8th.
West Virginia's last democratic Senator?
Perhaps but for sure a lost US House and perhaps a lost US Senate.
I called his shtick years ago.
He’s a snake in the grass.
Ahh, but do you know who is now the starlight in McConnell's eye?
It's the woman who said the filibuster must be preserved:
"McConnell was gushing over Sinema on Monday morning before she spoke at the McConnell Center in Kentucky — an inauspicious place for a Democrat to show their face, much less deliver an address. “She is today what we have too few of in the Democratic Party — a genuine moderate and a deal-maker,” McConnell continued."
Not sure about her ..... jury is still out ...
She'll be far less newsworthy after November 8th.
Not sure a true moderate can survive in todays political environment... on either side.
On the democrat side the moderates get eliminated in primaries.
Happens on both sides and I’m afraid we are powerless to change it until more Americans realize we are getting screwed by both sides with the hyper partisan system they’ve cultivated.
Neither side has much voter interest in primaries. Only the left has used that fact to elect radical candidates.
Unfortunately it isn't just the left electing radical candidates during the primaries.
Peter Meijer was more moderate than Gibbs in MI. There were a host of primary candidates for Republican governor more moderate than Tudor Dixon.
One thing that Democrats have done is funnel millions of dollars in free commercial advertisement to Trump Republican candidates- the very ones they called "a threat to Democracy".
Pelosi and Democrats cost Meijer his reelection bid. Hope he remembers that should he decide to run for office again. Sometimes when you reach across the isle to find common ground be prepared to lose an arm.
That's right. Now they are tampering with Republican primaries. Unfortunately, primaries are a weakness of democracy. Too few voters take an interest in them and the far left has learned how to manipulate/dominate them. When AOC won her primary over a moderate she went into a general election in which many democrats in that district simply vote party affiliation. That's the formula. As you pointed out on the Republican side, the same leftist democrats donate money to the most extreme radical Republican candidate, so that their allies in the media can drill down on their radical positions in hopes of defeating them.