House Democrats are putting their foot down in opposition to Sen. Joe Manchin‘s environmental review process bill, hoping to prevent Congress from striking a deal with the West Virginia senator.
Progressives are specifically opposing Manchin’s changes to provisions that allow local communities to review federal projects “that have serious, long-term environmental, and public health consequences,” according to an updated letter sent to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer by the House Natural Resources Committee on Monday.
Manchin’s proposed legislation would limit the public’s ability to review and provide comments on projects and would also involve a number of “harmful fossil fuel projects” that would contribute to climate change and hurt the environment. These projects would be streamlined and receive priority federal funding and expedited environmental review.
If these provisions are accepted, the bill could become part of a larger government-funded measure called a continuing resolution or “CR.” Manchin, Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer struck a deal to pass “comprehensive permitting reform” legislation in exchange for Manchin’s support on the Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed by President Joe Biden in August. Progressives seeking to protect the environment from climate change took a large hit from this deal.
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Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, wrote in a press release announcing the letter that if Congress does indeed moves forward with the permitting reform provisions in a CR, there could be a government shutdown beginning in October — something that no member of Congress wants to see.
“I don’t know how a CR vote will go if it includes the permitting rider, but the opposition is loud and only getting louder,” Grijalva said. “I encourage leadership to listen to its caucus and keep us out of a shutdown standoff that nobody wants. Give us a clean CR and let these dirty permitting provisions stand up to congressional scrutiny on their own. Now is not the time to roll the dice on a government shutdown.”
In total, 77 House Democrats signed the letter, including the heads of the Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife, the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands, and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
There is hope for a compromise, as several clean energy advocates wrote in a separate letter to Pelosi on Friday that environmental justice groups do wish to see permitting reforms, just not at the expense of polluting the environment and contributing to “environmental racism.” The letter indicates that several of these projects could be concentrated in communities of color, Native American areas, and poor communities — places that are typically without continued access to clean water and air.
However, Manchin told reporters last week that his bill could also help streamline green energy projects, stating that “if I thought it was going to be harmful for the climate, I would have never done it,” according to the Hill.
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If House leaders ignore progressives and side with Manchin, the passage of permitting reforms may fall into the hands of Republicans. The largest House conservative caucus, the Republican Study Committee, released a memo on Monday stating that it may not support the bill because it could, down the road, support left-wing policies such as Green New Deal projects.
On Monday, Senate Republican lawmakers led by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) introduced legislation in an effort to counter Manchin’s plan. While including some of the provisions in the Democrat-sponsored bill, such as an expedited approval for the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a natural gas pipeline originating in West Virginia, it would also codify the Environmental Protection Agency’s definition of “waters of the United States” from the time of the Trump administration.
