Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) publicly castigated a deal between Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) that would speed up permitting for energy projects, suggesting the deal will hasten climate change if passed into law.
Sanders said on the Senate floor Thursday that Manchin’s interest in permitting reform ignores the “existential threat of climate change.” The side deal, agreed to in exchange for Manchin’s support on the Inflation Reduction Act that passed in early August, will likely be folded into the stopgap spending bill needed to fund the government after Oct. 1.
BIPARTISAN RANKS FOR AGAINST MANCHIN-SCHUMER PERMITTING DEAL
Sanders said he has “strong opposition to the so-called side deal that the fossil fuel industry is pushing to make it easier for them to pollute the environment and destroy our planet” and urged his colleagues not to entertain the legislation.
The senator said he would not vote for the stopgap spending bill should it have the permitting reform attached.
The deal, which would speed up both green energy and fossil fuel projects, includes permitting to complete the Mountain Valley Pipeline, slated to connect much of West Virginia’s shale gas to Virginia, and would place a statute of limitations on lawsuits against the projects.
“In the coming weeks and months, the Senate has a fundamental choice to make,” Sanders said. “We can listen to the fossil fuel industry and the politicians they pay who are spending huge amounts of money on lobbying and campaign contributions to pass this dirty side deal, or we can listen to the scientists and the environmental community, who are telling us loudly and clearly to reject the side deal and eliminate the $50 billion in tax breaks and subsidies Congress is already providing to big oil and gas companies each and every year.”
I’m LIVE on the floor of the U.S. Senate to announce my strong opposition to the so-called “side deal” to build the Mountain Valley Pipeline. We don’t need to make it easier for the fossil fuel industry to destroy the planet. https://t.co/krKcm9W7SU
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) September 8, 2022
Nearly 60 House Democrats have signed on to a letter also opposing the deal, Sanders said.
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Sanders has opposed several measures that had strong Democratic support over the last several months in rhetoric, if not in votes. Though he voted for the Inflation Reduction Act, he bemoaned the “incredibly tepid bill” for not going far enough on healthcare and energy.
Although Republicans generally support more energy permitting, some have taken issue with how this deal came about. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said last month that he wouldn’t support a “payback scheme” between Democrats. The spending bill will need at least 10 Republican votes to pass the 60-vote filibuster threshold.
