Now lawmakers in both parties are balking at a deal they insist they never entered into, sparking a dispute that threatens to derail a government spending bill that must be passed next weekend to avert a shutdown. Mr. Manchin insisted that legislation to streamline permitting for fossil fuel and energy infrastructure projects, including the West Virginia pipeline, must be tied to the spending measure, which is expected to keep the administration funded until mid-December. It is the latest chapter in long-running tensions between Mr Manchin and liberal Democrats, who have come down to how the West Virginian has used his surprise vote in the evenly divided Senate to destroy or water down President Biden’s agenda and, when he has agreed to proceed, he demanded major concessions to do so. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, said he intended to attach the two bills, and the White House on Wednesday confirmed Mr. Biden’s support for the legislation in a statement. “Today, too many energy projects are facing delays — preventing us from generating and delivering critical, cost-saving clean energy to families and businesses across America,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. “This is an important step forward to further unlock the potential of these projects and the well-paying jobs they support.” The authorization bill, which would have expressly allowed the completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a controversial natural gas project running through West Virginia, was left out of the climate legislation because it was seen as a budget compromise bill that allowed Democrats to shield the sweeping measure by a Republican filibuster but also severely limited what could be included. After the climate legislation became law, dozens of liberal lawmakers raised concerns about the permitting measure, warning it would weaken environmental protections, including the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires the government to study the environmental impact of any highways, pipelines or other large federal projects. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the independent chairman of the Budget Committee, said he would oppose Mr. Manchin’s legislation, meaning at least 11 Republicans would have to support it in the Senate on a 50-50 vote to raise the cap. of 60 votes. pass it past a filibuster if the rest of the Democratic caucus supports it. Most Republicans have rallied around a more aggressive package unveiled by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia. “I’ve never seen more unknown bedfellows than Bernie Sanders and the extreme liberals lining up with the Republican leadership,” Mr Manchin said at a press conference on Tuesday. “What I’m hearing is that this looks like revenge politics and basically revenge against one person: me.” Liberals remain bitter that Mr. Manchin single-handedly blocked many of their proposals to expand the nation’s social safety net and is now pushing legislation that would benefit the fossil fuel industry. Republicans are still angry at the West Virginian who abruptly dropped his opposition to the climate, tax and health care package — the only thing keeping it from passing the Senate — and allowed it to become law, giving Mr. .Biden and the Democrats a major achievement months before the midterm elections. “We have Joe Manchin, who is trying to hide behind a fig leaf of a deal he made with Chuck Schumer about trying to cut some of that red tape,” said Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming and the No. 3 Republican. of the Senate. this month. “If you’re looking now for Republicans to stand up and give you more coverage than you have right now, you’re not going to find it with us.” The deal with Mr. Manchin has further complicated the years-long fight this fall on Capitol Hill to avoid a government shutdown. Negotiations on a bill to keep federal funding flowing were already mired in debate over emergency aid to Ukraine for its war against Russia, relief for states and territories hit by natural disasters this year and money to deal with the coronavirus and monkeypox pandemics. How Times reporters cover politics. We rely on our journalists to be independent observers. So while Times staff members can vote, they are not allowed to endorse or campaign for candidates or political causes. This includes participating in marches or rallies in support of a movement or providing money or fundraising for any political candidate or election cause. The 91-page permitting legislation, which Mr. Manchin’s office released Wednesday night, includes several provisions aimed at streamlining environmental permitting for large energy projects. It would direct agencies to complete environmental reviews required under the National Environmental Policy Act within about two years for major projects and set a time limit for court appeals after a project is approved, according to a summary provided by the Mr. Manchin’s office. It would also require Mr. Biden to select 25 energy infrastructure projects to be prioritized for permitting, including fossil fuel production and processing projects and electricity transmission projects. Some Democrats and environmental groups countered that these changes would make it easier to build oil pipelines, LNG terminals and other fossil fuel infrastructure that would undermine progress on climate change while making it harder for communities to challenge harmful projects. Approving the completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline would have the climate impacts of 23 new coal-fired power plants and threaten the neighborhood’s water quality, they said. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, said “greenlighting the MVP is against the spirit of permissive reform” and expressed frustration that he could not voice his concerns about the project, which will also pass through his state, before an agreement is concluded. But several clean energy advocates and some top climate hawks in the Senate argue that such changes are necessary to create the clean energy revolution promised by the $370 billion in new climate spending legislation. Mr. Biden has pledged to roughly halve U.S. emissions by 2030 and stop the U.S. economy from adding carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere by 2050. That means not only eliminating the burning of oil, natural gas, and coal, but also the construction of wind farms, solar farms, transmission lines and other infrastructure needed to shift the nation to clean energy. “We need to be able to develop faster,” said Jules Kortenhorst, CEO of the Rocky Mountain Institute, a Colorado-based nonprofit group that focuses on the clean energy transition. The Progressive Policy Institute, a centrist Washington think tank, released a study that found renewable energy projects take an average of 2.7 years from proposal to approval decision, while transmission projects take an average of 4.3 years. Pipelines fall in the middle of that—an average of 3.5 years, and that’s not just for oil and gas pipelines, but also for those that could someday carry hydrogen, which comes from fossil fuels but produces fewer emissions greenhouse gases. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, pressed Mr. Manchin on Wednesday to support Ms. Capito’s alternative, adding that failure to do so could mean that West Virginia had “traded its vote to a massive liberal robbery for nothing. .” Some House Democrats said they resented being asked again to accept a deal that was meant to meet Mr. Manchin’s demands — and that it was tied to a must-pass spending bill that would force them to either swallow it or vote for it. to shut down the government. Nearly 80 House Democrats have called for a separate vote on Mr. Manchin’s authorization package, though so far they have not threatened to oppose the spending bill. (A similar letter has been circulated in the Senate.) “The last thing we need to do is put so many people’s lives at risk for a maneuver that is just misguided and frankly quite unprecedented,” said Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, noting that thousands of federal workers will be affected by a shutdown. He added, “Is this where we really want to bet on it? I don’t think they want to try it.”
