Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) on Tuesday asked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to drop permitting reform from a crucial stopgap funding bill, clearing a path for the legislation to pass as Congress scrambles to fund the government before an end-of-week deadline.

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A stopgap bill with the permitting language did not have the 60 votes necessary to advance after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) whipped Republicans to vote against it. The legislative text of that bill, released overnight, would fund the government through Dec. 16.

Schumer agreed to remove the provision to allow the stopgap spending bill to pass.

“Sen. Manchin, myself, and others will continue to have conversations about the best way to ensure responsible permitting reform is passed before the end of the year,” he said.

The permitting reforms also faced opposition from within Manchin’s own party on environmental grounds. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who caucuses with the Democrats, opposed attaching the measure to the funding bill, meaning Manchin needed to win over at least 12 Republicans to have passed the permitting reforms.

In a statement, Manchin said, “It is unfortunate that members of the United States Senate are allowing politics to put the energy security of our nation at risk.”

“The last several months, we have seen firsthand the destruction that is possible as Vladimir Putin continues to weaponize energy,” he said. “A failed vote on something as critical as comprehensive permitting reform only serves to embolden leaders like Putin who wish to see America fail. For that reason and my firmly held belief that we should never come to the brink of a government shutdown over politics, I have asked Majority Leader Schumer to remove the permitting language from the Continuing Resolution we will vote on this evening.”

Manchin added that “over the last several weeks there has been broad consensus on the urgent need to address our nation’s flawed permitting system.”

“I stand ready to work with my colleagues to move forward on this critical legislation to meet the challenges of delivering affordable reliable energy Americans desperately need,” he said. “We should never depend on other countries to supply the energy we need when we can produce it here at home. Accelerating the construction of energy infrastructure is critical to delivering that energy to the American people and our allies around the world. Inaction is not a strategy for energy independence and security.”

Earlier this year, Manchin struck a deal with Schumer to include energy permitting in exchange for his vote on the Inflation Reduction Act, a scaled-back version of Build Back Better, President Joe Biden’s sweeping social spending and green energy agenda.

Manchin sunk Build Back Better when he objected to its price tag and raised concerns over inflation but later surprised some Republicans with his vote. Republicans balked at supporting his permitting reform deal, which would help expedite an energy project in West Virginia, or advancing anything other than a clean continuing resolution.

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, wrote on Twitter earlier Tuesday that “we have made significant progress toward a CR that is as clean as possible.”

“But, if the Democrats insist on including permitting reform, I will oppose it,” Shelby wrote. “Passing a clean CR will allow us to focus on completing the FY23 appropriations process before the end of this year.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) took things a step further, tweeting that to back Manchin’s “weak and ineffective” reforms would be “to reward Senator Manchin for supporting the misnamed ‘Inflation Reduction Act.'”

“Also to believe the Biden Administration would implement any real, serious permitting reform is beyond naive,” Graham added.

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Lawmakers are expected to pass the stand-alone stopgap measure ahead of the final stretch of campaigning before the November elections, as neither party will want to face blame for a shutdown.

Original Location: Manchin and Schumer drop permitting reform, clearing way for stopgap spending bill

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