It's been a fast-moving week when it comes to the chatter about the deal Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) was promised on pipeline permitting reforms in order for him to sign onto the misnamed "Inflation Reduction Act," which President Joe Biden ultimately signed into law last month. While Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) reaffirmed earlier in the week that he intends to keep his promise, it's becoming increasingly possible that it won't be enough, as more Democrats signal their displeasure.
Initially it was a handful of fellow Democrats in the House and Senate, though noteworthily these include committee chairmen such as Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, as well as Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) of the House Natural Resources Committee. Then, news came out that 650 outside environmental groups sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who was also part of the negotiations with Manchin, expressing their opposition.
The number of less than thrilled members has since grown. On Friday, Rachel Frazin wrote for The Hill about how more than 70 House Democrats have signed onto a letter from Rep. Grijalva addressed to Speaker Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), calling on them to not include Manchin's deal in the continuing resolution (CR). The CR must pass by September 30 in order to avoid a government shutdown.
More than 70 lawmakers ask leadership to keep permitting reforms/enviro review changes out of must-pass funding bill pic.twitter.com/kBQvLiytxE
— Rachel Frazin (@RachelFrazin) September 9, 2022
"The inclusion of these provisions in a continuing resolution, or any other must-pass legislation, would silence the voices of frontline and environmental justice communities by insulating them from scrutiny," the lawmakers complained in part in their letter.
Frazin's report provides a hint as to what the yet-to-be-released legislative text would entail, in that "a summary from Manchin’s office says they would set maximum timelines for environmental reviews assessing an energy project’s potential climate and pollution impacts, restrict states’ abilities to block projects that run through their waters and require the president to prioritize certain projects."
Rep. Grijalva is mentioned for having made a telling point when previously speaking to The Hill, in that he didn't feel an "obligation" to vote for such changes since he was not part of the negotiations made with Manchin. Sen. Schumer, Speaker Pelosi, and President Biden were, but can't necessarily speak for all their members.
If the agreement with Manchin doesn't come to fruition, it won't merely be an instance of Democrats in disarray on display, but a sign that the "Inflation Reduction Act" may have passed for nothing. It will raise taxes for lower- and middle-class Americans and, as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Manchin himself even admitted, it wont do much to actually immediately help inflation. Experts warn it will make it worse.