By now, you’ve probably heard that Sen. Joe Manchin broke his word to not support an inflation-inducing, tax-raising reconciliation bill. The West Virginia senator, after a year of being firm in his opposition, gave in to the demands of the party’s radicals and signed off to nearly $400 billion worth climate change spending, along with an increase in corporate taxes that will be passed to consumers.
Manchin decided to pay back those who had helped him, and who acted in good will. But what did he actually get out of this deal?
Manchin is now even more vile.
BREAKING: The outside agreement reached b/w Manchin and Dem leaders to overhaul building & environmental review in the US, including pushing new WV pipeline. Offered by Dem leaders to help secure Manchin commitment for clean energy subsidies https://t.co/TdGvER5nm8 pic.twitter.com/fHi5NAOGkU
— Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) August 1, 2022
The thing I noticed most about the outline was the inflexibility and non-applicability of many provisions. Absolutely nothing in the first section, which is titled “designate and prioritize projects of strategic national importance,” amounts to anything more than a suggestion to the executive branch. The president and the bureaucracy will still retain control of the process despite the generic requirement for a “balanced list.” And given one of the qualifications for that list is “decarbonization potential,” take a wild guess at what will be prioritized.
The rest isn’t objectionable, per se, as much as it is largely irrelevant and hollow. If this permitting reform doesn’t actually disallow politicization of the process, and it clearly doesn’t, all it’s doing is requiring denials of much-needed projects be on a shorter timeframe. Is it really a win for an oil pipeline to be shut down by a corrupt bureaucracy in 2 years, instead of 5?
You will find a section on federal government approval of electric transmission systems. Again, the question is who has authority to make these decisions. It is the Secretary for Energy. Is that you? That would be Jennifer Granholm, a radical leftist who has continually suggested that Americans should suffer in order to transition to “green” energy.
Heck, we aren’t even done yet, and this “compromise” already seems like another giveaway to the climate lobby. Is there any compromise? Manchin gained what?
He made some extremely vague promises about a West Virginia LNG pipeline. “Require the relevant agencies to take all necessary actions to permit the construction and operation of the Mountain Valley Pipeline,” the document reads. It’s not obvious that you will be sold off.
But what really puts the cherry on top of this pitiful performance by Manchin is that he’s unlikely to even get any of what he’s demanding. The entire deal could be negotiated by the House Democrats, and they will. This outline only represents the best case scenario. It delivers very little substance. It was a worthwhile effort for West Virginia Senator. He burned his credibility to the ground in order to please people who hate him, and all he’s getting are some empty, unenforceable promises. You are a fool.
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