Despite progress, Manchin and Barrasso’s permit reform effort faces obstacles

Although Senators Joe Manchin (IW.Va.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) finally reached a deal on energy permitting reform this week, their effort still faces an uphill climb.

They will need to convince leadership and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and in both chambers to support their deal — and to give them space later in the year. For Manchin, who is not seeking re-election and will leave the Senate when his term ends in January, this is the last chance to fulfill a long-standing priority that is expected to be a legacy for him.

So far, several key lawmakers have said they are open to the effort, which seeks to bolster the build-out of renewable and fossil fuel energy sources — but have stopped short of supporting it.

“I would like to allow reform,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) told reporters when asked about the bill this week.

Schumer said he had not yet seen the text of the agreement and would not say whether he supported it.

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), who has been negotiating with Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) to reach a deal on the House side, said the Manchin-Barrasso language “ “It will go very well” with your own efforts.

However, it’s unclear what any effort to bring the two together would look like, as Peters and Westerman have yet to detail any sort of agreement.

The Barrasso-Manchin bill, introduced Monday after a two-year effort to get licensing reform across the finish line, arrives just before lawmakers prepare to leave Washington for their August recess. The Senate alsoprogrammedwill be released in October and early November, as many lawmakers focus on their reelection campaigns and the presidential race — leaving limited time on the legislative calendar.

The legislation includes provisions that aim to strengthen and improve the interregional connectivity of the country’s electricity grid, strengthening the construction of renewable and fossil energy and shortening the period for opening processes to block energy projects.

“This legislation has something for everyone because it will make it easier to have affordable, reliable energy. It will also greatly reduce emissions,” said Xan Fishman, senior director of the energy program at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

Fishman said emissions reductions are expected to come from provisions that strengthen the grid, as well as those that seek to facilitate the construction of renewable energy projects.

The bill faces opposition from progressives and environmental advocates who oppose its pro-fossil fuel measures and those that could make it more difficult for community or environmental opponents of an energy project to block it.

“For Joe Manchin, I’m sure he wants to fight for the fossil fuel industry and we’re going to fight back in a big way,” said Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.). “We need to find a way to kill the zombie once again.”

Schumer said in 2022 that he would support Manchin’s efforts to speed up the approval process for energy projects in exchange for Manchin’s vote on Democrats’ climate, tax and health care bill, known as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

However, hurt by Manchin’s support for the IRA and saying his efforts did not go far enough, many Republicans ultimately opposed the West Virginia senator’s 2022 authorization proposal.

And earlier this year, Schumer himself threw cold water on allowing reform prospects, saying it would be “practically impossible” to accomplish in the short term.

“I think it’s going to be very difficult to do anything legislatively about broadcasting at this point, given the makeup of the House with a Republican majority and so few Republicans eager to do any kind of regional broadcasting,” he told reporters.

But Barrasso spokesman Brian Faughnan told The Hill in an email Thursday that the senator and his team “have been communicating with relevant members and offices in the House and Senate.”

He added that Barrasso “will look for opportunities to advance the bill during the congressional session.”

Manchin and Barrasso, chairman and ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, are moving forward with their legislation using what little time they have before the recess.

Their committee is programmed to increase the account next week. And it’s receiving praise from top lawmakers, including Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman Tom Carper (D-Del.), who called it “a very good effort.”

However, some potential supporters, including Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), who supports allowing broad reform but said Tuesday he had not yet read the latest agreement, expressed doubts about whether the bill could actually be approved.

“I’m not optimistic about this year,” he said, saying the elections could “get in the way.”

Zack Budryk contributed.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story