Democratic leadership aims to use a must-pass state funding bill to advance an energy licensing proposal from Manchin by the end of the month. But with about two weeks to go between Congress and a critical funding deadline, tensions are simmering over the closely held negotiations. “We don’t know what it is. They haven’t released the text, they’re not giving us the detailed explanation,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (RW.Va.) told The Hill this week. “Well, I don’t know how you could ask people to vote for something they don’t know what it is.” “There’s a reason they’re keeping it secret: either it’s still being negotiated, or it’s so weak it doesn’t make sense, or it’s too strong for other people,” he added. Only a broad outline of Manchin’s plan has been published. It includes setting maximum timelines for the environmental review process for energy projects, which advocates say could undermine the analysis needed to approve a project and weaken community involvement. Other components would make it harder for states to block projects that cross their waters and require the president to choose a “balanced” list of energy projects that should be prioritized. The outline also says a natural gas pipeline running through West Virginia, known as the Mountain Valley Pipeline, will be completed. But in the absence of an official text, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle complain they don’t know what they’re talking about. Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who leads the left-wing opposition to Manchin’s reforms, said he would be open to negotiating a package if it provides protections for communities facing high pollution burdens. However, he expressed disappointment that the details of Manchin’s proposal have not been worked out. “We’re negotiating in the dark and all the cards are held by the Senate and we’re supposed to just react,” Grijalva told The Hill. He said he is seeking a meeting with leadership to negotiate and also plans to reach out to Manchin. Pressed Thursday on whether the text would be released before the funding bill legislation is unveiled, Manchin told The Hill he believes it will “roll in the CR,” referring to the continuing resolution, which is expected to push the deadline for government funding to December as the midterm cycle accelerates. A continuing resolution is a short-term spending bill that keeps spending at current levels. As for when and how the funding bill will come up for consideration, much appears to be up in the air, as top leaders say those details are still being hashed out.
Sen. Richard Shelby (Ala.), the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, speculated that the CR might not come down until “probably closer to the end of the month” — which he noted would increase pressure on both sides to pass a CR before funding expires. But he expressed doubt that Manchin’s licensing measure would make it into the larger funding package. “Republicans and many Democrats [are] against him. So, I don’t know where it’s going yet,” he said. He pointed to a separate licensing proposal floated by Capito and other Republicans last week as an alternative. It’s not entirely clear how different the Capito and Manchin plans will be, though Manchin has suggested his plan will be similar to that of his fellow West Virginia senator. “He dropped the marker along the same lines as what we did,” Manchin said. She also expressed hope that Republicans lining up behind her proposal, which has the support of more than 40 GOP members, will translate into support for the funding bill if it includes the reform approval. Such support could also translate to the House, where there is significant Democratic opposition to the plan. “It means that basically Democrats and Republicans have the same mindset about the permit and why it’s so important, and hopefully he can bring in at least 20 of them,” Manchin said. Like the Manchin outline, the Capito legislation would limit environmental review timelines, limit state authorities from blocking projects and require completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. It goes further by preventing the federal government from restricting an oil and gas extraction process known as fracking that has been linked to water contamination. It would also allow states to take over power from the federal government to generate energy on public lands. Some in the GOP see Capito’s legislation as a starting point for negotiations, while others appear less willing to meet Manchin in the middle. But since Manchin’s efforts are still seen as the best possible effort to bring about any kind of reform, they may eventually coalesce around his proposal. Meanwhile, nearly 80 House Democrats are calling on party leadership to separate Manchin’s deal from the funding bill, though some are wary of threatening to vote against the deal if it means a government shutdown. “If it’s attached, then that would theoretically be a shutdown vote,” Grijalva told The Hill, but he cast doubt on the chances that all the Democrats who oppose the proposal would vote against a bill containing the measure. Grijalva acknowledged that not every member opposed to the allowed reform changes would be willing – and he did not say whether he himself would vote to shut down the government – but said that right now, his coalition has power. He said that “in any close vote and if the Republicans don’t support any part of it, which has been the story, then I think our vote becomes that much more important.” “But I’m not promoting that… The point now is to separate it,” he added. Russian pop icon speaks out against Putin’s war in Ukraine White House pushes for monkeypox funding as cases drop However, that doesn’t mean some members aren’t already doing the math. “No matter how small our margin, what do we need? Three, four or five?’ Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), one of dozens of Democrats supporting Grijalva’s effort, told The Hill about the issue Thursday. “Well, we’ll see if we have that.” Alex Bolton contributed.