Senate Republicans introduce separate permitting-reform bill

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) has introduced separate legislation to overhaul the permitting process for energy projects, as Democrats debate a similar proposal agreed on by Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). 

Capito, the ranking member on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, presented the bill as necessary to give industry “regulatory certainty.” She also said the proposal would expedite the completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a project set to run through West Virginia. Manchin has made the completion of the pipeline a major priority, and the summary of the side deal reached with Schumer includes removing several obstacles to the goal. 

The West Virginia Republican also framed her separate introduction of a bill as in response to the lack of public text from Manchin, who has thus far released a summary of the proposal.  

“Since our calls for action and offers to see legislative text from the permitting ‘deal’ remain unheeded, Republicans are introducing this legislation today to deliver solutions to the roadblocks, delays, and postponements of key infrastructure projects across the country,” Capito said in a statement. 

Thirty-eight Senate Republicans co-sponsored the measure, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Minority Whip John Thune (S.D.) and Energy Committee ranking member Sen. John Barrasso (Wyo.).   

After over a year of negotiations, Manchin struck a deal with Schumer to support a sweeping Democratic climate and infrastructure bill in exchange for agreeing to introduce the separate permitting reform bill. The side bill has sparked fierce backlash from climate hawks in the Democratic caucus, and it remains unclear if Republican support for the measure exists to offset any Democrats who decline to support it.  

Last week, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) led more than 70 House Democrats in a letter asking House leadership not to include Manchin’s measure in stopgap funding that will prevent a government shutdown. 

“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,” they wrote.

“As Senator Manchin’s said, there has always been bipartisan support for comprehensive permitting reform and this introduction reaffirms that,” a Manchin spokesperson told The Hill. “He looks forward to getting it passed by the end of the month.”