Senate votes down Manchin's permitting bill, despite plea from Biden

Sen. Joe Manchin's permitting reform legislation was voted down by the U.S. Senate on Thursday, despite President Joe Biden's plea that the bill would allow construction of needed energy projects. The legislation was tacked on to a must-pass defense spending bill, and while it drew support from moderate Democrats and Republicans, there were not enough votes from the two parties' more ideological wings to secure the 60 votes needed. The final vote was 47 for and 47 against, with six senators absent, including Sen. Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican. Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat has pitched the bill as a means to grow all energy sectors, from natural gas fields in need of more pipelines to wind and solar farms that rely on long-distance power lines. But many Democrats have opposed the legislation, calling it a giveaway to oil and gas companies. Earlier in the day, Biden had urged Congress to pass the bill.

"Today, far too many projects face delays — keeping us from generating critical, cost-saving energy needed by families and businesses across America," Biden said in a statement. "Senator Manchin’s legislation is an important step toward unlocking the potential of these new energy projects to cut consumer costs and spur good-paying jobs." This latest version of Manchin's bill limited federal review of infrastructure projects to two years and gave the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authority to push through projects opposed by state authorities — though, in a concession to Republicans, not until states had a year to consider the project. This was the latest effort by top Democrats to get the legislation through, after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D N.Y., promised this summer to put the legislation up for a vote in exchange for Manchin's vote on the Inflation Reduction Act, which included hundreds of billions of dollars in funding for clean energy. But the legislation faced resistance from both parties from the moment it was introduced.