Manchin's Energy Permit Reform Measure Fails 47-47 in Senate Vote

Abstract

A last-ditch effort by Sen. Joe Manchin to get a modest permitting reform measure attached to the $858-billion National Defense Authorization bill failed to win enough votes during Senate consideration of the bill Dec. 15-all but ending chances that significant reform to the environmental review process for energy infrastructure projects will occur before lawmakers leave for winter recess. The amendment attaching Manchin's permitting legislation failed by a 47-47 vote, with the bill and a stop-gap spending bill sent on Dec. 16 to President Joe Biden for his signature. Manchin's amendment would have required the president to identify 25 energy projects to be prioritized, with target end dates for environmental reviews and time limits for court reviews set. It would not go as far as some bills introduced by House Republicans earlier in the legislative session. There is only one more vehicle to which the bill could be attached, the end-of-year omnibus spending bill. House Republican leaders have said they plan to push a package of already-introduced energy bills early in the year, along with a more aggressive bill to shorten the length of environmental reviews for major infrastructure projects. With a Democratic president and very tight margins in the Senate, what ultimately can actually pass both chambers and be signed into law may look a lot like what is in Manchin's bill now, says Hall.