'This is not about me:' Manchin pleads with GOP to play ball on permitting reform
by Emily Jacobs, Weekend News Editor
September 26, 2022 01:23 AM
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) appealed to uneasy Senate Republicans on Sunday as he tries to whip GOP support for his permitting reform bill.
Manchin appeared on Fox News Sunday to urge GOP lawmakers wary about working with him to back the legislation, which would fast-track energy projects nationwide, a policy priority for Republicans. Democrats have opposed his permitting efforts in years past as climate change became a legislative and political focus, though a large majority have come around given that it would expedite government contract approvals for infrastructure proposals. Manchin's GOP colleagues have declined to get on board, however, for reasons relating to the bill for some and distrust of the senator for others over his backing of the Inflation Reduction Act.
MANCHIN BLASTS 'REVENGE POLITICS' AS REPUBLICANS BALK AT PERMITTING DEAL
"Shannon, this is not about me," he told host Shannon Bream when asked about distrust from Republicans over his legislative deal with Democrats over the summer. "My Republican friends, I've been working for 12 years with them, and I know their number one item that they've had, the number one priority they've had is permitting reform."
"We can't build anything in America. It takes five to ten years. The developed world takes one to three years," he added, defending the legislation itself. "My Republican friends know exactly where we are. This is not about the previous legislation. This is something, a high priority that we have for our country. It's a- it's a time in history."
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/senate/joe-manchin-senate-republicans-permitting-reform-fox-news