Revealed: Joe Manchin's price for supporting the climate change bill

[turbinetree]

By Pro Publica
Published August 05, 2022

From his Summers County, West Virginia, farmhouse, Mark Jarrell can see the Greenbrier River and, beyond it, the ridge that marks the Virginia border. Jarrell moved here nearly 20 years ago for peace and quiet. But the last few years have been anything but serene, as he and his neighbors have fought against the construction of a huge natural gas pipeline.

Jarrell and many others along the path of the partially finished Mountain Valley Pipeline through West Virginia and Virginia fear that it may contaminate rural streams and cause erosion or even landslides. By filing lawsuits over the potential impacts on water, endangered species and public forests, they have exposed flaws in the project’s permit applications and pushed its completion well beyond the original target of 2018. The delays have helped balloon the pipeline’s cost from the original estimate of $3.5 billion to $6.6 billion.

But now, in the name of combating climate change, the administration of President Joe Biden and the Democratic leadership in Congress are poised to vanquish Jarrell and other pipeline opponents. For months, the nation has wondered what price Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin would extract to allow a major climate change bill. Part of that price turns out to be clearing the way for the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

https://www.rawstory.com/joe-manchin-climate-change-2657811924/

[pwb]

1. Most likely our president Joe Biden made it all a Union job.

So there's that.

[Emile]

2. Sinema price was not to tax hedge fund managers.

[BlueIdaho]

9. Yup

The carried interest loophole lives on thanks to Sinema. Looks like she and Manchin each got their pound of flesh in this much watered down bill.

[Peregrine Took]

11. Amazing how transparent her ambition is. She doesn't even mask it as something good for people.

[Emile]

12. I like to hear her explanation for her concern for hedge fund managers

and taxes. It must be hilarious.

[comradebillyboy]

3. Complaining that the huge win negotiated by Schumer and Manchin isn't

perfect enough? Do tell. Progress occurs one step at a time. And this bill represents real progress. I, for one, will celebrate it and try to help expand the Democratic majority in the Senate so we can have even more progress.

[LakeArenal]

4. I think I agree.

We lived next to a huge pipe line. They were checking it regularly. The fear it leaks is huge. But in 40 years it hasn’t. I guess I should add “ that We know of”.

We need to learn to negotiate. We have to assume Biden and his advisers know what they are doing.

I HAVE to trust in Biden. I have no choice. Since I admit I don’t know… I’m not going to speculate negatively. It doesn’t help Democrats.

Call it blind faith. But there is no other choice right now.

[PortTack]

6. Nailed it..for sure! Thx

[LakeArenal]

7. 🤜🏻🤛🏻

[edhopper]

5. And a price we needed to pay

unfortunately, compromise for the bigger win is a reality.

Also, Biden giving the green light doesn't mean it still can't be stopped by the Courts or future Administrations can't stop it.

[Bayard]

8. It often sucks,

But sometimes the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

10. That's the sausage biz. nt

[jalan48]

13. I'm not sure young voters will get it and I don't think the 'It's the best we could do' argument

is going to age well. It's who we are and where we are at as a country right now, pretty sad.

[brush]

14. Glad we Dems got this 700B bill done, but...

the BBB started out as a 3 trillion dollar bill, then kept dropping to 3 T, 1.7 T and finally 1.1 T if I recall correctly, so going from 3 T to 700 B is what Manchin and Sinema cost us.

[Deminpenn]

15. Once the bill is signed,

no pipeline promises need to be kept. That is exactly what Machine deserves for his duplicity.

[Celerity]

17. +100

[Celerity]

16. Approval for the pipeline may not be a done deal. Both senators from Virginia, where the pipeline is

also a hot political issue, are signalling that they don’t feel bound by Manchin’s agreement with the leadership. Manchin’s own announcement said that Democratic leaders have “committed to advancing” the pipeline legislation — not that the bill would pass. Regional and national environmental groups are walking a fine line. They support the climate change legislation while opposing weakening the permit process.