In response to Senator Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) decision to remove permitting legislation from the Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the government, Evergreen Action Chief of Staff Lena Moffitt released the following statement:

“Senator Manchin’s ploy to tie his permitting legislation to the Continuing Resolution (CR) has been ludicrous since day one; his back room schemes with Big Oil have no place in a routine procedure to fund the government. Many congratulations to the Appalachian organizers, environmental justice advocates, climate champions, and frontline communities who lead the charge to defeat this dirty deal.

“While this bill has been sent to the trash heap where it belongs, we still need meaningful permitting reform to ensure we can rapidly deploy clean energy across the country. To start, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) must finalize the Regional Transmission Planning and Cost Allocation Rule, and FERC and the Department of Energy (DOE) must utilize existing backstop siting authority and new infrastructure funds for transmission lines. And Democrats in Congress should work toward permitting reform that protects our communities and supports clean energy—and doesn’t force through dangerous and unnecessary fossil fuel infrastructure like the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Let’s get back to work.”

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