[ The win was the result of "hundreds of national and grassroots
organizations, along with concerned Americans from coast to coast,
working together for the health and safety of frontline communities
and a livable future for the planet," said one campaigner.]
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‘PEOPLE POWER HAS WON THE DAY’: MANCHIN DIRTY DEAL DEFEATED  
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Jessica Corbett
September 27, 2022
Common Dreams
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_ The win was the result of "hundreds of national and grassroots
organizations, along with concerned Americans from coast to coast,
working together for the health and safety of frontline communities
and a livable future for the planet," said one campaigner. _

Charly Lowry, left, and Alexis Raeana, right, both of North Carolina,
demonstrate with Appalachian and Indigenous climate advocates against
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin's (D-W.Va.) "dirty deal" in Washington, D.C. on
September 8, 2022., (Photo: Craig Hudson for The Washington Post via
Getty Images)

 

CLIMATE CAMPAIGNERS AND PEOPLE on the frontlines of the planetary
emergency celebrated Tuesday after Sen. Joe Manchin requested that his
fossil fuel-friendly permitting reforms be stripped out of a stopgap
funding bill.

"Manchin's dirty deal went down in flames today because Indigenous and
frontline communities raised their voices."

"People power has won the day," said Protect Our Water Heritage Rights
Coalition (POWHR) organizer Grace Tuttle. "Thank you to everyone who
rallied together to stop this bill. We will keep fighting alongside
you. Our letters, calls, rallies, and grassroots activism secured this
victory."

"We recognize that the fight is not over, and we stand with all
frontline communities from the Gulf Coast to Alaska facing
fossil-fueled injustices," Tuttle vowed. "Our movement to stop the
Mountain Valley Pipeline is bigger and stronger than ever. We will
keep fighting to end the era of fossil fuels and for the future we
deserve."

Food & Water Watch executive director Wenonah Hauter declared that
"tonight's turnaround represents a remarkable, against-all-odds
victory by a determined grassroots climate movement against the
overwhelming financial and political might of the fossil fuel industry
and its Senate enablers."

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) agreed to hold a vote on
permitting reforms in exchange for Manchin (D-W.Va.) supporting the
Inflation Reduction Act. However, a growing number of lawmakers
indicated in recent days that they would oppose an urgent government
funding bill if it included the "dirty deal," which would fast-track
fossil fuel projects.

Given the mounting opposition to his Energy Independence and Security
Act, Manchin on Tuesday evening asked Schumer to cut out his proposal.

"While the campaign against polluting oil and gas is far from over,"
said Hauter, "this repudiation of Sen. Manchin's so-called permitting
reform bill marks a huge victory against dirty energy—and also
against dirty backroom Washington deal-making."

"This victory would not have been possible without the coordinated
efforts of hundreds of national and grassroots organizations, along
with concerned Americans from coast to coast, working together for the
health and safety of frontline communities and a livable future for
the planet," she stressed.

Russell Chisholm, a frontline organizer against the Mountain Valley
Pipeline—which Manchin specifically included in the bill—similarly
said that "what we just witnessed is the power of frontline
communities united against a threat to our people and planet."

"Let the downfall of this bill be a lesson to Sen. Manchin, his fossil
fuel cronies, and allied politicians: We will no longer be sacrificed
for your corrupt interests," he added. "We are united against all
fossil fuel projects and we will ensure the livable and just future
that we deserve. Join us or step aside."

Collin Rees, United States program manager at Oil Change
International, also highlighted the movement that opposed the bill,
saying that "Sen. Manchin's dirty deal went down in flames today
because Indigenous and frontline communities raised their voices and
fought back."

"This legislation would have had deadly consequences for communities
and the climate, and we applaud all members of Congress who stood with
frontline communities and boldly opposed it. That's real climate
leadership," he said, noting the need for "building out clean,
renewable energy" rather than more fossil fuel infrastructure.

"Manchin's 'permitting reform' is far from dead, and we will remain
vigilant against any attempts to gut bedrock environmental laws by
attaching this dangerous package to other must-pass legislation before
the end of the Congress," Rees added. "But Manchin's withdrawal of the
bill is a powerful victory for the climate movement and communities
threatened by fossil fuel expansion."

Neither Schumer nor Manchin gave any indication they are fully giving
up on the effort, with the West Virginian saying that "it is
unfortunate that members of the United States Senate are allowing
politics to put the energy security of our nation at risk."

"A failed vote on something as critical as comprehensive permitting
reform only serves to embolden leaders like [Russian President
Vladimir] Putin who wish to see America fail," Manchin added. "For
that reason and my firmly held belief that we should never come to the
brink of a government shutdown over politics, I have asked Majority
Leader Schumer to remove the permitting language from the continuing
resolution we will vote on this evening."

Schumer, for his part, blamed Republicans—who want permitting policy
to go even further in favor of polluters.

"Because American families should not be subject to a
Republican-manufactured government shutdown, Sen. Manchin has
requested, and I have agreed, to move forward and pass the recently
filed continuing resolution legislation without the Energy
Independence and Security Act of 2022," he said. "Sen. Manchin,
myself, and others will continue to have conversations about the best
way to ensure responsible permitting reform is passed before the end
of the year."

According to Hauter, Schumer and other Democratic leaders "would be
wise to heed the large and growing chorus of voices demanding an end
to the fossil fuel era, and put Manchin's permitting plan down for
good."

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a leading opponent of Machin's bill,
swiftly congratulated the more than 650 groups "who made clear that,
in the midst of the horrific climate crisis that we face, the last
thing we need is a side deal which would build more pipelines and
fossil fuel projects that would have substantially increased carbon
emissions."

"This is a victory for the survival of the planet and a major loss for
the fossil fuel industry," said Sanders. "The United States and the
rest of the world must move away from our dependence on authoritarian
regimes, like those in Russia and Saudi Arabia, for our energy. We
must now go forward in creating millions of new jobs by transforming
our energy system away from fossil fuel toward energy efficiency and
sustainable energy."

In addition to recognizing the efforts of frontline activists and
Sanders, Indivisible national advocacy director Mary Small thanked
Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Tammy Duckworth
(D-Ill.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley
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Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) as well as
Rep. Raúl Grijalva
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and dozens of other House Democrats.

"In the wake of this win and over the next few months, we urge
leadership to focus on a winning legislative agenda that unifies the
Democratic caucus," Small added. "As we have seen with this fight,
attaching controversial policies to must-pass vehicles is a recipe for
infighting and failure."

_Jessica Corbett is a staff writer for Common Dreams._

* Climate Change
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