Congress is making its way back to Washington, DC, for the final push before the mid-term elections, when attention will shift away from legislating to the campaign trail.
Just before the August recess, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) struck a deal with Democrat leadership to take up permitting reform in exchange for supporting the Inflation Reduction Act under the budget reconciliation process.
That deal was crucial to winning Manchin’s support for Joe Biden’s biggest policy win of his presidency, which included $369 billion in climate spending. And while Democrat leadership has promised to help Manchin pass some form of permitting reform, individual members are less enthused. Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer has announced his intention to roll reform into the must-be-passed continuing resolution (CR), necessary to keep the government funded through early 2023.
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