Overnight Energy & Environment

Overnight Energy & Environment — Presented by Climate Power — Manchin: key energy provision of spending package ‘makes no sense’

by Zack Budryk and Rachel Frazin 09/13/21 05:47 PM CDT

Welcome to Monday’s Overnight Energy & Environment, your source for the latest news focused on energy, the environment and beyond. Subscribe here: digital-stage.thehill.com/newsletter-signup.

Today we’re looking at Joe Manchin’s opposition to a key environmental component of the Democrats’ reconciliation package, moderate House Democrats with their own reservations and a U.N. report with grim projections for the future of migration.

For The Hill, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk. Write to us with tips: rfrazin@digital-stage.thehill.com and zbudryk@digital-stage.thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @RachelFrazin and @BudrykZack.

Let’s jump in.

Manchin opposes reconciliation clean energy program

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), a key vote in the 50-50 Senate, on Sunday signaled his opposition to both the $3.5 trillion price tag of the Democratic reconciliation package and a measure in it that would create a clean electricity payment program.

Manchin, the chair of the Senate Energy Committee, told CNN’s Dana Bash Sunday that a transition to clean electricity was already in process. “Now they’re wanting to pay companies to do what they’re already doing,” he said. “Makes no sense to me at all for us to take billions of dollars and pay utilities for what they’re going to do as the market transitions.”

The comments came shortly after Manchin called on fellow congressional Democrats to “hit the pause button” on the reconciliation package.

Under the $150 billion clean electricity payment program (CEPP), electricity providers would be required to increase the renewable energy distributed to consumers at a year-over-year rate of 4 percent. The program would financially penalize providers who fall short and provide grants to those who hit the goal.

Manchin’s opposition creates a major roadblock for one of President Biden’s top legislative priorities and a key part of his climate agenda. The White House has set a target of reducing America’s greenhouse gas emissions by half by 2030 and last week laid out a blueprint under which solar energy accounts for 40 percent of U.S. output by 2035.

Moderate Democrats raise concerns about spending bill’s energy measures

Six moderate Democrats are raising concerns about the energy provisions put forth by their colleagues as part of a $3.5 trillion spending package.

In a new letter to House leadership, Reps. Henry Cuellar, Vincente Gonzalez, Lizzie Fletcher, Sylvia Garcia, Marc Veasey, Filemon Vela and Colin Allred criticized policies from their colleagues that are “targeting the U.S. oil, natural gas, and refining industries.”

“We firmly believe that the budget reconciliation bill should not unduly disadvantage any industry, and oppose the targeting of U.S. oil, natural gas, and refining with increased taxes and fees and the exclusion of natural gas production from clean energy initiatives,” wrote the lawmakers, all of whom represent districts in Texas.

“These inequitable policies will cost American jobs, move America farther away from energy independence, and will slow the country’s move toward a lower carbon future,” they added.

The story so far: Their letter comes as Democrats hold slim majorities in both chambers and struggle to keep their coalition together in support of their spending proposal.

In the Senate, Democrats can’t have any defectors, while they hold an eight-vote majority in the House.

Recently, a group of nine lawmakers, including Cuellar, Gonzalez and Vela, expressed reservations about the two-track system for the bipartisan and Democrat-only spending bills.

Among proposals pushed by Democrats include a methane fee on pollution from the oil and gas industry and increased payments for drilling on public lands.