Manchin

Robert Bradley, Jr.
Founder and CEO of the Institute for Energy Research
Principal, MasterResource: A Free-Market Energy Blog..

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[Editor’s Note: Senator Joe Manchin has, for now at least, squelched the rotten Build Back Better/Green New Deal/ Great Reset agenda of the equally rotten Biden Administration.]

Today, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) released the following statement on the Build Back Better Act.

“For five and a half months, I have worked as diligently as possible, meeting with President Biden, Majority Leader Schumer, Speaker Pelosi and my colleagues on every end of the political spectrum to determine the best path forward despite my serious reservations. I have made my concerns clear through public statements, op-eds and private conversations. My concerns have only increased as the pandemic surges on, inflation rises and geopolitical uncertainty increases around the world.”

“I have always said, ‘If I can’t go back home and explain it, I can’t vote for it.’ Despite my best efforts, I cannot explain the sweeping Build Back Better Act in West Virginia and I cannot vote to move forward on this mammoth piece of legislation.

“My Democratic colleagues in Washington are determined to dramatically reshape our society in a way that leaves our country even more vulnerable to the threats we face. I cannot take that risk with a staggering debt of more than $29 trillion and inflation taxes that are real and harmful to every hard-working American at the gasoline pumps, grocery stores and utility bills with no end in sight.

“The American people deserve transparency on the true cost of the Build Back Better Act. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office determined the cost is upwards of $4.5 trillion which is more than double what the bill’s ardent supporters have claimed. They continue to camouflage the real cost of the intent behind this bill.

“As the Omicron variant spreads throughout communities across the country, we are seeing COVID-19 cases rise at rates we have not seen since the height of this pandemic. We are also facing increasing geopolitical uncertainty as tensions rise with both Russia and China. Our ability to quickly and effectively respond to these pending threats would be drastically hindered by our rising debt.

“If enacted, the bill will also risk the reliability of our electric grid and increase our dependence on foreign supply chains. The energy transition my colleagues seek is already well underway in the United States of America. In the last two years, as Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and with bipartisan support, we have invested billions of dollars into clean energy technologies so we can continue to lead the world in reducing emissions through innovation. But to do so at a rate that is faster than technology or the markets allow will have catastrophic consequences for the American people like we have seen in both Texas and California in the last two years.

“I will never forget the warning from then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, that he delivered during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing during my first year in the Senate. He testified that the greatest threat facing our nation was our national debt and since that time our debt has doubled.

“I will continue working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to address the needs of all Americans and do so in a way that does not risk our nation’s independence, security and way of life.”

Comment

We realists in the climate debate know the other side wants to demean, bully, and cancel us. “Denier” … “shill” … “right winger” … are among the adjectives thrown at critics of climate alarmism/forced energy transformation. And the radical climate activists went too far with Manchin. Noted one report:

“Given the protests that Manchin’s family has experienced at his home, which is a boat in Washington Harbor — with folks harassing him, his wife and grandson by kayak around his boat and the gate to the marina — I knew this presidential statement was personalizing the game,” Clemons wrote. “It put his family at risk, in my view. Everyone knows Manchin and [Arizona Senator Kyrsten] Sinema are the two Democrats the White House must negotiate with because it has given up on Republicans — but to specify Manchin in a presidential statement meant the terms of the dealmaking had changed.”

In my lowly case, Joe Romm once called me a “sociopath,” and Texas A&M professor and climate radical Andrew Dessler accused me of “mental illness.” But I do feel that I am in a largely (silent) majority wherein many thousands of smart individuals have clocked-in to the climate debate and see red flags everywhere.

WUWT, the world’s leading climate website, is home to this plenty smart majority. Judith Curry’s Climate, Etc., is all you need to understand the scientific undertow against settled, alarmist science. And, so on.

Hooray! Manchin’s body blow against the climate crusade is a victory akin to the U.S. Senate’s rejection of cap-and-trade in 2010. But work remains: no Build Back Bankrupt Light.

This post appeared first on Natural Gas Now.