[Politics] Senate clears key hurdle to avoid federal shutdown as Manchin pulls energy permitting from spending bill

[-Sethu]

WASHINGTON – The Senate reached a deal Tuesday to keep the federal government funded through mid-December, likely avoiding what would have been a partial shutdown starting Saturday, just weeks before the midterm elections.

Senators voted to move the funding bill to the floor for a vote later this week after Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., agreed to remove a controversial measure that would have expedited federal permits for certain energy projects, including a pipeline in his home state.

The midterm elections are only six weeks away. With the Senate evenly and the Democrats' advantage in the House in the single digits, the results will decide control of Congress. Neither party is keen to alienate voters before such a consequential election.

The vote was 72-23, enough to meet the 60-vote filibuster threshold and set up a vote on final passage before the fiscal year runs out at midnight Friday. The House is expected to take up a similar bill as early as Wednesday.

Manchin's permitting provision had been added to the spending bill as part of an agreement Manchin had with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to help secure the West Virginian's vote for the Inflation Reduction Act that passed in August. The bill, passed along party lines in the 50-50 Senate, would have died without Manchin's support.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday Manchin pulled the provision to avoid a "Republican manufactured government shutdown," and the two senators will work on a way to "ensure responsible permitting reform is passed before the end of the year."

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Manchin's provision faced opposition from both sides. Progressive Democrats didn't want the must-pass bill to include a provision that could help the oil and gas industry while many Republicans opposed Manchin's proposal and feared the provision could complicate passage of the bill they want passed weeks before the midterm elections.

Aside from keeping the federal lights on, the bill also includes:

$18.8B for the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund, in part to help with future recovery needs from Hurricane Ian's expected landfall in Florida this week.
$12.4B in emergency assistance for Ukraine.
$2.5B to support recovery efforts following the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire in New Mexico.
$2B in Community Development Block Grants to help address unmet recovery needs in communities experiencing major disasters in 2021 and 2022, such as Kentucky, Missouri and Puerto Rico.
$1B to assist low-income families cover heating bills.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/09/27/federal-shutdown-permit-proposal-removed/10445355002/

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