A bipartisan legislative effort to speed up the buildout of the nation\u2019s infrastructure projects has failed, key lawmakers indicated Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sens. Joe Manchin\u2002<\/u><\/a>(I-W.Va.) and Tom Carper\u2002<\/u><\/a>(D-Del.) indicated that an effort to attach what has come to be known as \u201cpermitting reform<\/strong>\u201d to must-pass legislation this year is dead. The pair blamed House Republicans in two separate statements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s a shame that our country is losing this monumental opportunity to advance the commonsense, bipartisan permitting reform bill that has strong support in the United States Senate,\u201d Manchin said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBy taking permitting off the table for this Congress, Speaker Johnson and House Republican Leadership have done a disservice to the incoming Trump Administration, which \u2026 will now be forced to operate with their hands tied behind their backs when trying to issue permits for all of the types of energy and infrastructure projects our country needs,\u201d he added. Republicans did secure some of the policies they had been hoping for \u2014 particularly page and time limits on environmental analyses \u2014 as part of a deal last year to lift the debt limit. But members of both parties wanted to go further \u2014 as did leaders in the energy industry.
Carper similarly blamed the House GOP.
\u201cUnfortunately, instead of taking real policy wins, House Republicans let their perfect be the enemy of the good<\/strong>,\u201d he said in a Monday afternoon statement. \u201cI\u2019m extremely disappointed that House Republicans <\/strong>walked away from this opportunity,\u201d he added.
For years, Republicans and Democrats have been working to find compromise legislation that they say would enable the nation to build out energy projects more quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Manchin and Sen. John Barrasso\u2002<\/u><\/a>(R-Wyo.) introduced a bill over the summer that garnered significant bipartisan buy-in in the upper chamber.
They had been discussing the bill for months with House leadership.
The comments come after key Republican negotiator Rep. Bruce Westerman\u2002<\/u><\/a>(Ark.) said Friday that discussions were chugging along.
\u201cWe made progress and are still at the table working in good faith,\u201d Westerman told The Hill in a statement at the time. \u201cWe must get this right and are still working on a handful of issues that could unlock a deal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n