In response to Senator Manchin’s comments this morning on West Virginia radio saying that energy provisions in reconciliation negotiations should not be discussed until September, Evergreen Action Executive Director Jamal Raad released the following statement:
“If Senator Joe Manchin doesn’t think passing energy legislation is an immediate top priority of the U.S. Senate, he should hand back his Energy and Natural Resources gavel today. There is no reason to wait until September to act on energy legislation that would lower energy price inflation, create clean energy jobs, and stave off the worst impacts of the climate crisis. Senator Manchin has lost all credibility and can no longer be trusted to prioritize the well-being of Americans and the planet over his own profiteering and political grandstanding.
“Senator Manchin has proven himself to be a duplicitous and bad-faith legislator. After 2 years of negotiating against himself, Joe Manchin has become the picture of what’s broken about the dysfunctional U.S. Senate. While Senator Manchin plays procedural games, the failure to act on climate legislation will impact millions of American lives today and for generations to come. And let us not forget—these impacts will fall disproportionately on Black, Brown, Indigenous, and frontline communities.
“With Senator Manchin’s complete failure, it’s time for President Biden to take the gloves off and deliver through executive action the bold climate agenda that he ran, and won on. President Biden should act immediately with executive action that includes fully utilizing EPA’s clear authority under the Clean Air Act to tackle pollution in the power sector, ending all new fossil fuel leases on public lands, and aggressively using emergency powers and the Defense Production Act to scale up clean energy production. This episode also further emphasizes the growing importance of bold climate leadership at the state level, where governors must lead in moving their states toward 100% clean energy and lowering costs for their constituents. The climate crisis is urgent, and it’s not waiting on Joe Manchin. It’s time for President Biden to deliver on his all-of-government climate action plan.”
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