Legislation by Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia that would overhaul the federal permitting process for energy and infrastructure projects received the endorsement on Thursday of his fellow Mountain State senator, Shelley Moore Capito, who had previously introduced a Republican bill to counter Manchin’s.
Their bills have at least one provision in common: the approval of final permits for the unfinished Mountain Valley Pipeline, which would transport natural gas from their home state.
Even as Capito said she’d support Manchin’s proposal if it is included in a stopgap spending bill to keep the government running after Sept. 30, Democrats were raising voices in opposition to the legislation — or at least to its inclusion in the spending bill or other must-pass legislation.
