Joe Biden negotiates intensely to save his big reforms
Joe Biden is doing everything to convince divided Democratic elected officials and pass his major economic and social reforms in Congress.
Joe Biden at the White House, October 18, 2021.
AFP
Joe Biden has pledged to adopt the toughest environmental measures in U.S. history, but his ambitious bills appear doomed due to fierce opposition from a senator who pocketed a fortune thanks to fossil fuels.
Cornerstone of the US President’s policy: the Electricity Sector Performance Program (CEPP) in the amount of 150 billion dollars (138 billion francs), the idea of which is to reward public services that switch to renewable energies and penalize others.
According to experts, the CEPP would reduce the majority of greenhouse gas emissions linked to the production of electricity, which represent about a quarter of American emissions. But Joe Manchin, a centrist Democrat from West Virginia, a coal-rich state who heads the Senate Energy Committee, is screaming a waste of public money.
Power of veto
“Senator Manchin has made clear his concerns about the use of taxpayer dollars to pay private companies to do what they are already doing,” the Democrat’s communications director told AFP. Joe Manchin “continues to support efforts to combat climate change while protecting US energy independence and ensuring our energy robustness,” he added.
To pass, the bill requires the support of 60 of the 100 senators. But the Republicans are opposed to it en bloc. Democrats can use the so-called reconciliation procedure, allowing certain measures to be adopted with only 50 votes. But Democrats have only a narrow majority, giving Joe Manchin a de facto veto power.
The 74-year-old senator has thus become particularly influential in the negotiations on the historic bill, called “Build back better”, which contains provisions on the climate. This impasse is a real headache for the president a few days before COP26, the climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland.
Joe Manchin is not unanimous
Eager to rebuild the credibility of the United States in the fight against climate change, undermined by Donald Trump, he would like to be able to highlight a political success on the occasion of this global event.
CEPP combined with clean energy tax credits would largely meet the president’s goal of reducing U.S. carbon dioxide emissions by 50% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels The White House also has its sights set on the midterm elections which will take place in a year.
West Virginia, where Joe Manchin is elected, is the second largest coal-producing state after Wyoming, according to government data. It produces 90% of its electricity from this fuel. The senator’s financial heritage publication revealed that he received nearly half a million dollars in dividends from the shares of Enersystems, the coal brokerage firm he founded and which is now run by his son.
Coal electricity prices have also more than doubled over the past decade. Although Joe Manchin has the support of miners and other workers in the traditional energy sector, he is not unanimous among the locals.
“Last chance”
Because, notes Jim Kotcon, president of the local environmental section of the Sierra Club lobby, residents are suffering from increasingly severe flooding due to climate change and paying ever higher electricity bills. The White House is working to find alternative voices to gain the support of all Democrats, such as introducing a carbon tax or additional tax credits for clean energy.
She has the support of Senator from Minnesota, Tina Smith, a good student in green energy. According to her, the bill is Washington’s “last chance” to take effective action against carbon emissions. “Clean energy tax credits are great, but they can’t do the heavy lifting on their own,” she said recently.
For environmentalist Bill McKibben, Joe Manchin’s position is a signal that “for the foreseeable future”, no legislation will truly end the use of fossil fuels. However, with some adapted measures, the White House will be able to claim that it is “the largest climate legislation ever adopted by Congress”, he opined in a blog last weekend. “But it will also be a failure.” Manchin’s office did not immediately respond to AFP’s requests.
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