A key Senate Democrat is holding out hope that Congress can push through a bipartisan permitting package by the end of the year, even after Republicans are on the brink of sweeping control of Washington and are already plotting their governing “trifecta” next year.
Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), a proponent of permitting and grid legislation, acknowledged the fate of a compromise bill from Sens. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) was “unclear” but suggested the effort isn’t dead.
“I think there’s been so much work and so many compromises,” said Hickenlooper, a Manchin ally who has been trying to sell the legislation for months.
“Permitting reform still needs 60 votes, so I think that’s still no different than it was. Either way, we need Republicans to agree to that, and they’re still working on compromises, even right now.”
