Sen. Joe Manchin has more time on his hands now that he is not running for president. He says he will spend it on what could be the capstone to his congressional career: energy permitting overhaul.
“I am not walking out of here until I give every ounce of effort that I have to get a permitting bill done,” the West Virginia Democrat said Tuesday at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners winter policy retreat.
Manchin, chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said he has been working closely with ranking member John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and hopes to have a draft ready by the spring.
“Our committees, the Democratic committee and the Republican committee, are working together to find a pathway forward,” he said. “It won’t be perfect. … Perfect is always the enemy of the good.”
