Willie R. Tubbs, FISM News
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When Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) agreed to support the Inflation Reduction Act, he did so on the understanding that Democrats would pair their green energy spending with efforts to expand fossil fuel production.
Tuesday, Manchin accused President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) of failing to uphold their end of the bargain.
Manchin says what was to have been an act with measures that helped Americans at the present while also paving the way for a transition to green energy in the future has become little more than the vessel through which the left is enacting its environmental wishlist.
“They broke their word to the American public,” Manchin said during an appearance on Fox News host Sean Hannity’s show.
This legislation was balanced. In the next ten years, we are going to have enough fossil fuel to run our country and to help our allies around the world. We will also be investing in new technology for the future. Now, the Biden Administration has disregarded this completely. This was about energy security and we have not heard a word about energy security out of their mouths since it was passed. It’s all about the environment.
The Biden administration is breaking its word to the American public by ignoring the text of the #InflationReductionAct to pursue its radical climate agenda. Let me be clear: if this continues, I'll do everything in my power to stop them — including voting to repeal the IRA. pic.twitter.com/d1l4SUUYcN
— Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) April 25, 2023
It is hard to overstate just how much skin Manchin has in this particular game. He staked his reputation and, to a large degree, his political future on the Inflation Reduction Act.
Prior to his signing onto the bill, which will have at best a negligible effect on inflation or the national debt, Manchin enjoyed incredible popularity among conservatives, particularly those in his dark-red home state of West Virginia.
Post-Inflation Reduction Act, Manchin’s popularity has sunk. This was to be expected given the climate policies found in the act, but Manchin was counting on a rebound when the fossil-friendly policies kicked in.
The problem for Manchin, who faces a 2024 reelection bid in one of the more at-risk seats for the left, is that once Democrats got the green light on green initiatives, they immediately deprioritized efforts to expand fossil fuel production and, by extension, lower energy costs.
“Let me be very clear,” Manchin told Hannity. “If the Administration does not honor what they said they would do, and continue to liberalize what we are supposed to invest in over the next ten years, I will do everything in my power to prevent that from happening. And if they don’t change, then I would vote to repeal my own bill.”