Senate Advances Measure to Avert Government Shutdown – The New York Times

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Some Democrats, including climate hawks, had signaled support for the permitting package because they said it would help speed up the construction of transmission lines and other infrastructure needed to combat climate change and help deliver on President Biden’s pledge to cut United States emissions roughly in half by 2030.

But at least two members of the Senate Democratic caucus, Senator Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent, and Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, had announced they would vote against the stopgap spending bill because of the permitting reform legislation. Mr. Kaine, in a statement released Tuesday morning, railed against the provision guaranteeing construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

“I think this is a good day for the climate and for the environment, and a bad day for big oil and the fossil fuel industry,” Mr. Sanders said on Tuesday. He added: “If we’re talking about expediting clean energy projects — sure, we’re willing to work on that. But the last thing that this country, this world needs right now are more fossil fuel projects.”

In recent days, Mr. Manchin had labored to win his colleagues over, placing an opinion essay in The Wall Street Journal and appearing in a series of television interviews on Fox News and other cable shows to make the case for the bill. Republicans, however, have instead rallied around a plan from Senator Shelley Moore Capito, Republican of West Virginia, which Democrats argue would undercut existing environmental laws.

Lawmakers aim to finish negotiating a broader spending package in the coming weeks.

“In a time of rising inflation, when everything costs more — energy, food, fuel, housing — we must respond accordingly,” said Senator Patrick Leahy, Democrat of Vermont and the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “Running on autopilot after December would be irresponsible, and the American people deserve more.”

Ukraine’s recent military success, including reclaiming territory from Russia this month, has rallied lawmakers, who have already approved roughly $54 billion in military, economic and humanitarian aid this year, behind the prospect of pouring more money into the effort. If passed, the current package will mean the United States will have committed to sending the highest amount of military aid to any country in a single year since the Vietnam War, said William D. Hartung, a senior research fellow at the Quincy Institute.

The new package would set aside $3 billion for training, equipment, weapons and intelligence support for Ukrainian forces, as well as $4.5 billion for the Economic Support Fund, which is intended to help the Ukrainian government continue to function. It also would allow Mr. Biden to authorize the transfer of up to $3.7 billion of American equipment and weapons to the country.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/27/us/politics/congress-vote-government-shutdown.html

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