Senators stated that now is the right moment for Biden because Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), last week, rejected any legislation regarding climate in a reconciliation bill Democrats hope will pass this month. Any legislation that is to be passed by party lines must be approved by Manchin if it is authored by Democrats who have a 50-50 Senate. This includes reconciliation processes that avoid filibuster.
Whitehouse stated the Senate Democrats refused to accept any deal with Manchin, and were eager to see broad executive action.
They are calling for Biden to take major action at a moment when the Supreme Court just dealt a serious loss to the Environmental Protection Agency. The justices ruled that the agency could not pass broad regulations that could transform whole industries without additional congressional approval.
Chief Justice John Roberts stated that the Court’s opinion said that Congress is the only entity that can make a decision of this magnitude or consequence, and that any agency acting under clear delegation from that body must also be able to do so. ”
Merkely acknowledged the difficulty in the ruling. Whitehouse called the decision “evil”, and Merkley accused Merkley, accusing him of acting like a super-legislature.
Merkley said that the court was creating a doctrine that they could use in order to repeal any regulations they want. Merkley was the judge under the “major Question doctrine”, which Merkley used in the case.
He stated, “We must accept this, but we cannot sit still in fear for what might happen at court. “Let’s look at all options. If some are withdrawn or struck down, we’ll double the effort to pursue them.
Whitehouse said that he had discussed many options with the White House. He replied that the vast majority of them could. ”
We cannot remain still because of fear of the court’s actions. If some are not struck down, we will double our efforts to find the rest.
Sam Runyon was the spokesperson for Manchin. He stated that political headlines are of no value to millions who struggle to purchase groceries and gasoline because of rising inflation to 9.1%.
Manchin is open for the possibility of taking climate action. Hoppy Kercheval, West Virginia MetroNews Talkline host, said that he would allow climate and energy elements to pass later in the year if inflation slows down.
Merkley and Whitehouse don’t think that it will happen. Merkley suggested the president could declare climate an immediate emergency under the National Emergency Act. This was used by Donald Trump to redirect funds towards his border wall.
Merkley stated it was crucial to do this because it’s not clear when Democrats will hold a Trifecta (House and Senate) to pass climate legislation.
