Bernie Sanders is embarrassing himself. The Vermont senator is pitching a fit about Democrats’ plans to attach reforms streamlining the approval of energy projects to a must-pass piece of legislation like a bill funding the government. He calls it Joe Manchin’s “side deal,” and that’s about the only thing he’s right about.
Yes, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer — along with President Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — did strike an agreement with West Virginia’s Manchin in exchange for his pivotal support for the vitally important Inflation Reduction Act, which became law one month ago.
The deal, which everyone knew about before voting yay or nay, was that by the end of the year, the Senate would piggyback provisions cleaning up the insanely cumbersome, expensive and lengthy approval process for all manner of energy projects onto a big, can’t-fail bill, essentially ensuring its passage.
