During an interview with the Fox Business Network, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) explained why he was vehemently opposed to a so-called permitting reform bill attached to a spending bill under consideration in the Senate.
The Kansas Republican called that part of the legislation the “Mountaineer Kickback,” referring to the deal Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) made with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to pass the Inflation Reduction Act.
“I’m voting no,” Marshall said. “Let’s call this what it is. This is the Mountaineer Kickback: good for West Virginia, horrible for the rest of the country. This bill is inflationary — it will allow FERC, the federal government, to base their permitting decisions based upon the origins of the energy. So they would permit a transmission line for say wind or solar, but they wouldn’t permit it say for nuclear, for coal or for natural gas.”
“In Kansas right now, over 50% of the electricity is generated from wind,” he continued. “Most of that is being shifted out of the state. We’re paying a disproportionate share of the transmission costs, and now our energy costs have gone up, and we are not reliable.”
“I agree with Joe Manchin about this: It takes too long for permitting. It should be two years or less, but this legislation does nothing to reform NEPA,” Marshall added. “This is horrible legislation that is going to drive the cost of energy up and decrease reliability.”
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor
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