FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 1, 2023
CONTACT
Dan Radmacher, Media Specialist, (540) 798-6683, dan@appvoices.org
Tonight, the U.S. Senate rejected an amendment from Sen. Tim Kaine to remove the Mountain Valley Pipeline provision from the so-called “Fiscal Responsibility Act,” a deal negotiated between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden to avoid a catastrophic default. Kaine filed the amendment to remove a provision included in the debt ceiling deal that attempts to force executive agencies to issue permits for the completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline and prohibit judicial review of those permits. Earlier this week, the House blocked an identical amendment from Virginia Rep. Jennifer McClellan. The Senate later passed the bill without amendment. It now goes to Biden for his signature.
Statement by Appalachian Voices Executive Director Tom Cormons:
“This attempt to force federal agencies to issue permits for a dangerous, damaging project that has repeatedly failed to demonstrate it can comply with the law and then strip the courts of their role in the process is fundamentally at odds with how American democracy is supposed to work. Passage of the Mountain Valley Pipeline provisions is an affront to all the affected community members, including those who have fought so hard and so successfully to protect their land and their families for nearly a decade.
“But the fight is not over. Defeating this unnecessary and ill-conceived project that has already degraded water quality across two states and would contribute significantly to the climate crisis if it is completed and brought into service is a top priority.”
Statement from Director of Government Affairs and Strategy Chelsea Barnes:
“The free pass for Mountain Valley Pipeline had no place in the legislation that passed this evening. We applaud Sen. Kaine and Rep. McClellan for leading the amendments to remove this provision, and thank the members of the Virginia delegation including Sen. Mark Warner, Reps. Bobby Scott, Abigail Spanberger, Gerry Connolly, Don Beyer, Jennifer Wexton and other senators who supported these amendments.
“The Mountain Valley Pipeline has repeatedly failed to demonstrate that it can be constructed without gross violations of the law. This action by Congress and the White House to attempt to skirt environmental laws, force the issuance of permits and strip the courts of their authority is an abuse of power and a denial of environmental justice.”
