Sen. Joe Manchin, D-WV, answers Fox News Digital’s questions at CERAWeek.
Sen. Joe Manchin lit into the Biden appointee overseeing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) over stalled pipeline permits Friday, demanding that he do his “damn job.”
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-WV, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, speaks during a news conference at the 2022 CERAWeek. (Photographer: F. Carter Smith/Bloomberg via Getty Images) (Photographer: F. Carter Smith/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The West Virginia Democrat, who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is critical of FERC’s handling of natural gas pipelines under President Biden, particularly as energy prices soar amid Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Last week, the senator called the full FERC commission, including Chairman Richard Glick, before the committee to question the regulators over their policy decisions while pressing them to allow certain stalled projects to move forward.
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Glick, speaking at CERAWeek by S&P Global energy conference Thursday, defended his agency’s decision to withhold permits. He said some of the pipeline delays Manchin lamented at the Senate hearing were due to FERC’s efforts to ensure projects were done “right the first time.” A proper process, Glick added, can avoid “years of litigation and… hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars of extra cost.”
Richard Glick, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), speaks during the 2022 CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston, Texas, U.S., on Thursday, March 10, 2022. (Photographer: F. Carter Smith/Bloomberg via Getty Imag (Photographer: F. Carter Smith/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“Well, speak up and help us, Mr. Chairman Glick. Speak up and help us,” Manchin said in response to that when asked about Glick’s claims during a press briefing at CERAWeek the next day.
The senator said FERC is intentionally withholding guidance from permit seekers, saying that when he was governor of West Virginia, he told regulators working under his direction, “If you go out with a cease and desist order before you try to help someone do something right and tell them what they’re doing wrong, shame on ya. Shame on all of you.”
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Manchin said that the federal government, through agencies such as the Department of the Interior and FERC, could be providing more guidance, but “they’re throwing so many more obstacles.”
Senator Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.,, speaks during the 2022 CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston, Texas, U.S., on Friday, March 11, 2022. (Photographer: F. Carter Smith/Bloomberg via Getty Images) (Photographer: F. Carter Smith/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The Democrat went on to say of Glick, “He went way outside of his wheelhouse, and he knows how I feel about that.”
Manchin bristled when asked about Glick’s concerns on projects being pushed through too quickly.
“I’m not saying push them through quickly,” Manchin said, “just do your damn job, that’s all I told him.”
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The FERC did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.
FOX Business’ Ronn Blitzer contributed to this story.
