Washington Examiner
President Joe Biden said he would take “strong executive action” on climate change following the apparent failure of Senate Democrats to reach a deal on major green energy legislation. The pledge is a response to news that Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, a centrist of West Virginia who has been the main holdout in Democrat-only reconciliation process, said he isn’t prepared to support new climate spending and tax hikes right now because of high inflation. “If the Senate will not move to tackle the climate crisis and strengthen our domestic clean energy industry, I will take strong executive action to meet this moment,” Biden said in a statement. He added that actions he would take “will create jobs, improve our energy security, bolster domestic manufacturing and supply chains, protect us from oil and gas price hikes in the future, and address climate change.” Biden called on Democrats to pass much narrower legislation focused on preserving expanded Obamacare subsidies and letting Medicare negotiate lower prices of prescription drugs directly with pharmaceutical companies. Such a measure could get Manchin’s support and pass through the reconciliation process, which allows for avoiding the filibuster and enacting legislation with only a simply majority in the Senate.
