Sanders vows to oppose controversial Schumer-Manchin side deal

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Thursday blasted the side deal that Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) struck earlier this summer to pass a controversial proposal to make it easier to develop fossil fuel-based energy projects.

Schumer told reporters Wednesday that he plans to attach Manchin’s permitting reform bill to the stop-gap spending measure that needs to pass by Sept. 30 to prevent a government shutdown.

Sanders slammed the agreement as “a huge give-away to the fossil fuel industry” and angrily warned that it would undermine President Biden’s pledge to reduce carbon emissions by 50 percent by the year 2030.