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Democrats and Republicans fight over issues in presidential elections. They also downplay common ground. Priorities shift; parties waiting for a decisive election wish to negotiate harder. That impedes bipartisan efforts on permitting reform and cannabis producer financial access, which are crucial.
Consider power wires. Energy projects waiting to connect to the grid have more gigawatts of producing capacity than the U.S. power fleet. Wait times have more than doubled since 2008, according to Evercore, hurting the green transition. Zero-carbon power accounted for 94% of pending projects in the end of 2023, according to Lawrence
A written fix exists: Senator Joe Manchin, an independent who votes with Democrats, and Republican John Barrasso’s exciting Energy Permitting Reform Act open 2024. Like any agreement, there entails trade-offs: electricity transmission improvements will favor renewables due to tardy projects. Environmental groups and no-compromise Democrats oppose the package because it promotes fossil fuel development. While the Senate bill is being drafted, House partisans are taking opposing positions. Even though the bill passed committee 15-4 on July 31, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer stated it will be “virtually impossible” to finish before November.
Delays cost money. In 2022, Princeton researchers estimated that 80% of President Joe Biden’s hallmark climate law’s emissions reductions depend on fixing this issue. The study found that power connection growth is 1% annually, less than half the needed rate.
Congress has other mostly-agreed-upon bills with no apparent way forward. Parents’ tax break was overwhelmingly passed by the House but rejected by Senate Republicans. Despite strong support from Republicans and Democrats, a law providing cannabis firms in legal states access to financial services fails to pass year after year.
Naturally, compromise and comity are bad campaign slogans in an election year. Waiting to observe how power changes make sense in the unexpected election between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Several half-loaves are stale on the table.
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