{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=231BBA65-9D26-4CB7-8921-1A0D27EC3387", "Senate Can Do Better Than \u201cPermitting Reform\u201d In Name Only", "2022-09-21", "2022", "2022-09", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", "mcconnell", "https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding energy:\n\n\u201cDemocrats\u2019 runaway inflation includes skyrocketing costs to keep the lights on and to heat or cool homes.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re also witnessing the dangerous vulnerabilities that Democrats in places like California have built into their electrical grids.\n\n\u201cCalifornia Democrats have spent years putting \u2018green\u2019 lifestyle preferences ahead of the basic needs of working families.\n\n\u201cThe result is a grid that\u2019s both more expensive and less reliable. We\u2019ve seen the same California Democrats who\u2019ve spent years pushing their citizens to buy expensive electric cars now begging the public not to plug them in.\n\n\u201cAnd even as California teeters on the brink of an energy crisis of European proportions, Washington Democrats are pushing the rest of our country in that same risky direction.\n\n\u201cThey made their signature priority for this year spending even more of the people\u2019s money\u2026 to take us even farther in the wrong direction\u2026 even faster!\n\n\u201cLast month, our Democratic colleagues rammed through a gigantic party-line bill that raised taxes on reliable domestic American energy in order to subsidize wealthy people buying luxury electric cars or fancy new appliances.\n\n\u201cEvery Democratic Senator cast the deciding vote for that reckless spending spree. That includes the senior Senator for West Virginia, who claims he only did so because the Democratic Leader promised him that Democrats would line up behind permitting reform to make it easier to build things and complete projects in America.\n\n\u201cBut now, very predictably, this backroom deal is crumbling before our eyes.\n\n\u201cAlmost sixty days after our colleague from West Virginia gave up his vote for this vague promise, it still appears the far left and House Democrats want no part of this backroom deal they didn\u2019t sign onto.\n\n\u201cAs for the Republican side, our colleague Senator Capito has put forward a real, actual, substantive permitting reform bill that would make the commonsense changes our country needs.\n\n\u201cSenator Capito\u2019s substantive bill stands in stark contrast to what every indication thus far suggests will be weak, reform-in-name-only legislation from her home-state colleague.\n\n\u201cAs luck would have it, Senator Capito\u2019s real plan is also closer to passing the Senate than Senator Manchin\u2019s reform-in-name-only plan. Senator Manchin recently told reporters that his version may need 20 Republican votes to become law. But Senator Capito\u2019s plan only needs Senator Manchin and nine other Democrats to get on board.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re talking about real, substantive reform that is already closer to becoming law.\n\n\u201cBut so far, our Democratic colleague from West Virginia has refused to back his colleague\u2019s commonsense proposal. He\u2019s shown little appetite to actually get something done.\n\n\u201cMr. President, talk is cheap.\n\n\u201cIf our colleagues across the aisle want real permitting reform, Senator Capito\u2019s fantastic bill only needs Senator Manchin plus nine more Democrats to clear this chamber.\n\n\u201cOtherwise it would appear the senior Senator from West Virginia traded his vote on a massive liberal boondoggle in exchange for nothing.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:29:59Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=231BBA65-9D26-4CB7-8921-1A0D27EC3387"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9487532079219818, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}