Key part of Biden’s climate legislation could be dropped after opposition from senior Democrat
The most sweeping measure in US President Joe Biden’s signature climate change legislation is likely to be dropped because of opposition from a senior figure within his own party.
The Clean Energy Performance Programme, known as CEPP, would pay utility companies that switch from fossil fuels to renewable or clean energy sources and fine those who refuse.
But, according to NBC News, sources say the programme is likely to be dropped from a spending bill currently being discussed on Capitol Hill.
Senator Joe Manchin could stand in Joe Biden’s way. Pic: AP
Opposition from Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat who represents the fossil-fuel heavy state of West Virginia, would make passage of the bill impossible. With Republican support, the bill would require all 50 Democrats to vote yes.
The Biden administration had been counting on the $150 billion CEPP programme to make the bulk of the greenhouse gas emission reductions in the bill.
The president has put tackling climate change at the heart of his agenda but, ahead of his attendance at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, failure of such significant legislation would be a major blow.
At the heart of the plan is the ‘Clean Energy Standard’ which would force utilities to increase the power generated from wind, solar and hydropower and reward them with a ‘direct incentive payment’ for meeting their goals. If they fail to meet their targets they would be fined, the money being used to invest in green technology.
Manchin has said the plan is unnecessary because utility companies are already making the move to green technology themselves. Changes in the language and definitions in the bill could still win and support, negotiators hope.
“The CEPP is not going to happen and they are working on alternatives but I don’t know of any that have been accepted by Manchin or the White House,” a source told NBC News.
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The White House declined to comment on the negotiations. A spokesman said: “The White House is laser focused on advancing the president’s climate goals and positioning the United States to meet its emission targets in a way that grows domestic industries and good jobs.”
The wrangling on Capitol Hill has threatened to derail much of Biden’s legislative agenda with divisions between the moderate and progressive Democrats proving especially difficult to bridge.
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Those involved in the negotiations on the spending bill and its climate component say they are hopeful a compromise can still be reached. The collapse of the CEPP though, according to one lobbyist, is “likely but not certain”.
Senator Tina Smith, a Democrat from Minnesota who was one of the authors of the legislation, tweeted: “I’m open to different approaches but I cannot support a bill that won’t get us where we need to be on emissions. There are 50 Democratic senators. Every one of us is needed get this passed.”
Donald Trump has said he is considering “taking away” the US citizenship of actress and comedian Rosie O’Donnell, despite a Supreme Court ruling that expressly prohibits a government from doing so.
In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, the US president said: “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship.”
He also labelled O’Donnell, who has moved to Ireland, as a “threat to humanity” and said she should “remain in the wonderful country of Ireland, if they want her”.
O’Donnell responded on Instagram by posting a photograph of Mr Trump with Jeffrey Epstein.
“You are everything that is wrong with America and I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it,” she wrote in the caption.
“I’m not yours to silence. I never was.”
Rosie O’Donnell moved to Ireland after Donald Trump secured a second term. Pic: AP
O’Donnell moved to Ireland with her 12-year-old son in January after Mr Trump had secured a second term.
She has said she’s in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship based on family lineage and that she would only return to the US “when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America”.
O’Donnell and the US president have criticised each other publicly for years, in an often-bitter back-and-forth that predates Mr Trump’s move into politics.
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This is just the latest threat by the president to revoke the citizenship of someone he has disagreed with, most recently his former ally Elon Musk.
But the two situations are different as while Musk was born in South Africa, O’Donnell was born in the US and has a constitutional right to American citizenship.
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Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, said the Supreme Court ruled in a 1967 case that the fourteenth amendment of the constitution prevents the government from taking away citizenship.
“The president has no authority to take away the citizenship of a native-born US citizen,” he added.
“In short, we are nation founded on the principle that the people choose the government; the government cannot choose the people.”
A farmer who fell from a greenhouse roof during an anti-immigrant raid at a licensed cannabis facility in California this week has died of his injuries.
Jaime Alanis, 57, is the first person to die as a result of Donald Trump’s Immigration Compliance and Enforcement (ICE) raids.
His niece, Yesenia Duran, posted on the fundraising site GoFundMe to say her uncle was his family’s only provider and he had been sending his earnings back to his wife and daughter in Mexico.
The United Food Workers said Mr Alanis had worked on the farm for 10 years.
“These violent and cruel federal actions terrorise American communities, disrupt the American food supply chain, threaten lives and separate families,” the union said in a recent statement on X.
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it executed criminal search warrants at Glass House Farms facilities on Thursday.
Mr Alanis called family to say he was hiding and possibly fleeing agents before he fell around 30ft (9m) from the roof and broke his neck, according to information from family, hospital and government sources.
Agents arrested 200 people suspected of being in the country illegally and identified at least 10 immigrant children on the sites, the DHS said in a statement.
Mr Alanis was not among them, the agency said.
“This man was not in and has not been in CBP (Customs and Border Protection) or ICE custody,” DHS assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin said.
“Although he was not being pursued by law enforcement, this individual climbed up to the roof of a greenhouse and fell 30ft. CBP immediately called a medivac to the scene to get him care as quickly as possible.”
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Four US citizens were arrested during the incident for allegedly “assaulting or resisting officers”, the DHS said, and authorities were offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a person suspected of firing a gun at federal agents.
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In a statement, Glass House, a licensed Cannabis grower, said immigration agents had valid warrants. It said workers were detained and it is helping provide them with legal representation.
“Glass House has never knowingly violated applicable hiring practices and does not and has never employed minors,” it added.
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