EXPLAINED: Why Manchin Backed Pro-Climate Provisions For Inflation Reduction Act

The American Prospect's David Dayen joins to discuss how the climate change provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act got there and how Joe Manchin was convinced to support them.

Watch the Majority Report live MondayFriday at 12 p.m. EST on YouTube OR listen via daily podcast at

#MajorityReport #politics

SUPPORT the show by becoming a member

Download TMR's FREE app

OTHER LINKS:

This story starts with Ron Wyden visiting and I can't remember the second lawmaker now visiting. Yeah, Murkowski from Alaska visiting Joe Manchin when he's like in year two of his Senate stint. Take it from there. Yeah, this is in 2012 and Wyden it's before the 2012 election. Wyden and Murkowski are vying essentially to become the chair of the Senate energy and natural resources committee. If the Democrats win and hold the Senate then Wyden would become the chair. the Republicans overtake the Democrats and take the Senate Murkowski is going to become the chair of that committee. And Manchin invites both of them to your energy facilities in West Virginia. And all of them you know there's I guess a solar facility. all the way down to a coal plant. and when I talked to Wyden about this he's like you know I asked him are you sure you really want me to tour a coal plant? but he did. and these facilities were scattered all over West Virginia so they're in like a bus or something or some kind of van. and it's the three senators and Wyden just sort of gets to talking with Manchin about you know the future of energy and what he'd like to see. and he finds an opening to pitch this idea which would eventually become a bill called the clean energy for America Act. and what it basically says is that in the past there were literally over 40 different tax credits for various types of energy. a tax credit for solar. tax credit for wind. tax credit for production and tax credit for installation. and none of them worked together and they all were short-term. and had to be you know there was always a mad scramble at the end of the year to renew some of these tax credits. and it was just not an intelligent system. it wasn't it wasn't really designed very well. It was just sort of a grab bag of different tax credits. and Wyden said to Manchin you know what if we just changed this completely and made it emissions led. so that whatever reduces emissions can get the tax credit. and Manchin kind of perked up and he said does that mean carbon capture? Does that mean hydrogen?