Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., on Tuesday announced his opposition to a motion to debate the permitting reform bill submitted by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., expressing concerns about a pipeline provision, The Hill reports.
Kaine said in a statement that he will vote against the motion due to the provision that would approve a pipeline that would run 100 miles through Virginia, as well as grant legal jurisdiction to a Washington, D.C., circuit court.
"I strongly oppose the Mountain Valley Pipeline [MVP] provision of this legislation, which would greenlight this pipeline without normal administrative and judicial review and ignore the voices of Virginians," he said.
Kaine added that building the pipeline would involve seizing private property, noting that he was not consulted when it came to the language of the legislation, and that he was not able to express his constituents' "deep concerns" about the pipeline.
In addition, he hit the bill for moving the jurisdiction away from the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.
"If the MVP owners are unhappy with a court ruling, they should do what other litigants do and appeal. Allowing them to fundamentally change federal law to achieve their goal would surely encourage other wealthy people and companies to try the same. I won't participate in opening that door to abuse and even corruption," Kaine said.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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