Opposition Mounts To Energy Permitting Reforms

The U.S. House and Senate must approve a continuing resolution (CR) spending bill in order to keep federal discretionary spending programs functioning beyond September 30, 2022. As part of a deal brokered this summer, along with the CR Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) agreed to put forward a plan to streamline the federal permitting process.

The majority leader has promised to stick to that agreement, but more than 70 House Democrats sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) last week asking her to keep permitting reform out of the CR.

As The Hill reported, the opposition from Democrats is a significant problem. If the group of 70 follows through on the letter, Democrats might not have the votes to pass a government funding bill. If Democratic leaders do not stick with the agreement, which was brokered with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Sen. Manchin, along with Senate Republicans, will not support the CR. (If Congress does not approve, and the president does not sign a CR on September 30, hundreds of federal government programs and agencies will shut down on October 1.)

House Democrats are not the only ones who oppose the permitting reform measure. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has said he would vote against the legislation as well. Most Senate Democrats do support the deal, however, which is important since it will need 60 votes to gain approval in that chamber of Congress.

Legislative text for the permitting reforms has not even been released yet, but a summary from Sen. Manchin’s office suggests the legislation would set maximum timelines for environmental reviews assessing an energy project’s potential climate and pollution impacts, restrict states’ abilities to block projects that run through their waters, and require the president to prioritize certain projects.