A bipartisan plan to speed the federal approval process for major energy and infrastructure projects received the endorsement of President Trump on the eve of a key Senate vote on the bill.
“This Landmark Permitting Reform Legislation will codify our America First Energy Agenda, and ensure that we can build Pipelines, Mines, and Power Plants faster than ever before, lowering Energy Costs for American Families, and creating High Paying American Jobs,” Trump said in a social media post Sunday that urged senators to vote for the bill.
On Monday, the Senate is slated to take a procedural vote on the measure, seen as a once-in-a-generation chance to overhaul the byzantine system for approving projects needed to modernize power grids, build artificial-intelligence data centers and revitalize clean energy development.
The legislation is supported from groups including oil companies and renewable energy developers, but faces hurdles to passage in the two remaining months Congress is in session. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is opposing the bill in its current form, arguing it hasn’t received enough input from House Democrats. Other progressive Democrats say they should use their newfound control of Congress next year to negotiate a better deal.
Democratic Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, as well as Republican Sens. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Mike Lee of Utah, unveiled a new version of the bill Saturday, but several environmental groups still opposed it.
“After closely evaluating the full bill and the newly released substitute amendment alongside our state and territorial affiliates, Tribal partners, environmental justice partners, hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation partners, water coalition partners, and other conservation partners, we have concluded we cannot support the legislation in its current form,” Collin O’Mara, president of the National Wildlife Federation, said in a statement Sunday.
Natter writes for Bloomberg.
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