House Republicans passed a sprawling energy package that would bring more oil, gas and critical minerals to market by reducing regulations and shortening the licensing process.
The final vote was 225 to 204 – with four Democrats joining all but one Republican and six members not voting. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., voted against the bill.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) has declared HR 1 in its current form as “dead on arrival” in the upper house, and Speaker Joe Biden has issued a veto threat. Still, Republicans insist there is a Democratic appetite for some of the provisions.
House Republicans who spoke to DailyMail.com predict their fellow Democrats could agree to allow reform and legislation to boost mining, as Schumer privately tells senators he expects that he authorize the reform at some point this year.
The Lower Energy Costs Act, which Republicans gave token prominence by labeling it HR 1, would speed up the federal licensing process for oil and gas pipelines and the extraction and production of critical minerals.
House Republicans passed a sprawling energy package that would bring more oil, gas and critical minerals to market by cutting regulations and shortening the licensing process
It also includes provisions to force the Biden administration to increase sales of oil and gas leases on federal lands and to repeal all restrictions on natural gas imports and exports.
He would expand oil and gas drilling by restricting the Clean Water Act, which Democratic-led states have used to block such projects, and cutting fees for methane emissions in the Cut Inflation Act and the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
It would remove some of the subsidies for energy-efficient appliances, but does not touch IRA subsidies for electric vehicles and renewable energy technologies.
It would also end the federal moratorium on coal leasing and limit the president’s power to restrict cross-border energy projects like the Keystone XL Pipeline Biden canceled when he took office.
The bill would limit environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to two years. A provision from House Energy and Minerals Natural Resources Subcommittee Chairman Pete Stauber, R-Minn., shortens times to obtain hard rock mining permits and limits intervention court at 120 days.
“We cannot rely on our adversaries to extract our critical minerals – if the CCP stops selling us the critical minerals that are active in our pharmaceutical ingredients, experts say it would be a disaster,” Stauber told DailyMail.com .
And while Schumer calls the bill a “big oil wish list,” Republicans say it’s an “all of the above” energy approach that would also help clean energy projects.
“Our bill would actually help them build the wind turbines, solar panels and transmission lines that they can’t build right now,” Rep. Bruce Westerman, chairman of the natural resources committee, told DailyMail .com.
‘Home Secretary [Deb Haaland] she told a hearing yesterday, we depend on China to build electric vehicles,’ he said, referring to Tuesday’s House appropriations hearing.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., said Democratic opponents were using “tired old talking points that don’t fit the bill” and predicted they would revert to some of its provisions.
“So once it gets through the floor of the house, I think there will be a meeting on the other side of the building to really discuss what you want,” he told DailyMail .com.
“Of course Senator Schumer is going to say no, right? That’s a Republican idea. Yeah. He’s been bloviating in this town for 47 years,” Stauber said. private behind-the-scenes conversations with my fellow Democrats about the bill I know they like it, and they really like some provisions.
“My colleagues on the left should understand that if they want renewable energy development, our current system does not support it,” said Rep. Dusty Johnson, RS.D.
The bill also includes language from Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., that would prevent “foreign bad actors” who have committed human rights abuses from operating on federal lands. It includes an amendment from Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, that prohibits China from buying U.S. farmland for ethanol and biodiesel production.
