The House on Thursday approved legislation to ease Clean Water Act reviews and bolster the electric grid as part of a broader push on permitting.
The action came as Republican leaders look to secure support for more contentious legislation to overhaul the National Environmental Policy Act by next week.
The measures Thursday passed with little trouble. One of them the”PERMIT Act,” would make more than a dozen changes to the Clean Water Act, including establishing new procedures to reduce lawsuits and limiting states’ authority to block infrastructure due to environmental concerns.
The bill passed 221-205. The vast majority of Democrats voted against it, except for six: Reps. Sanford Bishop and Donald Davis of North Carolina, Jim Costa and Adam Gray of California, Henry Cuellar of Texas and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) was the only Republican to vote “no.”
