A group of conservatives and offshore wind critics were fulfilling their vow to block permitting reform legislation from their own party Tuesday afternoon. But after roughly 30 minutes of animated discussion on the House floor, most of them backed down.
The move by Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris, Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) and others to allow the House to debate the “SPEED Act” will preserve the chamber’s leverage in permitting negotiations with the Senate next year. But the rebels didn’t walk away empty-handed.
In exchange for voting “yes” on the rule for debate on the legislation, which would overhaul the National Environmental Policy Act review process, House leaders and Natural Resources Chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) agreed to tweak the proposal.
The “SPEED Act,” H.R. 4776, from Westerman and Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), would narrow the scope of environmental review and tighten the judicial review period for projects of all kinds.
The offshore wind foes have been especially furious about language added during the bill’s Natural Resources Committee markup that would make it harder for an administration to review and rescind permits.
The House Rules Committee on Monday made in order proposed amendments to strip that language and except offshore wind from litigation limits. But those amendments are likely to fail. Harris, Van Drew and other rebels wanted immediate changes — and got them.
The new text would specifically exempt an agency decision made since Jan. 20 until the law’s enactment to reopen permits. The goal is to give the Trump administration more flexibility.
The administration has temporarily halted offshore wind projects in New York and Rhode Island. It is also trying to reopen permitting for several others that have not begun construction.
Neither Westerman nor Golden’s office returned requests for comment Tuesday. Observers thought the pair could have reservations about allowing the change but may be playing the long game. How other Democratic co-sponsors will vote remains unclear.
“My inclination is that Westerman and company will dislike it,” said an energy lobbyist granted anonymity to discuss a moving target. “And I think that includes Jared Golden. But they are willing to go along to move permitting forward with the understanding that there is zero chance this language can survive Sheldon Whitehouse in the Senate.”
Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) was pleased to see the “SPEED Act” move forward. He has long been a proponent of changing NEPA.
“Even though I don’t think it’s perfect, I think it’s progress. I don’t think it’s going to get fixed till it gets to the Senate,” Peters said of the bill.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), a conservative who has also been skeptical of the bill, said negotiations Tuesday included trying to get Westerman to support amendments as well as commitments about what will happen when the negotiations get to the Senate.
“I think the concern in the Senate is that they would do things that would end up inuring to the benefit of the ‘Green Scheme’ and transmission lines, other stuff,” he said. “We’re trying to get assurances of how that will play out.”
Proponents say the bill’s neutrality on energy sources is a selling point. But lawmakers like Roy don’t want anything they see as government support for renewable energy. They are also skeptical of policies to bolster the grid. Those are part of the broader permitting talks.
Rep. Jared Huffman of California, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, said the last-minute deal “speaks volumes just about the complete inability to deal with Trump’s war on clean energy.”
Reporter Benjamin Storrow and Nico Portuondo contributed.
