The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee easily approved a high-profile bipartisan bill to streamline the approval process for both fossil fuel and electric power transmission projects, although the measure faces a tricky path forward in the full Senate.
The panel passed Sens. Joe Manchin (I-WV) and John Barrasso (R-WY)’s permitting reform bill in a 15-4 vote Wednesday, just a week following the legislation's introduction.
Manchin, the committee's chairman, told reporters that members have never “had this type of support on a permitting deal," and expressed hope that senators would be able to pass it by the end of the year.
“We did this for a year and a half in the most bipartisan way it can possibly be done, and we did it in the most toxic atmosphere,” Manchin told reporters. “You put all that together and get this accomplished right now, in the vote we came out with, and considering everyone's concerns they had, I think it's pretty surprising to a lot of people we can get this far.”
The measure is sure to face difficulty in getting a full chamber vote. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has downplayed the prospects of passing any permitting reform bill out of the Senate. Ahead of Wednesday's markup, both Manchin and Schumer told the Washington Examiner that they were in conversations about the bill, but did not mention if the permitting reform proposal would be brought to the floor.
Energy sector interests have long called for permitting reform because projects are often held up for years by complicated bureaucratic processes and legal challenges.
One question regarding the bill's prospects is the Biden administration’s positioning, as provisions of the legislation would run counter to some of the president's executive actions.
Manchin said he has spoken briefly to the White House, while Barrasso has been in conversations with some members of the House. Barrasso mentioned that House Republican leadership was waiting to see if the proposal was able to advance in the upper chamber before making any moves.
A group of Democratic lawmakers, along with one Republican, voted against the proposal: Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and Josh Hawley (R-MO).
While Wyden acknowledged that the bill has “useful provisions,” he argued it conflicts with the intent of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which authorized hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies for clean energy technologies. He noted, specifically, that he had problems with provisions that would require the pairing of fossil fuel and renewable projects to be considered, end the Biden administration's pause on new approvals for liquified natural gas exports, and shorten deadlines for litigation against fossil fuel projects.
The permitting reform bill also requires the interior secretary to hold at least one offshore wind and one offshore oil and gas lease sale every year between 2025-29, aiming to end the slowdown of lease sales under the Biden administration, which has offered the lowest level of offshore oil and gas lease sales in history.
Wyden proposed an amendment that would permanently prohibit offshore drilling on the outer Continental Shelf off the coast of California, Oregon, and Washington. The amendment, however, failed.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), the former chairwoman of the energy committee, noted that the measure represented an “incremental gain,” even if it did not address all her priorities. She, along with Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), introduced a number of provisions that would streamline hydropower projects, but a number were withdrawn to be considered at a separate hearing.
Another notable amendment, introduced by Sanders, would strike provisions that would require the secretary of energy to approve or deny all future applications exporting LNG to non-free-trade-agreement countries within 90 days. The lines in the bill would end the Energy Department's pause on new LNG export approvals and prevent it from instituting a new one.
Sen. Angus King (I-ME) noted that the measure isn’t likely to move forward without the LNG provisions, and followed up by asking if Barrasso, the ranking member of the committee, would allow the bill to pass without it.
“Absolutely zero” chance, Barrasso said.
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Another amendment that would require onshore oil and gas lease sales in certain states was proposed by Daines, Murkowski, and Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), but that amendment also failed.
It’s unlikely that the amended bill will be brought to the floor before November’s election, as Democrats would face a tough vote to streamline fossil fuel projects. Furthermore, Republicans would be reluctant to give Democrats a win if this were to pass the Senate. However, it’s possible the measure could gain traction during the lame-duck session.
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