1 big thing: Budget problem traps energy, climate money

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2. Cantwell's update on hydro permitting bill

3. Whitehouse weighs calling insurers to testify

4. Catch me up: Farm bill, plastics, ethanol

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🫠 Happy Thursday. Another week of Congress doing the people's business!

🎼 Today's last tune is from Rep. Paul Tonko: "We Are Family" by Sister Sledge.

🚨 Situational awareness: The White House unveiled its new plans for calculating the "social cost of carbon."

🗓 Because of Yom Kippur on Monday, you'll next hear from us on Tuesday ...   unless there's breaking news before then. (Always possible with this Congress.)

✅ Thank you for reading Axios Pro Policy, and thanks to editors Chuck McCutcheon and David Nather and copy editor Steven Patrick.

Energy Policy

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1 big thing: Hydro hopefuls riding high

2. Edison International CEO talks transmission

3. Catch me up: Climate Corps, SEC, HFCs

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🐪 Happy hump day. We're sorry, but we can't fix Congress for you. 

🎸 Today's last tune is from music lover Rep. Morgan Griffith: "The Last Farewell" by Roger Whittaker, who recently passed away. 

😊 Happy belated 30th birthday to the Congressional Western Caucus!

1 big thing: The coming solar tariff fights

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2. Q&A: Scott Peters on transmission bill future

3. Catch me up: FEMA, fungi and wind

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😴 It's Tuesday, and we're guessing you're already tired of the approps chaos. 

🎼 That's why today's last tune from Jael is engineered for calm: Tomberlin's "Any Other Way." Listen to her NPR Tiny Desk while you read. 

🚨 Situational awareness: The Council on Environmental Quality just unveiled new actions to speed up permitting for lower-carbon energy and transportation.

1 big thing: The firefighter pay cliff

2. Exclusive: Dems ask Biden for Climate Corps

3. Catch me up: Must-watch hearings this week

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🚨 Situational awareness: The Biden administration said it "strongly opposes" passage of a House bill scheduled this week to change procedures for approving natural gas shipments. 

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✅ Thank you for reading Axios Pro Policy, and thanks to editors Chuck McCutcheon and David Nather and copy editor Brad Bonhall.

1 big thing: Mining school support moving

2. Pro-gas car bill passes House with Dem votes

3. Looking at rocks with D.C.'s mining maven

4. Catch me up: EPA, farm bill and kelp help

🤦🏻 It's Thursday and we assume you're annoyed with Congress. To cheer you up, here are some cute cats who can't get enough ping pong. 

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✅ Thank you for reading Axios Pro Policy, and thanks to editors Chuck McCutcheon and David Nather and copy editor Amy Stern.

Sen. Maria Cantwell's hydro permitting package didn't get a vote in Energy and Natural Resources like we expected, but its author isn't concerned.

Why it matters: Cantwell says she "never assumed" it would be marked up today and there's still work being done behind the scenes to get it through committee.

Details: The former top Democrat on Energy told Axios she's still in discussions with chairman Joe Manchin to get him on board with a markup.

"We're been adding Republicans to the bill," she said with one hand on an exit door from the Capitol. "We wanted to make sure all that happened."

The big picture: Cantwell is bullish on her bill's odds because it brings together disparate sides of the debate over hydro that have undermined dam upgrades and pump storage projects nationwide.

"It has a lot of support — a coalition of people," she said.

Of note: The committee did report out the Mining Schools Act, as we previewed for you last week.

Cantwell's update on hydro permitting bill

She's in discussions with Joe Manchin to get him on board with a markup.

Cantwell in February. Photo: Anna Rose Layden/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Congress

Sen. Maria Cantwell&#x27;s hydro permitting package didn&#x27;t get a vote in Energy and Natural Resources <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="like we expected" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/pro/energy-policy/newsletters/2023/09/20/hydro-permitting-watch" data-vars-content-id="02c8b8f8-2fc6-46a9-baaa-aa1ce6aa01c1" data-vars-headline="Cantwell&#x27;s update on hydro permitting bill" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/pro/energy-policy/newsletters/2023/09/20/hydro-permitting-watch" target="_self">like we expected</a>, but its author isn&#x27;t concerned.Why it matters: Cantwell says she &quot;never assumed&quot; it would be marked up today and there&#x27;s still work being done behind the scenes to get it through committee.

Rep. Scott Peters chatted with Axios about how he'll get his "big" transmission permitting bill through a deeply divided Congress.

Why it matters: Peters says another permitting deal won't happen without progress on transmission, a subject Republicans have balked at so far.

Catch up quick: The California Democrat last week introduced his BIG WIRES transmission permitting bill, which would enact changes so that energy wiring projects can get approved much faster.

House Republicans signaled they have no plans to hold hearings on this legislation. What's your plan to try and get this done this Congress?

I read comments from the staff, but I spoke to the [E&C energy subcommittee] chairman himself, Mr. [Jeff] Duncan, and he said he wants to hold hearings. So I'm going to speak with him directly and hope that he picks this up.

Do you see hearings as a prerequisite to getting any progress in the House?

Not necessarily, but I think it's an important part of getting a discussion going. When we talked about this in the context of the debt ceiling deal, some of the Republicans expressed an interest, a concern, that they didn't know the issue very well and they wanted to learn more about it.

Outside of hearings, do you see transmission as something you can get enough Republicans on board with to cross the finish line this Congress?

I don't think we're going to get a big [permitting] deal if we don't have transmission. I know that there's things they want with oil and gas. It's one of those things where it's hard to see something happening unless there's something for everyone, and I think transmission is what a lot of folks are looking for.

Rep. Garret Graves recently told us the White House was frustrating him in permitting talks. Are you seeing the White House and Republicans at loggerheads on permitting?

Everybody's frustrated with the other side until there's a deal.

Let's say BIG WIRES becomes law. What happens in the 10-year horizon? What will people look back as seeing it accomplish?

People aren't going to die from cold weather and hot weather. We'll have the ability to ship power not just within regions but between [and] among regions. For resiliency, that's really important.

Of note: Duncan's office said it has no plans for a hearing focused only on transmission.

"It's important to remember that talking solely about transmission is not going to solve our country's energy needs," it said in a statement.

Q&A with Scott Peters on transmission bill future

Rep. Scott Peters recently introduced his BIG WIRES transmission permitting legislation.

Rep. Scott Peters chatted with Axios about how he&#x27;ll get his &quot;big&quot; transmission permitting bill through a deeply divided Congress.Why it matters: Peters says another permitting deal won&#x27;t happen without progress on transmission, a subject Republicans have balked at so far.

A wonky budget problem is holding back international funding for countering China's control over the energy transition.

Why it matters: Addressing the issue would help the U.S. challenge China's Belt and Road Initiative, its sprawling overseas investment strategy that helped it lock up minerals worldwide.

Driving the news: Sen. Chris Coons told Axios he is privately pushing OMB to help the Development Finance Corporation, a U.S.-backed investment vehicle that puts equity — e.g. investment stakes — into early-stage energy, resource and infrastructure projects around the world.

During a winding walk-and-talk, Coons outlined how a budget scoring problem has handcuffed the DFC because OMB automatically considers all of the corporation's investments to be a total loss to the government.

The DFC is key to President Biden's global climate engagements, including countering China's power. The agency is involved in international renewables investments and linked to the Mineral Security Partnership, its transition mineral "friend-shoring" effort.

"As China's economy is slowing," Coons said, "we have a critical window of opportunity to make a difference."

How it works: Coons shepherded the creation of the DFC in 2018 under former President Trump, whose administration then began investing in early minerals projects.

The Biden administration has used the agency in a similar way, putting money into projects like a railroad in mineral-dense African nations and renewables projects in Egypt and India.

But government data suggests the DFC spends less than is authorized in its budget.

That's because — unlike other U.S. credit programs — the government's budgetary ledger doesn't consider anticipated returns from DFC equity investments.

The intrigue: The Delaware senator described this as OMB seeing the agency's investments as automatic losses when "we all know that's not true."

"If you invest $100 million in 50 different ventures, you might not get every dime back, and you might not get every dollar back that you invested, but you'd have to be incompetent to get nothing."

There's bipartisan support to make this change happen. Coons and Sen. John Cornyn put out a bill that would mandate this fix to the budget wrinkle, but it's not made headway in our mercurial Congress.

Coons is pushing for OMB to find a workaround, a Senate Democratic aide told Jael. The effort involves the DFC, the African Development Bank and the Development Bank of Japan.

"This little scoring is holding up the potential to leverage billions to really compete with [China] around the world," the aide said.

The other side: The administration supports this kind of "budgetary treatment," but it "requires a change in the law," OMB spokesperson Timothy White said.

Budget problem traps energy, climate money

Sen. Chris Coons says a budget scoring problem has handcuffed the Development Finance Corporation.

A wonky budget problem is holding back international funding for countering China&#x27;s control over the energy transition.Why it matters: Addressing the issue would help the U.S. challenge China&#x27;s Belt and Road Initiative, its sprawling overseas investment strategy that helped it lock up minerals worldwide.

Senate Budget Chair Sheldon Whitehouse says he's open to calling private insurers to testify about their fossil fuel industry relationships.

Why it matters: Whitehouse wants to know why insurance companies are paring back coverage in some areas due to climate hazards while continuing to insure oil and gas projects.

Driving the news: The Budget Committee is still waiting on answers after a second round of oversight letters were sent to insurers, the Rhode Island senator told Axios.

Whitehouse declined to say if insurers have cooperated with the committee since it launched a probe into them over the summer.

"We're still kind of in the middle of the process. I wouldn't want to start calling them out yet."

Once those responses come in, bringing them before his committee is "totally" on the table, he said.

"It's weird. They have such huge economic incentives to head off the climate risks ... and the solution to withdraw from markets and shrink their footprint is hardly an ideal solution."

The bottom line: Insurers are increasingly under fire in Congress as coastal constituents feel the strain of increasingly hazardous storms and floods.

Whitehouse weighs calling insurers to testify

The Budget chair Whitehouse wants answers on why companies are paring back coverage due to climate hazards while insuring oil and gas projects.

Senate Budget Chair Sheldon Whitehouse says he&#x27;s open to calling private insurers to testify about their fossil fuel industry relationships.Why it matters: Whitehouse wants to know why insurance companies are paring back coverage in some areas due to climate hazards while continuing to insure oil and gas projects.Driving the news: The Budget Committee is still waiting on answers after a second round of oversight letters were sent to insurers, the Rhode Island senator told Axios.<ul><li>Whitehouse declined to say if insurers have cooperated with the committee since it launched a probe <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="into them over the summer" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/pro/energy-policy/newsletters/2023/06/14/energy-insure-the-climate" data-vars-content-id="c5155519-114f-4093-9e0e-5ba0a774be94" data-vars-headline="Whitehouse weighs calling insurers to testify" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/pro/energy-policy/newsletters/2023/06/14/energy-insure-the-climate" target="_self">into them over the summer</a>.</li><li>&quot;We&#x27;re still kind of in the middle of the process. I wouldn&#x27;t want to start calling them out yet.&quot;</li></ul>Once those responses come in, bringing them before his committee is &quot;totally&quot; on the table, he said.<ul><li>&quot;It&#x27;s weird. They have such huge economic incentives to head off the climate risks ... and the solution to withdraw from markets and shrink their footprint is hardly an ideal solution.&quot;</li></ul>The bottom line: Insurers are <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="increasingly under fire in Congress" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/pro/energy-policy/2023/09/07/insurance-climate-nightmares" data-vars-content-id="c5155519-114f-4093-9e0e-5ba0a774be94" data-vars-headline="Whitehouse weighs calling insurers to testify" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/pro/energy-policy/2023/09/07/insurance-climate-nightmares" target="_self">increasingly under fire in Congress</a> as coastal constituents feel the strain of increasingly hazardous storms and floods.

Hopes are riding high on the Hill for enacting hydro permitting legislation.

Why it matters: Just as with nuclear power, there's a lot of bipartisan support to get something done so that hydro projects can be approved at a faster clip. Right now, permitting delays abound.

But cutting an ambitious deal will ride on uniting fractious coalitions and threading the needle through the House, where chaos reigns.

Driving the news: House Energy and Commerce's Energy subcommittee held a hearing this morning on Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers' hydropower permitting package, the Hydropower Clean Energy Future Act.

The committee will mark up the package — long a priority for the chair — "as soon as possible," a GOP committee aide told Axios.

In the Senate, the Energy and Natural Resources Committee tomorrow is scheduled to consider Sens. Maria Cantwell and Steve Daines' Community and Hydropower Improvement Act. It came out of negotiations among the hydropower sector, academics, environmentalists and tribes.

A staffer working on the bill said Cantwell is pushing for its "inclusion in any permitting reform package."

There's "absolutely" a deal to be struck between the chambers, McMorris Rodgers told Axios outside the hearing room: "I know there's a lot of support and we can hammer it out."

Between the lines: Both bills are directionally similar in pushing for faster licensing, with small differences in their timing mandates for expediting permitting.

Yes, but: Many Democrats say they want any hydro bill to target ecological protection and tribal sovereignty — issues that have bedeviled past projects.

"There's a lot of sticky wickets there that need to be addressed to make that come together," said Sen. Martin Heinrich, who sits on Energy and Natural Resources.

The Cantwell-Daines bill satisfies those asks in multiple ways, including by directing the agencies to look at impacts on fish species and consider protecting species covered under government-to-government treaties with tribes.

The bill came out of what insiders and staff call the "uncommon dialogue," a group of industry reps and activists who aim to advance hydro projects in an environmentally and culturally sound manner.

Perhaps it's no surprise that during the E&C hearing, Rep. Doris Matsui told the room she'd rather they were "discussing that bill here today" instead. (Note: As of now there's no House companion.)

Of note: Democrats also said they have issues with the McMorris Rodgers bill, including language they say would exempt projects up to 40 MW from environmental reviews.

"Given the vast potential environmental impacts from hydropower projects, I frankly struggle with this provision," Rep. Diana DeGette said at the hearing.

Yes, but: The Cantwell-Daines bill may have a procedural problem if it winds up in the House.

The GOP E&C aide said that measure is expected to have to go through the Natural Resources Committee in addition to E&C because it addresses tribes. Another committee means a more complicated negotiation.

What industry says:  It's happy to see Congress so motivated to move hydro along faster.

"We are very excited that reform legislation is moving in both the House and Senate," Matthew Allen, director of legislative affairs at the National Hydropower Association, said in a statement. "Nearly 50% of all hydropower facilities are up for relicensing by 2035, and an overly burdensome licensing and relicensing process puts our grid at risk."

Hydro hopefuls riding high

There's "absolutely" a deal to be struck between the chambers, House Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers says.

McMorris Rodgers in 2022. Photo: Samuel Corum/Getty Images

Water

Hopes are riding high on the Hill for enacting hydro permitting legislation.Why it matters: Just as with nuclear power, there&#x27;s a lot of bipartisan support to get something done so that hydro projects can be approved at a faster clip. Right now, permitting delays <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="abound" data-vars-click-url="https://www.eenews.net/articles/hydropower-delays-pose-grid-threat-as-permits-lapse/" data-vars-content-id="e4b97535-bc4c-44c4-a59f-c755df68a098" data-vars-headline="Hydro hopefuls riding high" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.eenews.net/articles/hydropower-delays-pose-grid-threat-as-permits-lapse/" target="_blank">abound</a>.

Jael Holzman

Stories

Budget problem traps energy, climate money

Cantwell's update on hydro permitting bill

Whitehouse weighs calling insurers to testify

Hydro hopefuls riding high

Q&A with Scott Peters on transmission bill future

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