Graves in February. Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Some of the Hill's top permitting negotiators are going after the Biden administration's new NEPA rules.
Why it matters: A new bipartisan Congressional Review Act resolution is the latest sign that the debate between the Hill and White House on permitting has gone sour.
Driving the news: Garret Graves, Bruce Westerman, Joe Manchin and Dan Sullivan are leading the bicameral CRA measure to repeal the Council on Environmental Quality's NEPA rules.
- Graves called the rules "a blatant violation of the actual bipartisan agreement that we negotiated and President Biden signed into law last year."
The other side: CEQ pitched its "phase 2" NEPA rules, finalized last week, as a way to speed up permitting for energy projects.
- The move implements the NEPA changes that Congress made in the debt ceiling deal, puts a fresh focus on environmental justice and scales back some of the Trump administration's permitting tweaks.
What's next: Manchin's expected to drop a new permitting proposal any week now, but we remain doubtful of permitting reform's prospects.
