Photo illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
White House climate adviser John Podesta said today he's met with the architects of proposed permitting legislation to correct "problematic" parts.
Why it matters: The bipartisan legislation, proposed by Sens. Joe Manchin and John Barrasso, is aimed at speeding up reviews for energy projects and is among the major pieces of energy legislation that has yet to pass.
- The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved the bill on a 15-4 vote last month.
Driving the news: "I would say we've gotten really good at stopping things, we've gotta get really good at moving things, and some additional legislative support would really help," Podesta said during an event at the Third Way offices in Washington.
- "There are a bunch of things we like [and] there are some things that we think are problematic."
- He declined to provide specifics, though Democrats such as Ron Wyden who oppose the bill cited concerns over giving what they saw as unfair advantages to oil and gas projects over renewables.
- The bill also would would essentially end the Biden administration's LNG export permits pause.
Podesta acknowledged "the real negotiating will happen in the lame-duck session," as lawmakers will be campaigning for much of the fall.
The big picture: Podesta spoke on the cusp of the Inflation Reduction Act's second anniversary. He said the law "unquestionably" has staying power despite threats from Republicans to roll back certain provisions.
- "No Republicans voted for the IRA—but they know their constituents are receiving the benefits," Podesta said.
- He cited the letter that 18 GOP lawmakers wrote on Aug. 6 warning that a full IRA repeal would "create a worst-case scenario where we would have spent billions of taxpayer dollars and received next to nothing in return."
But Podesta appealed to industry to do more to spread the word of the law's benefits.
- "We need the private companies that are claiming IRA tax credits
to tout the jobs you're creating, the investments you're making, the facilities you're opening."
