Progressives in the House are drawing up a counterproposal to the GOP strategy on permits and environmental laws.

Why it matters: This is part of the opposition strategy we told you about last month.

• The progressives' goal: present an ideal vision for NEPA reviews from the left that can go up against Republican messaging.

Driving the news: “We’re going to have an alternative,” House Natural Resources' ranking member Raúl Grijalva told Nick.

• Progressives don’t have bill language in hand yet, but Grijalva said he wants to oppose the BUILDER Act and other GOP proposals with “something a little more substantive.”
• “I don't just like to vote 'no' and add an amendment,” Grijalva said as he walked into an elevator outside the House chamber.

Context: Republicans on Natural Resources and E&C are working through a legislative slate that would rewrite NEPA with the intention of hastening approvals for mines and energy projects.

• The GOP wants to limit the scope of NEPA reviews and curb lawsuits against polluting projects.
• They’ll pass those bills as part of an energy package over the next few months.
• "Historically, reforming NEPA, rewriting NEPA, is something that's been viewed as a Republican objective. I think that now you're at a spot to where it doesn't matter where you are ideologically," Rep. Garret Graves told reporters this week.

Progressives argue that you can make federal permits move faster by funding and staffing up agencies — without ripping up environmental laws.

• Democrats included lots of money for faster environmental reviews in the infrastructure law and the IRA. Not enough time has passed to see if it helps things move faster.
• For an idea of what progressives might propose here, we’d point you to the roadmap put together by environmental groups last year.

Yes, but: The Biden administration and some moderate Democrats want to strike a deal with the GOP.

• They’re particularly interested in speeding the deployment of transmission projects, which need to be built all over the country to achieve the climate goals of the IRA.
• Rep. Diana DeGette, a senior E&C Democrat, told Jael outside the House chamber that she'd prefer not to see the parties "retreat into their various corners" with "proposals and counterproposals."

But DeGette is also sympathetic to progressives' concerns about the harm a deal could bring to communities impacted by industrial projects.

• “Obviously, we don’t want to have overly burdensome regulations, but on the other hand you don’t want to have regulations that don’t take environmental justice into account," she said. "Developing energy legislation is very nuanced.”

Quick take: Dealmaking will depend on how much Democrats care about EJ issues.

• Just mass mining for batteries would have an outsized impact on tribes.
• Progressives and climate activists also want to avoid too much new fossil fuel infrastructure in the process of greening the power grid.

🔥The House GOP has a fresh flamethrower against Democratic climate action: Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, Jael reports.

Why she matters: The freshman Floridian has made ethical sourcing and global labor abuses — issues that threaten the energy transition — two of her top priorities.

• She’s like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from an alternate right-wing universe: a youthful firebrand acutely concerned about issues Gen Z cares about, but in ways that could undermine climate enthusiasm.
• While she's drawn criticism for using vulgar language against Democrats, Luna is trying to make headway on substantive matters.

What they’re saying: Luna sat for an interview with Jael to discuss ideas she’s bringing to the Natural Resources Committee.

• She rails against the dirty sides of “clean” energy, including forced labor in China and squalid cobalt mining conditions in Congo. Another target is SHEIN, the popular Chinese fast fashion brand.
• Luna says she is planning a trip to Congo and working hand-in-hand with advocates against the repression of Uyghur Muslim communities in China.
• Her hope is to get a bipartisan ball rolling for more ethical supply chains.
• “You see the photos, but if you have a member of Congress saying, ‘Hey, look, why are corporations buying from an entity that purchases from these operations?’ I think that’s an easy bipartisan win where people see that and say, ‘We’re not doing this shit anymore,’” she said.

Zoom in: Luna says she’s a conservationist who wants to clean up the environment with an America First agenda.

• She sits on the Natural Resources water subcommittee and backs a ban on offshore oil drilling off the coasts of Florida and the Carolinas.
• But Luna rejects the scientific consensus that human activities are to blame for today's climate change.
• She instead says that “throughout time, we’ve had [a] shift in the polarities,” and we're not “going to die in 10 years.”

The big picture: As Luna’s megaphone gets louder, she could offer a new challenge to climate advocates used to dealing with old-fashioned fossil-friendly Republicans.

• That’s because her approach focuses on humanitarian concerns that are genuine weak points for renewable energy and EV manufacturers.
• Studies show Gen Z cares not only about climate action, but also about ethical consumption.

And while it’s early in her political career, Luna is politically fast on her feet.

• She spun a recent critical Washington Post investigation into her background to make her star shine even brighter among Republicans.

🧾 President Biden is expected to break out the veto pen for the first time after the Senate passed a resolution reversing a Department of Labor rule on ESG investing, Nick reports.

Why it matters: This is a political bludgeon for Republicans ahead of 2024, as well as a legal strategy they think can get the rule thrown out in court.

Go deeper: Republicans will also likely force a vote on the Biden administration’s Waters of the United States rule, forcing moderates up for re-election to take a stance on that politically contentious regulation.

• Axios' Andrew Solender and Hans Nichols have more here.