Energy and environment regulations are emerging from the Biden administration, but Republicans insist they won't affect permitting bill talks, Jael writes.

Why it matters: The GOP's desire to get a permits bill into law is overshadowing its disdain for Biden's issuance of so many regulations.

• "Not that it doesn't have an impact, but ... there's a lot of momentum behind these [permitting] talks," Rep. John Curtis said. "I would view it as noise."
• And when asked about more new rules, House Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman said the Biden administration "is just moving in the opposite direction of where we need to go, but I think talks are going well."

Driving the news: Biden's team just unveiled sprawling new emissions regulations on consumer autos, and they're eyeing new standards for power plants that will surely spark conversation on the Hill.

• This is only the beginning. Watch out for a raft of new regulations that have been sent to OMB on everything from endangered species and migratory bird protections to fossil fuel leases and transmission rights-of-way.
• These include Phase 2 of the Council on Environmental Quality's NEPA rules, which are in interagency review and anticipated to address hot topics like environmental justice.
• We also expect more recommendations from the Interior Department's interagency working group on mining policy later this spring.

Between the lines: The GOP usually hates new federal requirements on businesses. We expect Republicans to use these rules as political fodder.

• However, we aren't anticipating this new regime to hinder progress on bipartisan permit legislation.

That's the view of Curtis, who essentially told Jael that permit watchers would be wise to ignore the regulators behind the curtain for now.

• Curtis said more new regulations would be "counter to" the support Biden's team has given publicly for a faster permitting process but that new rules won't stop "a lot of us that are very motivated to make [a deal] happen."

The big picture: Like former President Obama, Biden is relying on regulators to meet his environmental goals with a fractured Congress...

• ...while at the same time seeking legislation to move regulators out of the way to more quickly put in place such things as solar farms, wind turbines, and manufacturing plants and mines for EV batteries.

It's a Catch-22. How Biden resolves it may define his climate legacy.

The GOP debt ceiling fight has featured plenty of energy-related wrangling — but it may not mean much for permitting policy, Nick writes.

Why it matters: Repealing the IRA tax credits is a political exercise Democrats won’t accept, and striking a bipartisan permits deal in time to attach it to a debt bill would be a heavy lift.

Here’s what senators told Nick:

• “I think there's a lot of promise for a bipartisan permitting reform bill. I don't think they need to bring a hand grenade into the negotiations,” said Sheldon Whitehouse.
• The Senate permits product “will be a part of what H.R. 1 is, but it won't be the full thing,” said Shelley Moore Capito.
• “I don’t think that’s a particularly active conversation right now,” Martin Heinrich said when asked about a permits-debt ceiling combo deal.

The other side: Rep. Garret Graves, a top lieutenant for Speaker Kevin McCarthy, left the door open to something more bipartisan than H.R. 1, which is the GOP permits legislation attached to their debt ceiling proposal.

• “We would love to have Democrats sit down and work with us,” he said of the debt ceiling bill. “They've chosen to not do that, and you can't negotiate in absentia.”

The bottom line: Fossil fuel and renewable energy industry players alike support the basic thrust of H.R. 1, and Republicans are publicly declaring that they won't accept a clean debt ceiling bill.

Of note: Industry witnesses in a Senate Environment and Public Works hearing yesterday offered a dose of skepticism about the GOP’s proposal to repeal IRA energy incentives in a debt ceiling deal.

• “With regard to the debt limit, our view is, that's not an option. We can't allow default. … But no, we did support the IRA provisions, and many of our companies do as well,” Marty Durbin of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce told the panel.

Here’s Nick’s rundown of this week’s other Hill news …

1. ☀️ Solar whip watch: At least three Senate Democrats plan to support the resolution to repeal President Biden's solar panel tariffs waiver: Ron Wyden, Sherrod Brown and Joe Manchin.

What's next: The Congressional Review Act measure is likely to pass the House in a bipartisan vote as soon as tomorrow.

• It may not get enough support to override a Biden veto, but Wyden's vote could be influential, since he chairs the committee of jurisdiction and is an architect of the IRA's solar tax credits.
• "If anybody has ideas for bringing people together, I'm open to that. I've talked to the administration about that, and we'll continue those discussions," Wyden told reporters.

2. 🌎 CBAM world: Sen. Bill Cassidy told Nick he’s still refining his carbon tariff proposal, expected to be unveiled in the coming weeks.

• “This is a Republican proposal, but there's certainly Democrats interested who accept our rationale. Do I think eventually we could find some common ground? Absolutely,” he said as he walked through the subway tunnel.

Quick take: It's a rare climate policy Republicans like, as we've written, and Democrats are waiting on Cassidy to set the GOP marker.

3. 🚛 Just keep truckin': In other CRA news, the Senate yesterday approved a resolution to repeal the administration's pollution regulations for heavy-duty trucks.

Quick take: These CRA votes ultimately don't affect policy, but it's striking that the GOP has secured several bipartisan votes against Biden's agenda in the past four months.

• Lawmakers have voted to overturn the WOTUS rule and an ESG-related regulation, on top of the trucking resolution and the pending solar vote.