Democrats are looking to make a new argument about power grid reliability to help get a transmission deal done this Congress, Nick and Jael write.

Why it matters: Democrats want to build big power lines to fully deploy the Inflation Reduction Act’s renewable subsidies. But Republicans don’t want to overhaul transmission planning and siting if they see it as benefiting President Biden’s signature climate law.

• “It can’t just be about making the IRA successful,” Sen. Martin Heinrich told Nick. “It has to be, what are you bringing to the table for their [GOP] constituents?”

Driving the news: That dynamic filtered through this morning’s permitting hearing in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, a final attempt to show progress before Congress heads out for August.

• “Any changes to laws governing transmission must actually address electric reliability,” said ranking member John Barrasso. “Congress should not try to force electric customers in rural inland states … to subsidize ill-conceived policies of coastal states.”
• Barrasso also pointed to another issue Republicans see as key to reliability: preventing "premature retirement of coal, natural gas and nuclear power plants."
• Sen. John Hickenlooper has tried to frame the BIG WIRES Act — the transmission proposal that nearly made it into the debt ceiling deal — in reliability terms.
• The pitch, Hickenlooper said at the hearing, is to set a minimum level of transmission capacity between the nation’s fractured grid regions to support “reliability and the ability to deal with extreme weather events."

Zoom in: ENR Chair Joe Manchin, meanwhile, has focused on shoring up the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s existing authority over “national interest” transmission lines and ensuring that the costs of big lines are distributed to those who benefit from them.

• FERC is also expected to move forward on a grid connection rule at a meeting tomorrow. But it probably won’t do much in the near term to change thorny siting and cost-allocation procedures.
• That’s despite recent prodding from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Yes, but: The real hurdle to legislative progress on transmission might be House procedure.

• At a National Press Club event today, Rep. John Curtis predicted a “struggle” to get BIG WIRES and other Democratic permitting bills to a vote because they’ll first have to go through House committees.
• That’s a result of GOP rancor over regular order and omnibus packages.
• “In the debt ceiling increase, there were some changes made to permitting. Every one of those changes had gone through regular order,” Curtis said.

Our thought bubble: The Senate isn’t much closer to defining what “permitting reform” means.

• Manchin spelled out a GOP-friendly framework that includes transmission planning, limits to judicial review of environmental permits, and measures to ensure continued oil and gas leasing on federal lands and waters.
• Think of it as a minimum to satisfy a rancorous House and get 60 Senate votes.

House Republicans have a new pipeline safety bill they say also promotes the use of natural gas, Jael writes.

Why it matters: The bill reveals some of what a future Congress under full GOP control might do for fossil fuels, like targeting local gas bans.

Driving the news: The Pipeline Safety, Modernization, and Expansion Act discussion draft released yesterday by Republican E&C leaders combines an extension of pipeline safety programs with ideas to support fossil fuel pipeline safety and construction.

• Along with a litany of safety upgrade policies, the bill would give the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authority to approve more permits required for building and modifying pipelines on existing rights of way.
• Individuals would be able to ask FERC to take final action on certain pipeline permitting decisions that have been pending for more than one year at another federal agency or state-level body.
• It would also require PHMSA — the nation’s pipeline safety agency — to consider “economic benefits” in its safety regulations.

Zoom in: Tucked in the pipeline bill is language that lawmakers say goes after state and local gas bans.

• The draft bill text says states and municipalities could no longer “adopt or continue in force a law, regulation, or standard” limiting or prohibiting the "transportation or distribution for sale or resale” of “an energy source” sold across state lines and transported with pipelines.
• An E&C news release said the bill "reserves Americans’ freedom to choose which energy resources best meet their needs by prohibiting states and local governments from banning natural gas or other fuels that people rely on."

The big picture: Failing to address our nation’s pipeline safety can have fatal consequences, as we learned from the 2018 explosions in Massachusetts.

• Since then, PHMSA has been slow to issue new regulations mandated by Congress.

Between the lines: Putting a pipeline safety renewal inside a pro-gas package makes sense for Republicans ahead of the messaging-heavy August recess. But it’s unlikely many Democrats will bite.

1. ⚡️ FERC nominee watch: Manchin told reporters after the hearing that he has "sent some names" for a fifth FERC commissioner to the White House.

• Former Massachusetts official Judy Chang reportedly emerged as a frontrunner for the post this spring. But Manchin said: "I don't know where that stands. I understand they're considering other names."

2. ⛽️ DERA moves: Senate Environment and Public Works this morning approved a reauthorization of the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act by voice vote.

3. 🧪 CFATS lives (maybe): The House voted 409–1 yesterday to reauthorize the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards program for two years (Thomas Massie was the only "no" vote).

• The current authorization expires tomorrow, so the Senate would need to move fast.

4. 🔥 Heat help: New legislation from Rep. Judy Chu and others would create new Occupational Safety and Health Administration rules to protect workers from excessive heat exposure.

• It comes with extreme heat blanketing much of the country (including possible triple-digit temps here in D.C.).