Don’t Let “Permitting Reform” Help the Trump Administration Further Its Deregulatory Fever Dream
By: Stephen Schima, Earthjustice Action Senior Legislative Representative We can all agree that fighting climate change and mitigating its worst impacts requires us to think creatively, harness the power of American innovation, and quickly build the clean energy infrastructure of the future. But some in Congress are saying that to do so, we need to throw out bedrock environmental laws that have played an important…
Read MoreHouse Uses “Permitting Reform” to Give Polluters Permission to Contaminate our Water Resources
WASHINGTON, DC—Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3898, the Promoting Efficient Review for Modern Infrastructure Today (PERMIT) Act. The bill would significantly weaken several pollution controls in the Clean Water Act, shield polluters from accountability, and hamper the ability of states and Tribal governments to protect their water resources from well-documented pollution sources…
Read MoreRepublicans Seek to Weaken Clean Air Act Under the Guise of “Permitting Reform”
WASHINGTON, DC—Today, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on the Environment will mark up a package of bills that would weaken the Clean Air Act. Together, the bills would create new loopholes and procedures to fast-track permits for large industrial projects regardless of the risk of increased pollution. The markup occurs as Congress is voting…
Read MoreEarthjustice Action Statement on the FERC Greenhouse Gas and Environmental Justice Policy Act
WASHINGTON, DC—Today, Reps. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) and Jennifer McClellan (D-Va) introduced the FERC Greenhouse Gas and Environmental Justice Policy Act. The bill would require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to analyze and mitigate the impacts of methane gas pipeline approvals on climate change and environmental justice communities. Methane gas leaks from pipelines pose well-documented…
Read MoreFight for Proper Permitting Reform
Congress is once again in the throes of debating numerous ‘permitting reform’ proposals aimed at speeding up permit approvals for large projects, particularly those that deal with how we get our energy.
Read MoreHouse of Representatives Votes to Rubber-Stamp LNG Projects, Disregarding Thorough Public Interest Determinations
The Unlocking Domestic LNG Potential Act would increase energy costs, planet-warming emissions, and health burdens on frontline communities WASHINGTON, DC—Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1949, the Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act of 2025. The bill would hamstring the federal government’s ability to determine whether liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports are in the public interest. It would eliminate the Department of Energy’s…
Read MoreCongress Helping Sell Off Alaska’s Arctic to the Highest Bidder
U.S. House of Representatives votes to overturn public lands protections in Alaska’s Western Arctic and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge WASHINGTON, DC—Today, the U.S. House of Representatives used the Congressional Review Act to overturn protections enacted under the Biden Administration that safeguarded millions of acres of the Western Arctic and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil…
Read MoreEarthjustice Action Blasts Continuation of Industry Favors During Government Shutdown, Praises Congressional Action Denouncing It
WASHINGTON, DC—Today, House Natural Resources Chair Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee Ranking Member Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) sent a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins demanding answers on why the federal agencies they head have continued non-essential services that benefit oil, gas, mining, coal, and logging industries while furloughing other essential employees and services. “We write to express serious…
Read MoreEarthjustice Action Statement on Senate Agriculture Committee “Fix Our Forests Act” Markup
WASHINGTON, DC—This week, the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee passed the Fix Our Forests Act. The bill, introduced by Senators John Curtis (R-Utah), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), and John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), would stifle citizen voices, remove science from land management decisions, and roll back the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the National Historic Preservation Act, and the National Environmental Policy…
Read MoreTrump and Republican Leadership Shut Down the Federal Government
WASHINGTON, DC—In response to the federal government shutdown at midnight tonight, Earthjustice Action President Abigail Dillen issued the following statement: “President Trump and Republican members doing his bidding forced a government shutdown that will cost millions of Americans their livelihoods and vital social safety nets. Systematically eliminating government functions is a wildly inefficient and reckless…
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