The rebellion against President Joe Biden’s energy and climate agenda has begun in a House emboldened by its new conservative majority.
GOP lawmakers rebuked Biden’s use of oil reserves, pilloried his climate envoy John Kerry as an unaccountable diplomat and erased the term “environmental justice” from congressional documents.
Republicans in the House and Senate also introduced resolutions to nix a Labor Department rule that permits asset managers to consider social and environmental factors in making retirement investments for workers, write POLITICO’s E&E News reporters Emma Dumain and Hannah Northey. Conservative critics say the practice amounts to “woke capitalism” designed to drive dollars away from fossil fuels.
Investors and companies have also jumped into the fray. The Securities and Exchange Commission is considering softening a planned rule that would require companies to disclose their climate risks, after the plan got industry pushback, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Dialing back that rule has also been a rallying cry for GOP critics, including Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, now chair of the House Financial Services Committee.
Odds of success: Because Republicans introduced the resolutions through the Congressional Review Act, which allows lawmakers to overturn recent rules with a simple majority, they have a fair shot at getting their Labor Department proposal to Biden’s desk — though he would be certain to veto it.
The 1996 law (which Congress used only once before the statute enjoyed a renaissance under the Trump administration) requires Senate Democrats to schedule votes on proposed resolutions. No death by floor inaction.
With a slim Democratic majority in the Senate, Republicans would need to peel off just two lawmakers to secure passage. (Joe Manchin, anyone?) A win in the House is more of a given.
Less likely to advance is a provision that a major caucus of Republicans included in its debt limit demands. This one would implement “common-sense guardrails” for future regulations, such as a law that would require Congress to vote up or down on major rules before they take effect.
The “REINS Act” has long been on the GOP’s regulation wish list — and would be a major blow to any president trying to cut climate pollution in a divided Congress.
Thank goodness it’s Friday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO’s Power Switch. I’m your host, Arianna Skibell. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to [email protected]
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During a hearing Thursday, Sen. Joe Manchin pressured a top Energy Department official to expand markets for coal waste, a high-polluting energy source that has earned Manchin’s family millions of dollars, writes Adam Aton.
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Conservation and tribal groups scored a victory against oil and gas development in New Mexico when a federal appeals court ruled Trump-era drilling approvals violated the law.
A top Republican lawmaker is pressing special climate envoy John Kerry for details and documentation about his negotiations with China, the world’s top greenhouse gas emitter.
A planned $2.5 billion transmission line would allow more renewable power to flow across the country and better connect the Upper Midwest, Great Plains and Pacific Northwest.
That’s it for today, folks. Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!
