The House of Representatives on Thursday passed a Republican-led energy package that would undo a number of the Biden Administration’s environmental policies.
Democratic leadership urged representatives to vote against the measure, H.R. 1, which passed 225-204 mostly along party lines, with four Democrats voting in favor, and one Republican voting against.
“We made a commitment to America that we would lower your energy costs. That’s exactly what this bill does,” House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said at a press conference after the vote.
“We made it H.R. 1 because we care, not just about the American family to let them have more cash in their own pocket, but make their energy costs lower, lower the global emissions, and make the world safer,” McCarthy said.
That sentiment was echoed by Rep. Cathy Rodgers, R-Wash., who said, “When we are increasing domestic production in the United States, it means we are also lowering carbon emissions.”
The bill seeks to restrict presidential authority over international energy projects and would require the Interior Department to approve four federal land-drilling rights sales per year. It also would curtail the government’s ability to compel companies to reduce emissions via the Inflation Reduction Act.
The bill also is intended to speed up the amount time it takes for energy projects to be approved by environmental regulators.
Rep. Raul Grinjalva, D-Ariz, who sits on the House Committee on Natural Resources, called the bill the “Polluters Over People Act,” and denounced the bill on the floor of the House.
“This is just another decades old request from polluters to make their operations cheaper and easier while making American lives harder and more costly,” Grinjalva said.
Source: upi
