The Senate parliamentarian has removed Republican attempts to sell off public lands and exempt oil and gas drilling from environmental reviews in the GOP’s “big, beautiful bill.”
To get their major policy bill across the finish line without any Democratic support, Republicans are using a process known as budget reconciliation that has strict rules about which policies can be included.
In a ruling announced late Monday, the parliamentarian, which acts as an arbiter of the upper chamber’s rules, blocked several provisions from the bill. They include measures that would:
Allow gas exporters to pay for their projects to be automatically approved
Mandate the construction of an Alaska mining road
Require the government to auction off opportunities to produce geothermal energy on public lands
The provisions all come from the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The parliamentarian is still reviewing additional provisions put forward by that committee, including those requiring oil and gas lease sales in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska and speeding up approvals for coal mining.
Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, I’m Rachel Frazin — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said he will revise his plan for selling off public lands after the Senate’s parliamentarian ruled it cannot move forward as part of the Republican tax and spending bill.
The Trump administration will strip protections that prevent logging on nearly 59 million acres of National Forest System lands, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced Monday.
Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), the chair of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, is staking opposition to the Senate’s version of the “big, beautiful bill,” spelling trouble for the legislation’s chances of clearing the House down the road.
Rep. Kim Schrier (D-Wash.) accused Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of lying to Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) when he told the senator he would maintain a key federal vaccine advisory committee “without changes.” Read more
The House on Tuesday overwhelmingly torpedoed an effort by Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) to impeach President Trump over the U.S. strikes on Iran, underscoring how little appetite Democrats have to try and oust the president despite their frustration with the weekend attack. Read more
