Hill Heat

In a press briefing on Thursday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced “we support the permitting reform bill” backed by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), even though full text of the legislation has not been publicly released.

Remarkably, Jean-Pierre criticized the existence of the permitting process, saying, “Permitting always delays a new solar and new wind projects are among the longest in our — in our country.” [sic]

In August, Manchin told West Virginia Metro News that his permit plan “is something the Republican Party has wanted for the last five to seven years I’ve been with them.” Explaining the plan to attach his permit bill to the government-funding continuing resolution, “It either keeps the country open, or we shut down the government. That’ll happen Sept. 30, so let’s see how that politics plays out.”

Manchin expects the support of Republicans who are the strongest advocates of the fossil-fuel industry in the Senate, such as Sens. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, John Boozman of Arkansas, and John Barrasso of North Dakota, who have, as he noted, attempted to restrict environmental review of energy projects for years.

Inhofe and Barrasso are notoriously the most extreme proponents of climate denial in the Senate.

The exact language of the plan, expected to be released today, is unclear. As of year, there is only a one-page summary of Manchin’s plan and leaked draft legislation with an American Petroleum Institute watermark.

Sens. Capito and Inhofe proposed an amendment to the Inflation Reduction Act that would have compelled the construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline and greatly restricted environmental review, as Manchin’s one-pager intends. As expected, the amendment was ruled out of order for a reconciliation bill and not voted on.

The fight continues to Stop Line 3! As part of the national Stop Line 3 day of action, on December 14th, the anniversary of large-scale direct action to Stop Line 3, we are renewing our calls to the US Army Corps of Engineers to order a federal Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) with a Vigil for Water at the US Army Corps of Engineers HQ, 441 G St NW.

The need for a federal EIS has reached an emergency level. Why an EIS?. Frac-out. Artesian aquifer breach, 28 frac-outs. Rushed construction caused severe, permanent, ongoing environmental damage.

Enbridge has already been fined 50 new coal-fired plants in a time of “code red” climate emergency.

Moreover, Enbridge cannot obtain the required $200 million in “environmental impairment liability” insurance. This is the Canadian pipeline company responsible for the largest inland oil spill in US history. Enbridge pipelines had more than 800 spills in the US and Canada between 1999 and 2010, leaking 6.8 million gallons of oil.

Before the Line 3 emergency becomes catastrophic, we come together on December 14th to call on the Army Corps to order a federal EIS. Please join us.

14/12/2021 at 07:00PM

President Biden has a choice to make: Will he side with the people or a handful of fossil fuel executives? It’s a test with results that will determine the future of our planet and the wellbeing of future generations that will inhabit it. We are putting our bodies on the line to ensure President Biden passes this crucial test.

As we face the worsening climate emergency, frontline communities have been fighting the fossil fuel projects which threaten their health and homes for generations. While our government has largely ignored their demands, climate chaos has intensified across the globe. The Glasgow UN climate summit in November is the “last, best chance” for our government to change course and ensure a just, renewable energy future for all of us.

From October 11-15, we will gather in DC for the largest civil disobedience action in decades, demanding President Biden use his executive authority to hasten the end of the era of fossil fuels.

Join us.

This is not a single “day of action”, but instead a wave of action from October 11th – 15th that will involve civil disobedience to put sustained pressure and a bigger spotlight on our demands. If that involves risking arrest, we are prepared and willing to take that risk and deal with the consequences. We believe that the risks of inaction are far greater than the risks of taking action.

All components of the actions — trainings the night before and the start of the actions themselves — will be at McPherson Square in downtown DC. The McPherson Square Metro station is on the orange, blue, and silver lines; Farragut North (red line) is also very close by.

15/10/2021 at 08:00AM

President Biden has a choice to make: Will he side with the people or a handful of fossil fuel executives? It’s a test with results that will determine the future of our planet and the wellbeing of future generations that will inhabit it. We are putting our bodies on the line to ensure President Biden passes this crucial test.

As we face the worsening climate emergency, frontline communities have been fighting the fossil fuel projects which threaten their health and homes for generations. While our government has largely ignored their demands, climate chaos has intensified across the globe. The Glasgow UN climate summit in November is the “last, best chance” for our government to change course and ensure a just, renewable energy future for all of us.

From October 11-15, we will gather in DC for the largest civil disobedience action in decades, demanding President Biden use his executive authority to hasten the end of the era of fossil fuels.

Join us.

This is not a single “day of action”, but instead a wave of action from October 11th – 15th that will involve civil disobedience to put sustained pressure and a bigger spotlight on our demands. If that involves risking arrest, we are prepared and willing to take that risk and deal with the consequences. We believe that the risks of inaction are far greater than the risks of taking action.

All components of the actions — trainings the night before and the start of the actions themselves — will be at McPherson Square in downtown DC. The McPherson Square Metro station is on the orange, blue, and silver lines; Farragut North (red line) is also very close by.

14/10/2021 at 08:00AM

President Biden has a choice to make: Will he side with the people or a handful of fossil fuel executives? It’s a test with results that will determine the future of our planet and the wellbeing of future generations that will inhabit it. We are putting our bodies on the line to ensure President Biden passes this crucial test.

As we face the worsening climate emergency, frontline communities have been fighting the fossil fuel projects which threaten their health and homes for generations. While our government has largely ignored their demands, climate chaos has intensified across the globe. The Glasgow UN climate summit in November is the “last, best chance” for our government to change course and ensure a just, renewable energy future for all of us.

From October 11-15, we will gather in DC for the largest civil disobedience action in decades, demanding President Biden use his executive authority to hasten the end of the era of fossil fuels.

Join us.

This is not a single “day of action”, but instead a wave of action from October 11th – 15th that will involve civil disobedience to put sustained pressure and a bigger spotlight on our demands. If that involves risking arrest, we are prepared and willing to take that risk and deal with the consequences. We believe that the risks of inaction are far greater than the risks of taking action.

All components of the actions — trainings the night before and the start of the actions themselves — will be at McPherson Square in downtown DC. The McPherson Square Metro station is on the orange, blue, and silver lines; Farragut North (red line) is also very close by.

13/10/2021 at 08:00AM

President Biden has a choice to make: Will he side with the people or a handful of fossil fuel executives? It’s a test with results that will determine the future of our planet and the wellbeing of future generations that will inhabit it. We are putting our bodies on the line to ensure President Biden passes this crucial test.

As we face the worsening climate emergency, frontline communities have been fighting the fossil fuel projects which threaten their health and homes for generations. While our government has largely ignored their demands, climate chaos has intensified across the globe. The Glasgow UN climate summit in November is the “last, best chance” for our government to change course and ensure a just, renewable energy future for all of us.

From October 11-15, we will gather in DC for the largest civil disobedience action in decades, demanding President Biden use his executive authority to hasten the end of the era of fossil fuels.

Join us.

This is not a single “day of action”, but instead a wave of action from October 11th – 15th that will involve civil disobedience to put sustained pressure and a bigger spotlight on our demands. If that involves risking arrest, we are prepared and willing to take that risk and deal with the consequences. We believe that the risks of inaction are far greater than the risks of taking action.

All components of the actions — trainings the night before and the start of the actions themselves — will be at McPherson Square in downtown DC. The McPherson Square Metro station is on the orange, blue, and silver lines; Farragut North (red line) is also very close by.

12/10/2021 at 08:00AM

President Biden has a choice to make: Will he side with the people or a handful of fossil fuel executives? It’s a test with results that will determine the future of our planet and the wellbeing of future generations that will inhabit it. We are putting our bodies on the line to ensure President Biden passes this crucial test.

As we face the worsening climate emergency, frontline communities have been fighting the fossil fuel projects which threaten their health and homes for generations. While our government has largely ignored their demands, climate chaos has intensified across the globe. The Glasgow UN climate summit in November is the “last, best chance” for our government to change course and ensure a just, renewable energy future for all of us.

From October 11-15, we will gather in DC for the largest civil disobedience action in decades, demanding President Biden use his executive authority to hasten the end of the era of fossil fuels.

Join us.

This is not a single “day of action”, but instead a wave of action from October 11th – 15th that will involve civil disobedience to put sustained pressure and a bigger spotlight on our demands. If that involves risking arrest, we are prepared and willing to take that risk and deal with the consequences. We believe that the risks of inaction are far greater than the risks of taking action.

All components of the actions — trainings the night before and the start of the actions themselves — will be at McPherson Square in downtown DC. The McPherson Square Metro station is on the orange, blue, and silver lines; Farragut North (red line) is also very close by.

11/10/2021 at 08:00AM

In its reconciliation package, the House of Representatives restored some of Biden’s requested funding for climate justice measures that had been slashed by the U.S. Senate’s bipartisan deal, but massive cuts remain.

If the White House heeds the “no double dip” deal it made with Senate centrists, the House funds will be eliminated.

Two Build Back Better climate-justice programs that were cut in the Senate’s infrastructure package (known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework, or BIF) are funded at or above President Biden’s requested levels:

• Building electric vehicle charging stations, raised $15 billion to $21 billion
• Replacing the nation’s lead pipes, fully restored to $45 billion

However, most face massive cuts, with no prospect for improvement:

• Reconnecting minority communities cut off by highway projects, cut 79% from $24 billion to $4.95 billion
• Investing in electric school buses, cut 63% from $20 billion to $7.5 billion
• Road safety, including “vision zero” programs to protect pedestrians, cut 45% from $20 billion to $11 billion (only $100 million added)
• Upgrading and modernizing America’s drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater systems, cut 40% from $56 billion to $33.7 billion
• Repairing and modernizing public transit, cut 36% from $85 billion to $54 billion
• Broadband infrastructure, cut 31% from $100 billion to $69 billion
• Investing in passenger and freight rail, cut 5% from $80 billion to $76 billion

Furthermore, the House added on additional funding for the programs that act as bailouts for polluters:

• Capping orphan wells, increased to $18.5 billion, 16% over Biden’s request
• Brownfield and Superfund, increased to $20 billion, three times Biden’s request

The BIF includes the Civil Nuclear Credit Program, a $6 billion bailout fund for existing nuclear plants.

The Clean Electricity Performance Program (CEPP) is a major climate initiative in the House reconciliation package, establishing a sort of carbon cap-and-trade system for electric utilities with the goal of increasing low-carbon electricity production to 80 percent of the mix by 2030. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has indicated his desire to modify the CEPP to lower its standards to support natural-gas plants.

Fourth day of markup. See days one, two, and three.

Markup of:

• Subtitle A. Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Universal Paid Family and Medical Leave
• Subtitle B. Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Retirement
• Subtitle C. Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Child Care Access and Equity
• Subtitle D. Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Trade Adjustment Assistance
• Part 1 of Subtitle E: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Pathways to Health Careers
• Part 2 of Subtitle E: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Elder Justice
• Part 3 of Subtitle E: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Skilled Nursing Facilities
• Part 4 of Subtitle E: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Medicare Dental, Hearing, and Vision Coverage
• Committee Print Consisting of Subtitles F, G, H, and J: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Infrastructure Financing, Green Energy, Social Safety Net, and Prescription Drugs – Summary

15/09/2021 at 09:00AM

The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure will hold a markup to consider the following:

Legislative proposals to comply with the reconciliation directive included in section 2002 of the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2022, S. Con. Res. 14

• Committee Print
• Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute

Includes, among other provisions:

• $950 million for community climate incentive grants under the Federal Highway Administration

Amendments

• BABIN 075
• BOST 029 REV 2
• BURCHETT 074
• CRAWFORD 073
  • Massie Secondary Amendment to CRAWFORD 073

GIBBS 065

GONZÁLEZ-COLÓN 090

GRAVES LA 068

GRAVES LA 069

GRAVES LA 146 REV

GRAVES LA 147 REV

GRAVES LA 148 REV

GRAVES LA 149

GRAVES LA 150 REV

GRAVES LA 151

GRAVES LA 152

GRAVES LA 153

GRAVES LA 154

GRAVES LA 155 REV

LaMALFA 058

LaMALFA 059

LaMALFA 060 REV

LaMALFA 061

LaMALFA 072

MAST 038

NEHLS 059

PERRY 064

PERRY 306

PERRY 307

PERRY 308

PERRY 309

PERRY 310

PERRY 311

PERRY 313

PERRY 314

PERRY 315

PERRY 318

PERRY 319

PERRY 321

PERRY 328

PERRY 330

PERRY 331

PERRY 334

PERRY 337

ROUZER 060

STAUBER 058

STAUBER 060

STAUBER 62

WEBER 013

WEBSTER 055

WESTERMAN 063

14/09/2021 at 10:00AM