Source: United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and Dan Sullivan (R-AK) introduced a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), with the other 48 of their Senate Republican colleagues to nullify the Biden Administration’s new regulation, “National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Implementing Regulations Revisions.” The regulation reverses common sense permitting reforms implemented by the Trump Administration, further bogging down the federal permitting process and delaying vital infrastructure projects. The White House Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) NEPA rules also undermine important provisions in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act intended to streamline key elements of our broken federal permitting process.
“Congress saw the wisdom in President Trump’s permitting reforms and included provisions to codify his actions in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The Biden Administration’s NEPA rule is nothing more than new red tape which will delay permits and much needed infrastructure investment. This is unacceptable and not what the American people want. Our resolution would rescind this nonsensical rule, supporting American workers and critical infrastructure projects across the country,” said Senator Cramer.
“I want to thank all of my Republican colleagues for cosponsoring this resolution. A broad coalition in Congress last year included commonsense permitting reforms in the bipartisan infrastructure bill to ensure that projects wouldn’t be stalled by endless review and delay,” said Senator Sullivan. “Remarkably, those important provisions to cut federal red tape, supported by America’s workers, are now being killed by the Biden administration’s new NEPA regulations. The bridges and roads, pipelines and tunnels, ports and runways that American taxpayers were promised will now suffer from an increasing regulatory quagmire. It doesn’t have to be this way. When NEPA was originally enacted, the average environmental impact statement took less than a year to complete. Today, the average EIS takes four to six years to complete at a cost of several millions of dollars. My resolution will work to end this bureaucratic stagnation. Because of the provisions of the Congressional Review Act, my Senate Democratic colleagues will have to vote and make a choice: Will they capitulate to the far-left radical environmentalists, or will they stand with the American people and the hard-working men and women of this country who build the vital hard infrastructure projects we need? There won’t be any hiding from this vote. It will be very interesting to see who my Democratic colleagues stand with. I know who I stand for: the men and women who build our country,” said Senator Sullivan.
The CRA provides Congress an expedited mechanism to overturn certain federal agency regulations and actions through a joint resolution of disapproval. A joint resolution of disapproval under the CRA is afforded special procedures, bypassing normal Senate rules and allowing for a vote on the Senate floor. If a CRA joint resolution of disapproval is approved by a simple majority in both houses of Congress and signed by the President—or if Congress successfully overrides a presidential veto—the rule is invalidated.
Joining Senator Cramer and Sullivan are Senators Mitch McConnell (R-KY), John Thune (R-SD), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), John Barrasso (R-WY), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Steve Daines (R-MT), John Hoeven (R-ND), Mike Lee (R-UT), Pat Toomey (R-PA), Rand Paul (R-KY), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), John Kennedy (R-LA), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Jim Risch (R-ID), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Rick Scott (R-FL), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Ron Johnson (R-WI), James Lankford (R-OK), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Rob Portman (R-OH), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), John Boozman (R-AR), Richard Burr (R-NC), Richard Shelby (R-AL), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Todd Young (R-IN), John Cornyn (R-TX), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Tim Scott (R-SC), Mike Braun (R-IN), and Susan Collins (R-ME).
Click here to read the resolution.