TRADE GROUPS RAMP UP PUSH ON GOP ENERGY BILL: House Republicans are readying to send one of their first major legislative packages to the floor, and the downtown community is mobilizing to support the sprawling energy package, even as the White House said President Joe Biden would veto the measure if it makes it to his desk.
— Beginning tomorrow, the Independent Petroleum Association of America and leaders of its board will head to the Hill to shore up support for the Lower Energy Costs Act, which includes red meat policy items — like boosting fossil fuel production on federal land, prohibiting a ban on fracking and disapproving of Biden’s decision to block the Keystone XL pipeline — alongside reforms to the permitting and environmental review process that have bipartisan backing.
— IPAA will also talk up broader permitting reforms as well as flag its concerns with efforts to clamp down on the industry and tax carbon emissions. The trade group is set to meet with senior leaders, committee chairs and rank-and-file members from both chambers of Congress, according to the group.
— The National Association of Manufacturers reiterated its support for Republicans’ energy package and urged House members to vote for it in a letter to the Hill this morning. In an effort to win Democratic votes, the group’s top lobbyist Aric Newhouse argued H.R. 1 “will help drive domestic development of critical minerals” necessary for growing the electric vehicle industry — and eligibility for the Inflation Reduction Act’s EV tax credits.
— “If we fail to utilize our domestic natural resources and modernize existing processes, we will continue to miss opportunities to create good-paying jobs and reduce financial burdens on American families,” Newhouse wrote, calling passage of the bill “critical.”
— The pressure from downtown will only continue to build. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce plans to issue a “key vote” alert on the bill as early as tomorrow, making the package a factor in its annual legislative scorecard.
— The Chamber has also thrown its weight behind a sprawling coalition demanding the passage of permitting reforms by the end of the summer, as POLITICO’s Josh Siegel reports. The campaign includes fossil fuel and energy groups like IPAA, Edison Electric Institute and the American Petroleum Institute, renewable energy groups like the American Clean Power Association, Solar Energy Industries Association and the American Council on Renewable Energy, labor groups like North America’s Building Trades Unions and climate activists like Citizens’ Climate Lobby.
— The push includes stakeholders from a number of other sectors as well, underscoring the broad interest in speeding up new projects boosted by the last Congress’ infrastructure bill, semiconductor legislation and climate package — and possibly granting cover for cross-party votes on the GOP energy bill.
