08.04.22

Sullivan Leads Effort to Defuse Biden ‘Delay Bomb’ for Infrastructure

Bipartisan Group of Senators Vote to Support the Hard-Working Men and Women Who Build America

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) today was joined by all of his voting Republican colleagues and Democratic Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) in passing his legislation to overturn the Biden administration’s “National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Implementing Regulations Revisions.” The Biden rule will bog down the already-onerous federal permitting process and add further delay to vital infrastructure projects that would put hard-working Americans back to work.

“I want to thank all of my colleagues who supported my resolution to rescind these job-killing regulations—standing with the hard-working men and women who build America,” said Senator Sullivan. “We all know the Biden NEPA regulations are nothing more than a delay bomb for building infrastructure in this country. Today’s vote is a win for the men and women who build things in America. It’s a win for those who support building infrastructure for America in a timely fashion. It’s a win for anyone who supports unleashing American energy that we need so much right now in our country. And, most importantly, it’s a win for the men and women who build this country, feed this country, and grow this country.” 

On July 13, Sen. Sullivan introduced S.J. Res. 55, a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), cosponsored by all 49 of his Senate Republican colleagues, to nullify the Biden administration’s new NEPA regulation. The recently promulgated Biden administration NEPA rules, authored by the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), undermine important provisions in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act intended to streamline key elements of our broken federal permitting process, which Senator Sullivan played a leading role in writing. Additionally, the Biden administration’s NEPA rules are a substantial roll-back of the Trump administration’s 2020 NEPA regulations, which were the first major modernization of federal environmental reviews since 1978. Senator Sullivan was a leading advocate for the 2020 NEPA revisions, having previously introduced legislation—theRebuild America Now Act—that mirrored the Trump-era reforms.

The CRA provides Congress with 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. 

The resolution now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration. 

Timeline of Senator Sullivan’s Efforts on S.J. Res. 55

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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