Democrats' momentum play

Jan 06, 2022

With help from Kelsey Tamborrino, Josh Siegel, Alex Daugherty, Jonathan Custodio, Annie Snider and Daniel Lippman.

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Quick Fix

— Senate Democrats are working to keep the BBB momentum, even as the package takes a backseat to their voting rights legislation.

— Today is the first anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack that sought to nullify the 2020 election, and environmental groups are calling on lawmakers to pass voting legislation as both a democratic and environmental imperative.

— Sarah Bloom Raskin, a vocal advocate for shoring defenses on climate finance risk, is likely to be tapped to oversee banks at the Fed.

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Driving the Day

Ron Wyden speaks during a Senate Finance Committee hearing.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) speaks during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Oct. 19, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington. | Mandel Ngan/Pool via AP

SLOWED, NOT DEAD: Democrats are still charting their way forward on voting rights legislation with an all-but-certain change to filibuster rules on the calendar. That's led to a lot of signaling from lawmakers and advocates alike that Build Back Better is taking a pause. But Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden doesn't want you to think that means momentum is waning.

"We're working to move as quickly as possible on these two issues: Voting (rights) and the issue of Build Back Better," Wyden told reporters, including Pro's Kelsey Tamborrino. "I can tell you, we're having constant negotiations. … I talked to three senators within an hour substantively just this morning."

The Oregon Democrat added that he's recently spoken to Senate Energy Chair Joe Manchin on "several issues," and he shrugged off the notion there could be a scaled-back bill. "I'm not talking about any stripped down package. I'm talking about Build Back Better and the commitments that we've made to the American people," he said.

Still, even after the positive comments on Tuesday from Manchin, there are likely to be some changes, particularly to address his concerns about EV incentives that favor unionized workers, which Manchin criticized as "not American." Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) conceded Wednesday to Pro's Josh Siegel that "we are going to make changes" to the credit to get it across the finish line.

Despite Wyden's insistence that talks are ongoing and productive, rank-and-file Democratic climate hawks reiterated that the party is in a holding pattern as it addresses its voting rights legislation. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), told Josh that Democrats are giving "BBB a break" as they remain "immersed" in voting rights discussions. And Stabenow said "we will get back to negotiations" on BBB once the air is cleared of the voting rights drama.

Meanwhile on the Republican side, Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota doesn't sense Democrats are giving up on pursuing their climate ambitions through reconciliation. Cramer has encouraged Democrats to pursue bipartisan compromise through regular order on key climate provisions in the faltering Build Back Better package, including on clean energy tax credits.

"I haven't gotten the sense from any of them yet that it's throw-in-the-towel time," Cramer told Josh. "As long as you have the bully pulpit, as long as you have the White House you always feel like you can still be in the fight."

On the Hill

ONE YEAR LATER: A cohort of environmental groups is urging Congress to pass Democrats' voting rights bills, calling them necessary to combat climate change and ensure environmental justice.

"When everyone's vote counts and everyone's voice is heard, we can hold our government accountable to address critical needs including combating the climate crisis, addressing rising inequality, advancing environmental justice, and protecting our air, lands, waters, oceans, and wildlife," the groups wrote in a statement Wednesday. The organizations include the Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund, Sierra Club, Environmental Defense Fund Action, Union of Concerned Scientists and Greenpeace, among others.

The call comes on the anniversary of the Capitol attack, when a mob of former President Donald Trump's supporters sought to block the certification of the 2020 election. The groups said the anniversary should serve as a "wake-up call to President [Joe] Biden and the Senate to urgently take all action necessary" to expand "the right to vote, end partisan gerrymandering, and give power back to the people."

Republicans almost uniformly reject the legislation as federal interference into state-run elections, though a handful of Republican moderates and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell signaled openness to a narrower set of changes, POLITICO's Burgess Everett reports.

For more reading on today's anniversary, POLITICO's Congress, politics and White House teams have a spate of must-reads on the attack and its aftermath. Check them out:

— " Jan. 6, in their own words: Members of Congress look back and forward," via the Congress team.

— "They stormed the Capitol. Now they're running for office," via Brittany Gibson.

— "' Shocked and stunned and horrified': How Joe Biden processed Jan. 6," via Laura Barrón-López and Chris Cadelago.

SHIFTING ON NORD STREAM 2: Senate Democrats are looking like they'll change tack on sanctions legislation related to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline when the bill goes to a vote next week. The sanctions, championed by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), have enjoyed wide, bipartisan support in Congress over concerns that the pipeline would expand Russian infrastructure into NATO territory and give Moscow leverage over energy-hungry Europe.

But with Russia building a menacing presence along the Ukrainian border, Democrats feel now isn't the time to antagonize allies like Germany, which needs the gas from the pipeline, in order to rally as much support on the continent as possible. And the pipeline, which is still waiting for certification, offers a big bargaining chip for the U.S. and Europe against Russia, with the West warning the project won't become operational if Putin advances on Ukraine. POLITICO's Andrew Desiderio has more.

KEEP THE GAS ROLLING: A group of Republicans on the House Transportation Committee is urging the Biden administration to scrap a proposed rollback of a Trump-era rule that allowed liquefied natural gas to be transported by train.

Too soon to undo: Transportation Committee ranking member Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) rail, pipelines and hazardous materials subcommittee ranking member Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) and other Republicans sent a letter to acting PHMSA director Tristan Brown on Thursday outlining their opposition to a repeal of a 2020 rule change that authorized the bulk transport of LNG in approved train cars.

"As our country faces significant supply chain issues and rising energy prices, we should be incentivizing critical infrastructure that can provide additional capacity to the nation's ability to safely transport energy and ease some of these challenges," the lawmakers wrote in a letter that was first shared with Morning Transportation. "Yet, the rollback of this rule once again places additional regulatory burdens to stifle key transportation infrastructure."

Final rule change pending: PHMSA announced the proposed rollback of the new rule in November. Republicans argue that LNG will continue to be transported by boat and truck, with trucks in particular presenting a bigger threat of explosion than gas that's transported by train, and that limiting the transport of natural gas by train hurts domestic energy production.

GEARING UP FOR THE NEXT WRDA: The House Transportation Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee will meet next Wednesday to go over proposals for this year's Water Resources Development Act. The legislation's 2020 iteration invested in waterway infrastructure and community resilience and outlined oversight measures for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is also meeting Wednesday for an oversight hearing on the USACE's current water infrastructure projects. The hearing will probe into any legislative action that could help the Corps carry out its work.

DEMS DECRY WHEELER PICK: Former EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, Republican Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin's pick to serve as Virginia's next secretary of Natural Resources, is getting some biting pushback from the commonwealth's congressional delegation.

Rep. Don Beyer issued a scathing statement Wednesday, saying Wheeler was "one of the worst people" Youngkin could select, while Rep. Donald McEachin said the pick "shows a callous disregard for climate protections and environmental justice priorities."

Both criticized Wheeler's rollbacks of Obama-era environmental protections, including the Clean Power Plan, and Beyer also blasted him for not resigning from the Trump administration after the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

In naming Wheeler to his new post, Youngkin cited his extensive environmental experience going back to the senior Bush EPA. Wheeler and a Youngkin spokesman did not respond to ME's requests for further comment.

The incoming governor also announced Wednesday he was naming Michael Rolband to serve as Virginia's Director of Environmental Quality. Rolband is the founder of Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc., a consulting firm that helps economic developers navigate federal environmental policy.

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Around the Agencies

RASKIN'S CLIMATE AGENDA AT THE FED: Sarah Bloom Raskin, a former Fed governor and outspoken voice on financial climate risk, is Biden's likely pick to oversee banks at the Federal Reserve, Pro's Victoria Guida reports. Raskin has pushed for the central bank and financial regulators to have a greater role in addressing climate change.

Under Chair Jerome Powell, the Fed is already making moves to prepare large banks for climate risks. But the Trump-appointed chair has been getting heat from climate advocates for not acting more aggressively to directly curb fossil fuel financing.

Raskin wrote in September that regulators should both "move faster in preparing firms within their jurisdiction to weather climate effects that are not being eliminated by markets" and "ask themselves how their existing instruments can be used to incentivize a rapid, orderly, and just transition away from high-emission and biodiversity-destroying investments." Read more from Victoria.

In the courts

GEOTHERMAL GETS COLD WATER: Major geothermal energy developer Ormat Technologies must temporarily pump the brakes on its Dixie Meadows Geothermal Utilization Project in Nevada after a federal judge slapped it with a 90-day delay. Judge Robert Jones of the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada cited the lack of an environmental impact statement.

The ruling comes after the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe, which has been in the area for millennia, and the Center for Biological Diversity argued the project could disproportionately impact the land's vulnerable species and disrupt the tribe's religious practices. Jones said he'd expand on his ruling in the next 10 days, which creates a route to extend the construction pause through the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Beyond the Beltway

FERC DEALS BLOW TO NEW ENGLAND GAS PROJECT: FERC sided with New England's grid operator to back out of an agreement with a natural gas project in Connecticut. The New England Independent System Operator said in a filing that it doubted the project, the Killingly Energy Center, would be completed by a June 1, 2024, deadline after missing several key milestones. The project's operators retorted that it faced delays due to factors out of its control, such as the pandemic, and that losing faith at this stage was premature.

The project also comes at a crossroads for the region, which is moving away from carbon-emitting sources of generation but also has to contend with questions on its reliability. Pro's Gloria Gonzalez has more.

Movers and Shakers

— Charlie Carter is joining Earth & Water Law as a partner. Carter is a long-time EPA veteran and appointee of the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission.

— Stephen Levin is joining Solar One as CEO after serving as District 33's council member on the New York City Council since 2010.

— Tanuj Deora is joining the White House Council on Environmental Quality as director of clean energy and team leader for 24/7 carbon pollution-free electricity team. He was previously vice president of market innovation at Uplight.

The Grid

— "More than 40 percent of Americans live in counties hit by climate disasters in 2021," via The Washington Post.

— "U.S. says more than half of states will seek oil well cleanup funds," via Reuters.

— " Democrats shift gears on Russian pipeline, backing Biden against Cruz's gambit," via POLITICO.

— "Texas natural gas production dropped during recent cold front, reviving concerns about electric grid," via The Texas Tribune.

— "Sustainability Efforts Run Through Information Technology ," via The Wall Street Journal.

— "Battery recycling plant coming to existing facility near Rivian site," via The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

— "Natural-Gas Crisis Pushes German Utilities Into Dash for Cash," via The Wall Street Journal.

THAT'S ALL FOR ME!

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