WRDA WEDNESDAY: The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee votes on its version of the 2022 Water Resources Development Act today. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee unanimously advanced its bill containing the massive water projects legislation two weeks ago, presenting it as a major bipartisan win on both infrastructure and the environment. The House version includes feasibility studies for a larger number of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects, but does not include the creation of new environmental justice advisory bodies for the Corps, opting instead to mandate direct outreach programs. For a refresher on the differences between the two packages, your host has you covered. BIPARTISAN ENERGY GANG RIDES AGAIN: The group of senators chasing a bipartisan energy and climate change deal held another meeting Tuesday night, their fourth since discussions started a few weeks ago. Manchin, who is leading the group with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), claimed "good progress" to assembled reporters but was otherwise mum. It still appears to ME that senators are feeling out different ideas, without a real breakthrough that would suggest a deal is close. Previous meetings focused on getting a grasp on the clean energy tax credits that Democrats already passed in the House as part of the reconciliation package that Manchin opposed. THE BUDGET BASH: EPA Administrator Michael Regan is back on the Hill today to discuss his agency's budget request for fiscal year 2023. He'll go before the House Appropriations Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Subcommittee after testifying for the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Tuesday, where he pressed for more funding to address climate change as the clock ticks on mitigating emissions and keeping global warming in check, and to right environmental injustices. Republicans, however, appeared unimpressed, with Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee Republican Leader David McKinley saying: "You seem to want to fund more climate change and environmental justice programs, neither of which will lead to grid [reliability], only blackouts across the nation." Across the Rotunda, Senate EPW digs into U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's fiscal 2023 budget proposal with FWS Director Martha Williams. It's her first time back before the committee since her confirmation earlier this year, and Chair Tom Carper plans to focus on climate change's impacts on biodiversity loss and habitat decline, according to his aide. The Senate Appropriations Energy and Water Development Subcommittee has a hearing today on the National Nuclear Security Administration's FY 2023 budget request. The NNSA's budget request will also go under the microscope in the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday, where Granholm will testify. Finally, the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis has a hearing today on building a climate resilient food supply chain. ME FIRST: GOP PRESS RAIMONDO TO FIX OFFSHORE PERMITS: Several top Senate Republicans are asking Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to expedite permitting for offshore oil and gas leases that were delayed due to miscalculations on environmental impacts. The letters of authorization would be for geological exploration on existing leases in the Gulf of Mexico and have been backlogged at Commerce's National Marine Fisheries Service, some for over 100 days, the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Raimondo sent Tuesday evening and shared exclusively with ME. "NMFS' permitting delays represent one example of the Administration's de facto ban on new drilling — impeding domestic oil and gas investment, exploration and production," the senators, led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) wrote. Other signatories include Energy Committee ranking member John Barrasso, Environment and Public Works ranking member Shelley Moore Capito and several other prominent energy Republicans. SOLAR PROBE PRESSURE: More than 80 House Democrats urged an expedited preliminary determination in the Commerce Department's probe into solar components from Southeast Asia. In a letter to Biden — led by Democratic Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (Ill.), Scott Peters (Calif.) and Kathy Castor (Fla.) — the lawmakers ask that the determination "take into account the larger ramifications for the U.S. economy and the global fight against climate change, in so far as is possible under the law." Raimondo pledged to move as fast as possible under the statute, but has disputed that the department could consider climate change impacts or supply chain constraints in its determination. The letter has prompted its own opposition from the United Steelworkers, which separately wrote to House lawmakers with concerns that some "are distorting" how the investigation process works. The letter defends the process for anti-dumping and countervailing duties and says it should exclude any political interference. "It is irresponsible and threatens every industry and worker who relies on AD/CVD laws to help level the playing field," the letter said. Krishnamoorthi told ME he respected the union's point of view, adding that he too believes there should not be any political interference in the inquiries. But he added that Commerce needs to be "expeditious" and take into account the different factors. IN THE CHINA CONFERENCE TOO: The tension between labor and the solar industry is also playing out in the China bill conference. SEIA sent a letter to conferees on Monday urging them to alter language in the House version of the legislation to give the Commerce secretary more authority to throw out petitions for anti-circumvention investigations. The group is concerned that the House version would "improperly discard" the secretary's authority to reject the petitions, even before opening an investigation. "In effect, Commerce concluded that it was required to proceed with an investigation even when a petition is based on frivolous claims," wrote SEIA. "This is a dangerous and short-sighted application of U.S. law." To fix that, SEIA wants lawmakers to insert a so-called "public interest" provision in the legislation that would allow the secretary to throw out petitions if the agency finds that they are not in the public interest. Expect the provision to be hotly contested by organized labor and its allied lawmakers, who will argue that the language would fundamentally weaken American trade law by allowing the secretary – a political appointee – to overrule what they see as a technocratic process.
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