Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, this amendment, which I offered a version of at the markup nearly a year ago, would have addressed all the concerns. If adopted, I would be happy to support H.R. 1449. This amendment extends the timeline for the Department to determine permit completeness, as the Department requested in its testimony, and gives flexibility to issue a final determination on a permit when environmental review is actually complete. This will ensure permitting is done in a timely manner, in accordance with Federal law, reducing the risk of litigation and promoting responsible development. There are a few things to note on this amendment. The first thing is, for the 90-day timeline for determining permit completeness, I point my colleagues to H.R. 6011 from Republican Representative Valadao. That bill directs the Secretary to notify a right-of-way applicant, which is the permit needed for a transmission line or a pipeline to cross Federal land, that their permit is complete or not within 90 days of submission. My amendment proposes that same standard for geothermal drilling permits. For my amendment piece about flexibility, I point my colleagues to the Manchin-Barrasso permitting proposal. I have plenty of concerns with that bill, but even those Senators saw the same issues with approving or denying a permit within 30 days. That is why their bill includes the same environmental review backstop language for geothermal as is included in my amendment here.…”