
Trump administration plans to rescind rule blocking logging on national forest lands
SANTA FE, N.M. — The Trump administration plans to rescind a nearly quarter-century-old rule that blocked logging on national forest lands, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced Monday.
The so-called roadless rule adopted in the last days of Bill Clinton's presidency in 2001 long has chafed Republican lawmakers, especially in the West where national forests sprawl across vast, mountainous terrain and the logging industry has waned.
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The Hill
19 minutes ago
- The Hill
Senate parliamentarian rejects offshore oil, gas drilling provisions in GOP megabill
Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has ruled against provisions in the GOP megabill to enact President Trump's agenda that would dramatically accelerate the approval of offshore oil and gas projects, handing Senate Republican Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) a setback and Democrats another procedural victory. The parliamentarian ruled against a provision in the legislation that would deem offshore oil and gas projects as automatically compliant with the National Environmental Policy Act, essentially nullifying the environmental review process for these projects. And MacDonough advised against a subsection of the bill that requires offshore oil and gas leases to be issued to successful bidders within 90 days after the lease sale. The parliamentarian rejected a section of the bill requiring the Interior secretary to permit the construction of Ambler Road, a 211-mile access road that would facilitate the development of four large mines in Northern Alaska and hundreds of smaller mines in the region. She also ruled against language in the bill to mandate the sale of millions of acres of federal public land by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service. MacDonough said these provisions do not comply with the Senate's Byrd Rule and therefore are not eligible to pass the upper chamber with a simple-majority vote. Sections of the bill found to violate the Byrd Rule need 60 votes to overcome a point-of-order objection. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), the ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee, hailed the rulings as another important procedural victory. 'Democrats continue to show up and fight every provision of this Big, Beautiful Betrayal of a bill, because this bill is an attack on workers and families everywhere,' Merkley said in a statement. 'Democrats will not stand idly by while Republicans attempt to circumvent the rules of reconciliation in order to sell off public lands to fund tax breaks for billionaires.' he continued. 'We will make sure the Byrd Rule is followed and review any changes Republicans attempt to make to the bill.' The parliamentarian also rejected a subsection of the bill that removes the secretary of the Interior's discretion to reduce fees for wind and solar projects on federal land as well as sections that would require the Interior Department to hold yearly geothermal lease sales and change how geothermal royalties are calculated. MacDonough is still reviewing several Alaska-related environmental provisions in the bill and considering a section of the bill that would require 90 percent of the revenue from oil and gas leases in Cook Inlet to be handed over to the Last Frontier State starting in 2035. She is also expected to weigh in on language to require oil and gas lease sales in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.


Fox News
20 minutes ago
- Fox News
Bondi confirms officials on 'high alert' amid concerns of Iranian sleeper cells
All times eastern FOX News Radio Live Channel Coverage WATCH LIVE: Trump departs for NATO summit after Israel-Iran ceasefire whiplash overnight
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump's CFPB rollback has cost Americans $18 billion, consumer groups say
By Douglas Gillison (Reuters) -President Donald Trump's rapid pullback of the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has cost Americans at least $18 billion in higher fees and lost compensation for consumers allegedly cheated by major companies, according to an analysis released Tuesday by two organizations. The increased consumer costs from the CFPB's rollback of regulations on bank fees, wholesale dismissal of cases against banks and other lenders and the apparent failure to disburse funds intended for harmed borrowers run counter to Trump's campaign pledges to ease the cost of living, according to the Student Borrower Protection Center and the Consumer Federation of America. Representatives for the White House and CFPB did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours. Since Trump took control of the CFPB in February, calling for its elimination, administration officials have sought to reduce the workforce by about 90% and sharply curtail its industry oversight. Administration officials accuse the agency and its former leadership of exceeding their legal powers, burdening free enterprise and engaging in politicized enforcement of consumer laws. However, in a statement on Tuesday, the two organizations listed actions Trump's team had taken that they said shifted costs onto consumers. Under former President Joe Biden, the agency had sought to cap credit card late fees at $8 and overdraft fees at $5. The Trump administration's move to end those policies should together cost consumers $15 billion a year, according to the statement. The dismissal of 22 enforcement cases that were pending when Biden left office in January -- including actions against JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Capital One -- involved more than $3 billion in alleged harm to consumers. The CFPB has also scrapped or revised settlements it had already concluded with Toyota and a payments processor, meaning about $50 million in redress payments will never be made, the statement said. Sign in to access your portfolio