Senate Environment and Public Works panel releases ‘big beautiful bill' text
The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee released text for its portion of the Trump legislative agenda policy bill that Republicans are trying to get across the finish line, becoming the first Senate panel to do so.
The EPW bill appears similar to provisions passed by the House. It's not one of the committees that deals with thorny issues like Medicaid or energy tax credits that is likely to undergo changes in the upper chamber.
Like the House version of the bill, the text released by Senate Republicans on Wednesday repeals numerous green programs passed by the Democrats in 2022.
This includes a $20 billion program that seeks to provide financing for climate-friendly projects and a $3 billion program that provides grants for underserved communities that want to fight air pollution and climate change.
It also repeals other grant programs related to air pollution monitoring and reducing air pollution at schools – as well as a program that seeks to charge oil and gas companies for their excess methane emissions.
Like the House version, the Senate bill also includes a provision criticized by Democrats as 'pay-for-play' that allows companies to pay for expedited reviews of energy or other infrastructure projects.
And it seeks to repeal a Biden-era regulation that's expected to push the auto market toward selling more electric vehicles.
The ultimate text could still change as the parliamentarian has to decide which programs can actually be passed through reconciliation – a process by which the Senate can pass legislation with a simple majority instead of the 60 votes it usually needs.
However, since the green programs it seeks to repeal were passed in a similar manner in 2022, those are likely to make it into the final version.
'This legislative text puts in motion plans that Senate Republicans pledged to take, like stopping Democrats' natural gas tax and rescinding unobligated dollars from the so-called Inflation Reduction Act,' said EPW Chair Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) in a written statement.
'I look forward to working with my colleagues to move our legislative package forward to enact President Trump's agenda, which the American people overwhelmingly support,' she added.
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