President Trump Undermines BAAJA As Senate Debate Begins
WASHINGTON – The Senate voted to begin the deliberative process on the permitting reform bill today. While NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) announced opposition to BAAJA as currently written in the Manager’s Amendment over the weekend, news today that there will be an amendment process keeps the door open to potential fixes to the bill.
Underscoring concerns about impacts of the bill as written, President Trump spoke today of his support for BAAJA while noting he would not approve any wind projects, calling wind turbines “total losers” even as the White House put out vote guidance stressing the bill’s importance for fossil fuels and data center development.
Following is reaction to the vote from Manish Bapna, president and CEO of NRDC:
“President Trump highlights how important this bill is for fossil fuels and data centers and how it could help clear the way for President Trump's expensive and dirty energy agenda.
“Until President Trump’s war on clean energy ends, the permitting bill is thoroughly undercut, leaving the administration free to push new fossil fuel infrastructure projects while bringing new clean energy development to a halt. That is not good for the climate, for the economy, or for public health. The permitting legislation needs to address that dynamic, because even in talking up the bill today, President Trump said he would not approve wind projects. The amendment process gives the Senate a chance to counter the Administration’s dangerously limited approach.
“We support the elements of the legislation that help accelerate needed transmission, clean energy deployment, and grid modernization; but the current package goes too far in weakening essential environmental safeguards and public participation requirements. We hope to see those areas improved through a robust amendment process.”
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Established in 1970, NRDC (the Natural Resources Defense Council) works to safeguard the earth, its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. Our team of more than 800 lawyers, policy experts, scientists, economists, and communications specialists work across the United States and around the world, from offices in Washington D.C., New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, and Santa Monica, as well as a representative office in Beijing and affiliate offices in New Delhi (through NRDC’s wholly owned for-profit subsidiary, NRDC India Private Limited) and London (through its UK-based partner NRDC International).