Today, Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Dan Newhouse (WA-04) and Senate Western Caucus Chair Cynthia Lummis (WY) introduced the Reducing Environmental Gamesmanship (REGs) Act. This legislation prohibits federal agencies from implementing “environmental justice” standards unless expressly directed by Congress and nullifies two environmental justice executive orders.
“‘Environmental justice’ is another ploy by extreme activists to block traditional energy and infrastructure projects and force a green transition,” said Chairman Newhouse. “The reality is that if this agenda is put in place, the very low-income communities the left is claiming to help would be overburdened by higher energy costs. I’m proud to partner with Senator Lummis to overturn the Biden Administration’s environmental justice executive orders to help underserved communities and reclaim Congress’ legislative authority post-Chevron doctrine.”
“The Biden-Harris administration has made it crystal clear that it will do anything to appease its radical environmental base, even at the expense of Wyoming and the American west,” said Chair Lummis. “Wyoming households continue to shell out record amounts of their hard-earned money to keep up with this administration’s self-inflicted high energy costs at a time when they’re already spending more to keep up with inflation. I am partnering with Rep. Newhouse to overturn this administration’s radical agenda to ease the financial strain this administration has put on western communities and scale back the executive branch’s self-awarded power.”
Background:
Without direction from Congress, the Biden administration has decided that 40% of the funding from certain federal programs must go to “disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.”
Again, without Congressional direction, President Biden has said the “pursuit of environmental justice is a duty of all executive branch agencies and that federal agencies should be taking action now to incorporate this charge into their missions.”
Prioritizing environmental justice over Congressional intent has only led to longer permitting delays and more red tape, delaying environmental cleanup activities.
As a prime example, the IIJA created a program for orphan well plugging with clear, set guidelines for eligibility. The bill says states may use funding to “identify and address any disproportionate burden of adverse human health or environmental effects of orphaned wells on disadvantaged communities, including communities of color, low-income communities, and Tribal and Indigenous communities.”
However, as part of its environmental justice initiative, the Department of the Interior requires states to meet that optional standard, in clear violation of Congressional intent and rendering the program infeasible for many states while delaying the cleanup of orphan wells.
In light of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which ended the Chevron doctrine, Chairs Newhouse and Lummis introduced this legislation to reclaim Congress’ authority.
