The Debt Ceiling Deal Fast-Tracks the Approval of a Climate-Killing Fossil Fuel Pipeline
The deal struck by Joe Biden and congressional Republicans to avert a default on the national debt includes provisions that expedite construction of a greenhouse-gas-spewing pipeline and even attempt to block courts from hearing challenges to its legality.
President Joe Biden speaks during a Memorial Day address at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on May 29, 2023. (Ting Shen / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The Biden administration and congressional Republicans slipped provisions into the debt deal that expedite construction of a controversial fossil fuel pipeline and attempt to block courts from hearing challenges to its legality, according to the text of the legislation.
The language was inserted into the bill amid a flood of campaign cash from executives at NextEra Energy, one of the companies spearheading the pipeline, to Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) and two other Democratic senators.
The bill not only mandates approval of a major gas pipeline, it also omits proposals to expedite construction of transmission lines that energy grid experts say are necessary to transition the country off fossil fuels.
This article is for subscribers only. Please login or subscribe to access our full archives and beautiful print and digital magazine starting at just $3 a month.