[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 210 (Friday, December 12, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1193]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     OPPOSITION TO PERMITTING BILLS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 12, 2025

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the slate of 
permitting bills that the Republican majority has brought to the House 
Floor this week. These bills roll back vital protections that ensure 
our constituents have access to clean air and water, and can weigh in 
on projects that will affect the health of their selves, their 
families, and their community.
  Make no mistake, the six bills before the House this week are not a 
commonsense, bipartisan permitting package. They are the latest attempt 
for President Trump and Congressional Republicans to roll back 
protections for our environment so that their big oil and gas friends 
can ``drill, baby, drill'' without consequence or punishment.
  Republicans claim that H.R. 3893, the PERMIT Act, just cuts 
unnecessary bureaucratic red tape. That is false. In reality, the 
PERMIT Act is a partisan package of over a dozen bills that roll back 
the Clean Water Act, further weakening protections on our rivers, 
lakes, streams, and wetlands. This bill protects polluters from 
responsibility for treating toxic pollution in their waste stream like 
lead, mercury, selenium, PFAS, and arsenic. If enacted, the PERMIT Act 
will lead to an increase in the unregulated discharge of these harmful 
chemicals into local bodies of water.
  In addition to the PERMIT Act, House Republicans have brought five 
additional bills forward that will raise prices for consumers and 
prioritize polluters over the American people. Let me tell you just how 
bad these bills are:
  H.R. 3668 would strip states of their ability to enforce their own 
clean water laws concerning natural gas pipelines.
  H.R. 3628 would force states to show arbitrary preference for fossil 
fuels over clean, cheap energy.
  H.R. 3638 would require the Department of Energy (DOE) to issue a 
supply chain report, asking DOE to do more with less after Elon Musk 
and DOGE forced out 3,500 DOE employees and put the agency's capacity 
to write such a report in doubt. If Republicans are concerned about 
energy supply chains, they should start by repealing the One Big 
Beautiful Bill Act, which attacked tax credits and programs designed to 
strengthen our supply chains.
  H.R. 3616 would grant the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) 
unprecedented power to veto or demand changes to any federal agency 
action, including environmental rules.
  H.R. 3632 would force old, expensive power plants to stay online for 
up to five years after their scheduled retirement date, sending 
already-high electricity bills through the roof.
  Mr. Speaker, these bills do not exist in a vacuum. We are considering 
these bills in the wake of Trump Administration actions to cancel and 
stall clean energy projects. In October, President Trump canceled over 
$7.5 billion in grants for 223 clean energy projects. President Trump 
canceled over $714 million in funding for Minnesota. These grants would 
have funded battery storage for a more stable grid, modernized 
transmission lines, and funded a battery recycling education program at 
Macalester College.
  My Republican colleagues want to talk about permitting reform? Let's 
talk about how President Trump is weaponizing the existing permitting 
process to freeze the approval of permits for onshore wind and solar 
projects, leaving thousands of megawatts of clean power in limbo at a 
time when demand for electricity is sky rocking. If Republicans succeed 
in passing these bills and gutting protections for our communities and 
environment, it will mean that oil and gas companies have an easier 
pathway to polluting the land, air, and water we all rely on.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose all six of these bills. I 
once again urge the Republican House Majority to stop bringing these 
harmful bills that fast-track fossil fuel projects, restrict 
communities' ability to challenge harmful development, and work to 
undermine clean energy development. This is not the way to improve 
Americans' lives.

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