congressional_record: CREC-2025-08-02-pt1-PgS5512
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| CREC-2025-08-02-pt1-PgS5512 | 2025-08-02 | 119 | 1 | PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS | SENATE | SENATE | SPETANDMEM | S5512 | S5514 | [{"congress": "119", "type": "SRES", "number": "14"}, {"congress": "119", "type": "SRES", "number": "14"}, {"congress": "119", "type": "HJRES", "number": "17"}, {"congress": "119", "type": "HJRES", "number": "17"}, {"congress": "119", "type": "HJRES", "number": "35"}, {"congress": "119", "type": "HJRES", "number": "35"}] | 171 Cong. Rec. S5512 | Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 134 (Saturday, August 2, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 134 (Saturday, August 2, 2025)] [Senate] [Pages S5512-S5514] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS The following petitions and memorials were laid before the Senate and were referred or ordered to lie on the table as indicated: POM-16. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of the State of Montana urging the United States Congress and the President of the United States to undertake actions to unleash American energy by reforming and streamlining permitting obligations and repealing or revising environmental regulations and environmental reviews that do not align with national security interests; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. House Joint Resolution No. 17 Whereas, the United States should reduce its reliance on foreign energy sources and prioritize domestic energy production and independence; and Whereas, energy production and the infrastructure supporting it are fundamental to the economic stability, national security, and overall well-being of the American people; and Whereas, the United States faces a growing demand for reliable and efficient energy sources, particularly with the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, which will place an additional strain on existing energy production and transmission networks; and Whereas, environmental stewardship that keeps our air and water clean, protects public health, ensures biodiversity and species protection, and conserves public lands is a worthy goal that is important to achieve, but the current federal permitting and environmental review processes and federal regulations, including the power plant rules finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency in May 2024, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations, and dozens of other regulations have become excessively cumbersome and time-consuming, creating barriers to the construction, development, and deployment of essential new energy infrastructure, while not necessarily meaningfully advancing the goals of these laws; and Whereas, not only do these overly restrictive permitting and environmental review processes and regulations prevent the expansion of critical energy projects that are needed to meet the new demands of energy, but recently enacted regulations under President Biden's Administration were designed to materially harm existing, reliable generation assets, such as Montana's Colstrip Steam Electric Station; and Whereas, in order to support domestic manufacturing, enhance grid reliability and prevent blackouts, lower costs for consumers and businesses, meet the demands of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, and ensure the national energy security goals announced by President Donald J. Trump are met, the federal government should reform and streamline its permitting and environmental review processes and regulations to support the construction and modernization of domestic energy generation and infrastructure necessary to sustain economic growth and technological advancement; and Whereas, the United States' foreign adversaries are leveraging their lack of similar environmental regulatory paradigms to make large-scale investments in energy production and artificial intelligence advancements in an effort to gain technological and geopolitical dominance, while destabilizing the West and neutralizing Americans' global influence; and Whereas, both linear infrastructure, such as pipelines and transmission lines, as well as energy generation infrastructure and corresponding fuel sources for that generation infrastructure face extraordinary and indefensible delays due to overlitigation, inappropriate blocking of nationally important projects by unrepresentative and often radical groups that hold those projects hostage, and excessive use of our court system to hinder worthy projects; and Whereas, major delays in projects caused by inefficient permitting or overlitigation can dramatically increase costs and make projects less viable, harming national security interests, costing consumers, businesses, and taxpayers money, and making our energy system less reliable; and Whereas, unnecessary permitting and regulatory delays also increase American dependence on energy produced by foreign dictators and authoritarian regimes that do not care about the United States' environmental laws; and Whereas, unnecessary permitting delays limit investments made in modernizing our nation's infrastructure that would result in a more efficient energy system with reduced emissions and environmental impact; and Whereas, overlapping federal permitting requirements lack the flexibility to allow for efforts that reflect the spirit and intent of traditional environmental laws by protecting human health and the environment instead of procedural compliance with outdated regulations; and Whereas, failure to reform federal permitting laws is already resulting in harm to our national security interests, fewer jobs, and higher prices for Americans without providing additional benefits for the environment; and Whereas, failing to reform these laws in the coming months win result in even greater limitations on our energy infrastructure, harming our ability to maintain artificial intelligence superiority against our foreign adversaries, and costing even more American jobs while raising costs for consumers and businesses and leaving America vulnerable to unreliability, blackouts, and the resulting severe harm to the American people; Whereas, President Donald J. Trump has already announced significant initiatives and is advancing policies that strengthen American energy and innovation independence, including the construction of data centers; and Whereas, Montana is rich in abundant energy resource development and deployment opportunities, including coal, oil, natural gas, hydropower, wind, geothermal, hydrogen, solar, pumped storage hydropower, and nuclear capabilities; and Whereas, Montana stands ready to support the United States' energy independence and national security goals by leveraging our natural resources, rich national defense heritage, work ethic, and sheer grit. Now, therefore, be it Resolved, by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the State of Montana: Section 1. Policy. Orderly production and transmission of the United States' vast energy resources, unencumbered by unnecessary regulatory burdens, is essential to our nation's security and the well-being of the American people. It is further in the national interest to ensure that the United States' electricity is affordable, reliable, safe, and secure. Section 2. Immediate review of Environmental Protection Agency actions taken on May 2024. The Environmental Protection Agency should immediately review and, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, take swift action to undo two federal power plant regulations that were recently promulgated and conflict with the important national objectives set forth in Section 1. (1) The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency should immediately review all existing regulations, orders, guidance documents, policies, and any other similar agency actions promulgated, [[Page S5513]] issued, or adopted in May 2024, that are or may be inconsistent with, or present obstacles to, the policy set forth in Section 1. For any of these identified actions, the Administrator should, consistent with applicable law, suspend, revise, or rescind the agency actions. This recommendation applies specifically to: (a) the MATS RTR Rule, or ``National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Coal- and Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam Generating Units Review of the Residual Risk and Technology Review'' 85 FR 38508, May 7, 2024, which should be addressed by June 2025. A repeal of the rule is recommended on the grounds that there have been no material developments in control technologies, practices, or processes since the prior technology review that would reduce emissions, the regulation is not necessary to protect public health, the costs of the regulation do not justify the benefits, and the rule was not promulgated consistent with the Clean Air Act and the Administrative Procedure Act. Of the four new power plant rules published in May 2024, the MATS RTR Rule has the earliest compliance dates and therefore should be addressed first. (b) the GHG Rule, or ``New Source Performance Standards for Greenhouse Gas Emissions From New, Modified, and Reconstructed Fossil Fuel-Fired Electric Generating Units; Emission Guidelines for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Existing Fossil Fuel-Fired Electric Generating Units; and Repeal of the Affordable Clean Energy Rule'' 89 FR 39798, May 9, 2024, which should be addressed by September 2025. This rule should be repealed initially on the grounds that carbon capture and storage and sequestration has not been adequately demonstrated and is not achievable, it is unlawful to set an emission standard based on generation-shifting, the costs of the regulation do not justify the benefits, and the rule was not promulgated consistent with the Clean Air Act and the Administrative Procedure Act. Following a repeal of the GHG Rule, the Environmental Protection Agency can issue a replacement rule that corrects these deficiencies. (2) The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, should consider whether to take any additional agency actions to fully enforce the policy set forth in Section 1 of this order. The Environmental Protection Agency should act swiftly to repeal, rescind, or modify these rules in the name of national security and economic prosperity. The rules should not be allowed to stay in effect while replacement rules are developed. The Environmental Protection Agency should use a two-step rulemaking process to repeal, then replace, as required. Additionally, administrative or judicial stay pathways should be pursued. Emergency authorities to effectuate change should be pursued to the fullest extent as ordered by President Donald J. Trump. Section 3. Regulatory Permitting. (1) Members of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives are urged to work in good faith to enact legislation that reforms federal permittIng and environmental review processes within the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations, and other regulations to promote economic and environmental stewardship by expediting the deployment of modern energy infrastructure. These reforms should enable faster construction of energy infrastructure of all kinds without prejudice, including by: (a) considering steps to limit excessive use of judicial processes to slow projects inappropriately; (b) preventing inappropriate usage of the federal Clean Water Act and other laws to hinder the lawful building of linear energy infrastructure, such as pipelines and transmission lines; (c) enacting reforms to plan, permit, and financially support the necessary build-out of electricity transmission infrastructure to support a more reliable energy grid that lowers costs for consumers and businesses; (d) in addition to more traditional energy sources like coal, natural gas, hydropower, solar, and wind, enabling the domestic build-out of the full array of modern energy technologies, including nuclear, emissions management, hydrogen, geothermal, pumped storage hydropower, battery and storage systems, and all other needs for a modern energy system; and (e) preempting state laws and regulations that are inconsistent with national security priorities to develop domestic energy production and related infrastructure. (2) This section should also be extended to the mining and processing of rare earth elements and critical minerals. The United States is highly reliant on China and other countries that do not share our interests to mine and process rare earth elements and critical minerals, with the demand for some of these minerals potentially growing by more than 40 times by 2040. Moreover, China is now banning the importation of rare earth elements and critical minerals that are essential to the United States' energy generation, chip manufacturing, and military defense technologies. Other developed nations that share our goals to protect the environment while producing abundant energy resources, such as Canada and Australia, have shown that they can permit new mines within 2 to 3 years instead of more than a decade, as is often the case in the United States (3) The legislative reforms urged by this resolution should also strive to ensure accountability for federal agencies conducting permitting and environmental review processes, including better data and more aggressive timelines. Additionally, these legislative reforms should be accompanied by a redoubting of efforts to streamline federal regulations to support the efficient building of new energy infrastructure. Failure to act to update our federal permitting system to support building new energy infrastructure will further harm consumers, workers, and businesses, while making the United States less competitive and more vulnerable to both foreign adversaries and domestic outages. Congress should act with urgency in the coming months to fix our broken permitting system. Section 4. Presidential national security powers. While Members of Congress undertake actions under Section 3 to reform and streamline permitting decisions and environmental review, there are other mechanisms and statutes that President Donald J. Trump has invoked and can continue to expand in the context of national security to streamline permitting, bypass environmental laws, or expedite energy generation like President Donald J. Trump's ``Declaring a National Energy Emergency'' Executive Order issued on January 20, 2025. Consistent with this Order, emergency authorities should be pursued to the fullest to protect national security, encourage American prosperity, and drive domestic energy independence. To the extent any of these acts and laws are time-sensitive, they should be modified to give broader authority to the President of the United States, especially to deal with our foreign adversaries. (1) National Emergencies Act--The President of the United States can declare a national emergency under the National Emergencies Act. This declaration could enable the administration to invoke emergency powers that impact energy generation and environmental regulations. For example, certain statutes allow the President to waive or modify requirements under federal laws during emergencies including the Clean Air Act or Clean Water Act. (2) Defense Production Act--The Defense Production Act grants the President of the United States authority to prioritize and expand the production of materials and services deemed critical for national defense. If energy generation is framed as vital to national defense or resilience, the Defense Production Act could be used to streamline permitting and bypass environmental reviews under laws like the National Environmental Policy Act. (3) Energy Policy and Conservation Act--The Energy Policy and Conservation Act provides certain presidential authorities to address energy shortages, particularly during crises. If invoked, it could allow for streamlined permitting processes for energy projects that enhance energy security. (4) Invoking National Security Exemptions in Environmental Laws--Federal environmental laws, such as the Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act, or National Environmental Policy Act, include provisions for national security exemptions. President Donald J. Trump or federal agencies at his direction could invoke these clauses to bypass environmental review requirements for energy projects deemed critical to national defense. Section 5. American Corporate Protections. Congress and President Donald J. Trump should aggressively undertake actions to protect American companies from corporate espionage and theft of intellectual property by our foreign adversaries when it comes to energy generation, artificial intelligence, or other technological advancements that are in the nation's security interests; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of State is directed to transmit a copy of this resolution to the President of the United States, the President and Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and each member of the Montana Congressional Delegation. ____ POM-17. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of the State of Montana urging the immediate modification of ineffective and dangerous federal land management and wildfire policies in order to protect the health, safety, and welfare of Montana's communities; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. House Joint Resolution No. 35 Whereas, over the last 2 decades, the United States Forest Service has increasingly adopted a more relaxed approach to wildfire suppression, often referred to as a ``let it burn'' policy, rather than pursuing aggressive initial attacks on wildfires; and Whereas, the contributing factors of drought, extensive tree mortality due to insect infestation, the United States Forest Service's relaxed approach to the suppression of wildfire, and the ineffective federal forest management policies that allow for extensive accumulation of biomass make Montana's forest lands highly susceptible to catastrophic and environmentally destructive wildfires that put Montana's air quality at hazardous levels and its communities in imminent danger; and Whereas, wildfire in areas labeled as full suppression areas have had delayed initial attack from days to weeks. A loophole has been exploited through which, by letting a wildfire burn forest land, the United States Forest Service can avoid going through the [[Page S5514]] process of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) environmental assessments required for controlled burns. Using wildfire as a loophole has created a reverse in fire suppression tactics whereby control lines meant to stop fire are intentionally placed miles from the fire boundary, and the fire is used to burn hundreds or thousands of additional acres of forest land. Using and encouraging wildfire as a means to document ``treated'' forest land is deceptive at best and allows less pressure on the United States Forest Service to actively manage forest land through timber harvest; and Whereas, a lack of positive forest management by the United States Forest Service by reduced timber harvest and relaxed fire suppression has led to extremely large fires that account for large releases of carbon into the atmosphere and hazardous air quality in western states that directly impact the health of citizens. Despite this, wildfire smoke is not counted in the federal Environmental Protection Agency's air quality standards attainment determinations, yet it is the largest source of air pollution in Montana communities; and Whereas, the United States Forest Service's movement to reclaim and close Forest Service roads and render them undrivable not only reduces access to forest land, which makes fire suppression more unattainable, but also supports the movement or sentiment to reduce timber harvest on forest lands and leads to a lack of forest management; and Whereas, the monetary costs to our taxpayers and the federal government for wildfire suppression are astronomical and add to the skyrocketing national debt; and Whereas, without aggressive initial attacks on wildfires on federal land, the threat to private land, state land, the wildland-urban interface, and the public health, safety, and welfare will only increase. In addition, Montana's fire suppression costs will substantially increase, and damage to property and natural resources will continue to grow: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the State of Montana: That the 69th Legislature of the State of Montana urges the President of the United States, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Chief of the United States Forest Service, and the United States Congress to immediately modify federal land management and wildfire policies to ensure that: (1) there is aggressive initial attack of wildfires on all federal lands, especially if there is potential for the fire to expand onto private or state land, affect the wildland- urban interface, or cause hazardous air quality; (2) forest roads remain open and drivable, not only for public access but for future forest management activities and effective fire suppression activities; (3) EPA air-quality standards be modified to include wildfire smoke, to the extent that there will be an increase in concern among federal land management and fire suppression agencies that wildfire smoke is unhealthy and harmful to our populace and is a major contributor of carbon released into the atmosphere; (4) all ``let it burn'' policies are identified and reversed to ensure an aggressive initial attack by the United States Forest Service and that all NEPA processes are followed, preserving thousands of acres of prime timber and preventing the release of carbon into the atmosphere, which causes unhealthy air quality and excessive spending for added suppression costs; and (5) state and local governments may actively engage in land and wildfire management operations on federal land to protect the public health, safety, and welfare and that stakeholder groups have more involvement in fire management for the creation of policies with the intention to better protect the resources and property most at risk by wildfire; and be it further Resolved, that the Secretary of State send a copy of this resolution to the President of the United States, the Chief of the United States Forest Service, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior, each member of the Montana Congressional Delegation, all 100 United States Senators, the United States Speaker of the House, the Majority Leader and Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, and the governors of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming. ____ POM-18. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of the State of Montana urging the United States Congress to include Montanans in the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act; to the Committee on the Judiciary. Senate Resolution No. 14 Whereas, from 1945 to 1962, the United States government conducted over 200 above-ground nuclear tests, exposing tens of thousands of people in downwind areas to deadly radiation; and Whereas, Montana is one of the most impacted ``downwind'' states and home to 15 of the 25 most exposed counties in the United States, including Meagher, Broadwater, Beaverhead, Chouteau, Jefferson, Powell, Judith Basin, Madison, Fergus, Gallatin, Petroleum, Lewis and Clark, Blaine, Silver Bow, and Deer Lodge Counties; and Whereas, this issue is important to many Montanans who have suffered and even died from radiation exposure and may not even know their cancers were caused by our nation's nuclear testing; and Whereas, the current compensation available for those impacted by United States nuclear weapons development and testing is still not available for impacted Montanans, even though the 1997 study by the United States government indicated that Montana should be included in the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate of the State of Montana: That the United States Congress be urged to pass amendments to include Montanans in the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of State send copies of this resolution to the members of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. ____ ____________________ |