Debt Ceiling Talks No Way to Fix Federal Permitting

WASHINGTON - President Biden was expected to sign the congressionally approved debt ceiling package as early as today.

Christy Goldfuss, chief policy impact officer for NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), made the following statement:

“This process came down to one question: Does any group of representatives have the right to hold the economy hostage to extremists’ demands? The answer should be a clear and resounding ‘no.’ 

“President Biden was able to protect historic clean energy investments, while programs that provide food assistance and other direct support for the nation’s poorest households were targeted and cut by extremists. None of this should have been part of the debt-ceiling discussion.

“This was the wrong way to debate the federal permitting process. Permitting changes in the debt-ceiling package will do more harm than good, constraining essential environmental review and ramming a destructive pipeline down the throats of those it’s certain to hurt the worst.

“This package leaves comprehensive permitting reform where it belongs: before the Congress. We need a modern federal review and approval process that supports the clean energy build-out at the pace and scale required to confront the climate crisis. It won’t help to curtail responsible public oversight and lock in decades more dependence on fossil fuels.”

NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law, and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health, and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd). Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.