Marsha Blackburn, Colleagues Introduce Effort To Overturn Joe Biden’s NEPA Rule, Save Historic Infrastructure Investments

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), and 48 of their colleagues introduced S.J. Res. 55, a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to nullify the Joe Biden administration’s new rule, “National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Implementing Regulations Revisions.” Biden’s regulation will further bog down the already onerous federal permitting process and further delay vital infrastructure projects and job growth.

The Joe Biden administration’s NEPA regulations are a substantial rollback of the Donald Trump administration’s 2020 NEPA regulations, which constituted the first major modernization of federal environmental reviews since 1978.

Senators Blackburn and Sullivan were joined on this resolution by Senators Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), and Susan Collins (R-Maine).

“Joe Biden’s new rule prioritizes a green agenda at the expense of much-needed construction on American roads and bridges,” said Senator Blackburn. “The resolution I am cosponsoring alongside my colleagues takes a stand against big bureaucracy on behalf of thousands of American workers. Unlike those of the Biden administration, our efforts here will make it easier – not harder – for them to do their jobs.”

Background

The CRA provides Congress an expedited mechanism to overturn certain federal agency regulations and actions through a joint resolution of disapproval. A joint resolution of disapproval under the CRA is afforded special procedures, bypassing normal Senate rules and allowing for a vote on the Senate floor.

If a CRA joint resolution of disapproval is approved by a simple majority in both houses of Congress and signed by the President—or if Congress successfully overrides a presidential veto—the rule is invalidated.