"There is no room for compromise when it comes to our bedrock environmental laws, especially for communities that have been systematically targeted by polluters for decades," Grijalva said in a statement on Monday."NEPA is these communities' strongest—and often their only—tool when it comes to protecting themselves against industry wrongdoing. Rather than strengthen that tool, this bill gives polluters a shield, inevitably worsening an already unacceptable status quo.
Rep. Melanie Stansbury, who also serves on the Natural Resources Committe, said she"could not in good conscience vote for" legislation that proposed"gutting one of our most bedrock environmental laws." "I am grateful for our President's leadership in protecting the essential climate mitigation and resilience programs in the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, but will be working to restore the critical protections undermined by the passage of this bill," Stansbury said in a statement to Insider.
Another measure in the bill that's attracted widespread condemnation, including from Democratic lawmakers, is a provision that would greenlight