U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and Senator Martin Heinrich, Ranking Member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, have criticized the Trump Administration’s decision to halt five offshore wind farms that were under construction. The senators said this move adds to a backlog of onshore solar and wind energy projects awaiting approval from the Department of Interior, which they argue blocks access to affordable and reliable energy for millions.
In a joint statement, Whitehouse and Heinrich said: “We want to thank Chairs Capito and Lee for their good-faith efforts to negotiate a permitting reform bill that would have lowered electricity prices for all Americans. There was a deal to be had that would have taken politics out of permitting, made the process faster and more efficient, and streamlined grid infrastructure improvements nationwide.”
They continued: “But any deal would have to be administered by the Trump Administration. Its reckless and vindictive assault on wind energy doesn’t just undermine one of our cheapest, cleanest power sources, it wrecks the trust needed with the executive branch for bipartisan permitting reform. By sabotaging U.S. energy innovation and killing American jobs, the Trump Administration has made clear that it is not interested in permitting reform. It will own the higher electricity prices, increasingly decrepit infrastructure, and loss of competitiveness that result from its reckless policies.”
The senators also stated: “The illegal attacks on fully permitted renewable energy projects must be reversed if there is to be any chance that permitting talks resume. There is no path to permitting reform if this administration refuses to follow the law.”
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee oversees federal programs related to environmental protection and infrastructure development through specialized subcommittees focused on areas such as pollution control, water resources, transportation infrastructure, environmental quality, natural resources conservation, wildlife protection, public works projects review, clean air legislation, federal infrastructure maintenance across the nation [source]. The committee operates from its administrative base in Washington D.C.’s Dirksen Senate Office Building [source], where it manages hearings and legislative oversight.
Shelley Moore Capito chairs this standing Senate panel [source], which has played a key role in shaping nationwide policy on environmental regulation since its reorganization in 1977 [source].
