The Biden administration’s environmental permitting changes sparked a heated debate at a Senate hearing Wednesday over allegations from Republicans the moves will block important infrastructure projects, including some that the White House is pushing.
Charged exchanges between Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory highlighted the tension the administration has had to negotiate between building roads, bridges, and renewable power quickly—but not so quickly that community voices get shut out.
CEQ finalized a rule last month that turns back some of the changes to the nation’s environmental permitting laws put ...