Energy Permits Fight Puts Shutdown-Wary Democrats in Tough Spot

Controversy over adding language to overhaul permitting of federal energy projects to must-pass spending legislation likely will take a back seat to keeping the government running after Sept. 30, people on and off Capitol Hill said.

No one wins in a government shutdown, said Bill Hoagland, senior vice president of the Bipartisan Policy Center and a former long-time Senate budget and appropriations aide to Republicans. The November midterm elections loom close and contentious, particularly in the House, and lawmakers won’t want to waste valuable time fighting in Washington over reopening the government after the new fiscal year starts Oct. 1, ...