Senate Panel Shifts to Environment, Infrastructure Law Oversight

Sens. Tom Carper and Shelley Moore Capito expect to continue their friendly and productive partnership in the next Congress as chair and ranking member, respectively, of the Environment and Public Works Committee.

The panel oversees “sensitive” and “emotionally charged” issues, said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), the current ranking member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee. That portfolio includes climate change, air quality, and clean water, as well as jurisdiction over departments like the Environmental Protection Agency and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

But Carper (D-Del.) and Capito (R-W.Va.) have managed to create a collaborative atmosphere with a track record of passing legislation, Cramer said. “That’s one of the things I appreciate about that committee,” he said in an October interview.

EPW was involved in several of this session’s high-profile legislative debates, including negotiations over climate and energy provisions in the Democrats’ reconciliation law (Public Law 117-169), known as the Inflation Reduction Act, and a proposed overhaul of the federal environmental permitting process for energy projects.

Carper and Capito, despite their significant ideological differences, managed to shepherd through the bipartisan infrastructure law (Public Law 117-58) that included a five-year surface transportation authorization bill and upgrades to drinking water systems. They also expect to get the 2022 Water Resources Development Act included in must-pass legislation before the end of the year.

Carper, who was born in West Virginia, said in a statement he believes “all politics is personal,” which guides his strong working relationship with Capito. In the next Congress, Carper said he and Capito will focus on reauthorizing critical programs, including one that helps communities clean up and reuse contaminated lands.

The Democrat also said he will work with the Biden administration to “ensure they have the right leadership in place” to implement the infrastructure law and the Inflation Reduction Act.

Capito said she will continue to work closely with Carper in the 118th Congress. Republicans will prioritize oversight of the infrastructure law, she said in a statement, as well as “reining in the stifling regulations” from the Biden administration on the energy, manufacturing, agriculture, and transportation sectors. Capito also said the GOP will hold Democrats accountable on the climate provisions in the “reckless” Democrat-only Inflation Reduction Act.

The West Virginia Republican listed pushing the EPA to develop a maximum contaminant level for “forever chemicals” and expanding carbon capture and nuclear energy programs as other priorities. Other areas of focus for panel Republicans include ensuring the administration doesn’t return to the broader, Obama-era definition of the Waters of the US rule, with a case on the issue before the Supreme Court.

Infrastructure Oversight

Cramer also pointed to the importance of properly carrying out the infrastructure law. The Republican said he wasn’t sure yet which subcommittee leadership role he’d pursue in the next Congress, considering either the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee or the Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Safety panel. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), the current ranking member of the latter subcommittee, is retiring.

EPW Republicans, including Cramer, have already started to criticize how the Biden administration is implementing various provisions of the law, with senators opposing its proposal for states to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions on highways, and chastising the guidance on road expansion. Democrats support the Transportation Department’s efforts, and pushback from GOP members could escalate next year.

Top Democrats on the panel want infrastructure law spending to help reduce emissions and combat rising traffic crashes on highways. “As the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, drastic changes are needed to reduce emissions from the transportation sector,” Carper said at a recent hearing.

The Federal Highway Administration still doesn’t have a Senate-confirmed administrator—a task that falls under the panel’s responsibilities. The panel held a nomination hearing on President Joe Biden’s pick, Shailen Bhatt, but senators haven’t yet voted to advance him out of the panel. The highway agency, which is implementing a large chunk of infrastructure law dollars, has been without Senate-confirmed leadership under Biden’s tenure.

Also on the committee’s nominations to-do list is voting on Joseph Goffman to serve as EPA assistant administrator for air and radiation. The panel has postponed a vote multiple times on his nomination, which committee Republicans oppose.