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Biden administration to kick off bipartisan law’s cleaner school bus program

The Biden administration is kicking off a program on Friday to support a shift to cleaner school buses with funding that comes from the bipartisan infrastructure law.

Vice President Kamala Harris and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan are expected to announce the opening of applications for cleaner school bus grants in Falls Church, Va.

This round will open up $500 billion in grants, which can support the adoption of electric school buses or other “low-emission” buses, according to a press release. 

Overall, the bipartisan infrastructure law provided $2.5 billion for electric school buses and $2.5 billion for “low emission” buses. 

These low emission buses may run on “alternative fuels” including liquefied or compressed natural gas, hydrogen, propane or biofuels. Many of these fuels do still produce planet-warming emissions. 

The Biden administration has been promoting similar programs coming from its bipartisan infrastructure law as its push for an additional spending bill, expected to be supported only by Democratic lawmakers, remains in limbo. That bill would have made significant investments in combating climate change. 

White House climate adviser Gina McCarthy told reporters Thursday that in the bus funding push, the EPA will prioritize communities that are under-resourced or overburdened by pollution. 

“This investment will make a huge difference in the lives of schoolchildren who are currently riding on dirty diesel buses. Diesel air pollution makes it difficult to breathe, it causes asthma and triggers other health problems,” she said. 

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White House condemns restrictive Oklahoma abortion law

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre condemned a law passed by Oklahoma lawmakers on Thursday that would ban abortions with very limited exceptions.

“Today’s action by the Oklahoma legislature is the most extreme effort to undo these fundamental rights we have seen to date. In addition, it adopts Texas’ absurd plan to allow private citizens to sue their neighbors for providing reproductive health care and helping women to exercise their constitutional rights,” Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

She argued that “ultra MAGA officials” — a reference to former President Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan — were involved in a larger effort to eliminate certain freedoms and rights within the country, warning that others beyond abortion, such as marriage equality and the right to contraception, are also imperiled.

“This is part of a growing effort by ultra MAGA officials across the country to roll back the freedoms we should not take for granted in this country. They are starting with reproductive rights, but the American people need to know that other fundamental rights, including the right to contraception and marriage equality, are at risk,” she said. “The President is committed to standing up for these constitutional rights, and for protecting Americans’ fundamental freedoms.”

The development comes as Oklahoma legislators passed legislation that would effectively prohibit abortion except if the life of the pregnant person is imperiled, or if the pregnancy is the result of a rape that was reported to authorities, according to The Associated Press.

Under the law, similarly to legislation passed in Texas last year, those who provide an abortion or help a pregnant person obtain the procedure could be sued by private citizens. The legislation now awaits Gov. Kevin Stitt’s (R) signature. 

The legislation comes after a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion, purportedly written in February, indicated the high court is prepared to eliminate federal level abortion rights. A final decision in the case is expected in June.

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Actress Rebel Wilson says she was sexually harassed by former co-star

Actress Rebel Wilson described being sexually harassed by a male co-star, who she did not name, in a People interview published Thursday.

The incident occurred several years ago and before the onset of the #MeToo movement, she said.

“He called me into a room and pulled down his pants,” she said. Wilson told the outlet he then asked her to perform a sexual act in front of his friends.

“It was awful and disgusting,” she added.

The “Pitch Perfect” star said that after the incident “they kind of tried to destroy me and my career.” She told People she “documented” the harassment and told her agent and others “amongst industry circles,” as well as complaining to the studio. She learned she was the fourth person to complain about the man, she said.

“If it had happened after #MeToo, then I could have just blasted them,” she said.

“If it happened again, I would probably stand up for myself even more just because of the bravery of the other women that have stood up and now allowed me an opportunity.”

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Pentagon spokesman John Kirby moving into White House role: reports

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby is leaving his role at the Pentagon to take up a communications job at the White House, multiple outlets reported Thursday.

The Washington Post was the first to report that Kirby will take on a senior communications role at the White House, citing two sources familiar with the matter. 

CNN and The Associated Press reported, each citing a source familiar, that Kirby is expected to assume a role with the National Security Council (NSC). The Post also said the new position would see him working closely with the NSC.

Kirby has been the spokesperson for the Pentagon since the beginning of the administration, speaking frequently in recent months on matters related to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. 

The Pentagon has declined to comment on the matter. 

The White House did not immediately respond to questions.

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5 international attorneys general express support for investigations, prosecutions of Russian war crimes

Five countries’ attorneys general vocalized their support on Thursday for international probes and prosecutions into war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine. 

In a joint statement issued by the attorneys general of the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, the five officials said they supported Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova, her office and Ukrainians “in ensuring accountability for war crimes committed during the Russian invasion.”

“We support the pursuit of justice by Ukraine and through other international investigations, including at the International Criminal Court, the United Nations, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and in our own jurisdictions, in order to the ensure prompt, fair and effective investigation and prosecution of such offenses under Ukrainian, domestic or international law,” the attorneys general said.

“We join in condemning the Russian Government for its actions, and call upon it to cease all violations of international law, to halt its illegal invasion and to cooperate in efforts to achieve accountability. We look forward to working together with the Prosecutor General and her Office to ensure every perpetrator faces justice,” they added.

The development comes as the State Department announced earlier this week that it was launching a program that would collect and analyze evidence relating war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine. 

The program, called the Conflict Observatory, “will analyze and preserve publicly and commercially available information, including satellite imagery and information shared via social media, consistent with international legal standards, for use in ongoing and future accountability mechanisms,” according to the State Department.

The Russian invasion has lasted nearly three months. The conflict has led to a major humanitarian crisis that has prompted over six million people to leave Ukraine.

While the U.S. has determined that Russia has committed war crimes in Ukraine, it has not yet made a determination on whether to call Russia’s actions a genocide.

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McConnell on 'isolationist' Rand Paul opposing Ukraine aid: 'A tiny percentage' of Senate GOP

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) said his Kentucky colleague Sen. Rand Paul (R), who vocally opposed the $40 billion Ukraine aid package, represented “a tiny percentage” of Senate Republicans.

“My colleague, Senator Paul, has always been basically an isolationist. He’s proud of it and believes that’s where America ought to be. That is a tiny percentage of the Senate Republican Conference,” McConnell told Fox News’ Bret Baier on Thursday.

“There’s always been a strand of isolationism in our party, but it’s not anywhere near the dominant view, which was expressed in the vote that we had today and will be expressed again when we vote on the admission of Finland and Sweden into NATO,” he added.

Paul was among 11 GOP senators who voted against the $40 billion aid package for Ukraine earlier Thursday. The Kentucky Republican last week kept the chamber from quickly advancing the legislation after it passed the House earlier this month.

“We only had 11 votes against the package. I predict we will have even fewer votes opposed to the admission of Finland and Sweden into NATO,” McConnell said on Fox, predicting more than two-thirds of the Senate would vote to back Finland and Sweden’s NATO bids.

The Ukraine aid package that passed the upper chamber Thursday includes $9 billion to refill stockpiles for weapons sent to Ukraine and close to $9 billion for the Ukrainian government to continue its operations and combat human trafficking, among other provisions.

“If Congress really believed giving Ukraine $40B was in our national interest, they could easily pay for it by taxing every income taxpayer $500. My guess is they choose to borrow the $ bc Americans might just decide they need the $500 more to pay for gas,” Paul tweeted Thursday morning.

Ten GOP senators joined Paul in voting against the aid package: Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.), John Boozman (Ark.), Mike Braun (Ind.), Mike Crapo (Idaho), Bill Hagerty (Tenn.), Josh Hawley (Mo.), Mike Lee (Utah), Cynthia Lummis (Wyo.), Roger Marshall (Kan.) and Tommy Tuberville (Ala.).

The passage of the aid package was lauded by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“I praise the [U.S.] Senate’s approval of the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2022. $ 40 billion is a significant [U.S.] contribution to the restoration of peace and security in Ukraine, Europe and the world. We look forward to the signing of the law by @POTUS,” he wrote on Twitter.

President Biden is expected to sign the legislation soon.

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Hillicon Valley — Google’s ad dominance in the crosshairs

Google’s primary moneymaker is the target of a new bill introduced by a bipartisan group of senators Thursday. The legislation would block dominant firms from owning both digital ad exchanges and platforms used by buyers or sellers. 

In other tech news, Texas’s new law on social media content moderation has brought together an unlikely collection of groups.

This is Hillicon Valley, detailing all you need to know about tech and cyber news from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. Send tips to The Hill’s Rebecca Klar, Chris Mills Rodrigo and Ines Kagubare. Subscribe here.

New antitrust bill targets online ads 

A bipartisan group of senators on Thursday introduced legislation that would force Google to break up its digital advertising business. 

The Competition and Transparency in Digital Advertising Act would prohibit large companies from owning more than one side of the online ad ecosystem if they process more than $20 billion in ad transactions. 

Functionally, that would mean that a company like Google would have to choose between operating an ad exchange or a supply- or demand-side platform. 

Facebook would also be forced to divest some of its advertising business if the legislation becomes law. 

“Digital advertising is the lifeblood of the internet economy,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said in a statement. 

Read more. 

Tech industry takes on Texas law

An unlikely group of allies — made up of tech industry groups and advocacy organizations that are usually on opposing battle lines — is forming a joint front to push back on a newly instated Texas law that hinders social media companies’ ability to remove content and users that violate platform rules.  

Tech industry groups, civil society organizations and even a conservative think tank are asking the Supreme Court to intervene and block the Republican-backed law after an appeals court last week reinstated it even as litigation remains pending on its ultimate fate. 

The request to the Supreme Court is being led by NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association, and amicus briefs have been filed with support from the Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP, the Center for Democracy and Technology, the libertarian Cato Institute — and dozens more. 

Read more here. 

DOJ REVERSES CONTROVERSIAL CYBER POLICY 

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday announced that it would reverse its policy on issuing charges for violations of a federal computer fraud law, saying that it will not prosecute “good-faith security research” efforts. 

The department announced the change in enforcement of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, defining good-faith research as “accessing a computer solely for purposes of good-faith testing, investigation, and/or correction of a security flaw or vulnerability” without any intention of harming the public.  

The new policy replaces the earlier one that was issued in 2014.   

“Computer security research is a key driver of improved cybersecurity,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in the DOJ’s release. 

Read more here. 

TWITTER TACKLES ‘CRISIS MISINFORMATION’  

Twitter on Thursday announced a new approach to how it handles misinformation during crisis situations aimed more aggressively at targeting false allegations. 

The platform will stop amplifying or promoting content about crises as soon as it has evidence that a claim may be misleading. 

Tweets that violate the new policy will have an interstitial warning placed on them but not immediately be removed. 

“In times of crisis, misleading information can undermine public trust and cause further harm to already vulnerable communities,” Yoel Roth, Twitter’s head of safety and integrity, wrote in a blog post.  

Read more.

HACKERS SPREAD DISINFORMATION TO DIVIDE UKRAINE

Russian-backed actors have launched numerous disinformation campaigns intended to demoralize Ukrainians and incite internal unrest, according to a report released on Thursday by cybersecurity firm Mandiant. 

In one of the campaigns, referred to as “Secondary Infektion,” the actors falsely claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky killed himself in a military bunker in Kyiv because of his failure to keep his country safe. 

In another campaign led by Secondary Infektion in April, the operatives said that Ukraine’s Azov regiment, a Ukrainian special operations unit within the country’s National Guard, was seeking vengeance against Zelensky for abandoning his troops in Mariupol. 

“While some of this activity is known, or already been reported on, this report captures how known actors and campaigns can be leveraged or otherwise refocused to support emerging security interests, including large-scale conflict,” Alden Wahlstrom, senior analyst at Mandiant, said in a statement. 

Read more here.

BITS & PIECES

An op-ed to chew on: Before we regulate Big Tech, let’s make sure we don’t hurt national security 

Lighter click: Time to redistribute! 

Notable links from around the web: 

The Enduring Afterlife of a Mass Shooting’s Livestream Online (The New York Times / Ryan Mac, Kellen Browning and Sheera Frenkel) 

How Fears Of Electromagnetic Radiation Spawned A Snake-oil Industry (The Verge / Jordyn Haime) 

Sweden, Finland Weigh Cyber Risks Stemming From NATO Applications (The Wall Street Journal / Catherine Stupp) 

That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hill’s Technology and Cybersecurity pages for the latest news and coverage. We’ll see you tomorrow.

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Equilibrium/Sustainability — Dolphin reef playgrounds at risk from climate change

Pacific bottlenose dolphins treat their skin conditions in coral reef spas, a new study has found. 

The dolphins are regular customers at specific Red Sea reefs, where they rub up against certain types of corals that contain distinct active medicinal compounds, according to the study, published on Thursday in iScience. 

Repeated rubbing allows these chemicals “to come into contact with the skin of the dolphins,” Gertrud Morlock, of Germany’s Justus Liebig University Giessen, said in a statement. 

This could help dolphins prevent or treat microbial infections, Morlock added.

“Many people don’t realize that these coral reefs are bedrooms for the dolphins, and playgrounds as well,” co-author Angela Ziltener of the University of Zurich added. 

“It’s almost like they are showering, cleaning themselves before they go to sleep or get up for the day.”    

They may soon be evicted: While coral reefs are critical to dolphin communities, they have becoming increasingly endangered by rising temperatures and acidity in the oceans — even in the comparative refuge of the Red Sea, according to a study Frontiers in Science.

Welcome to Equilibrium, a newsletter that tracks the growing global battle over the future of sustainability. We’re Saul Elbein and Sharon Udasin. Send us tips and feedback. A friend forward this newsletter to you? Subscribe here.

Today we’ll explore legislation that could pay to move homeowners out of the nation’s most flood-ravaged areas. Then we’ll find out why scientists are angry that the FDA won’t institute a full ban on toxic “phthalates” in food packaging. 

Government could buy flood-prone homes 

Millions of homeowners who face continual destructive floods could soon have the option of a quick, federally funded buyout under a new bill introduced Thursday by Reps. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) and Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.). 

What it says: The bill would allow the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), the federal flood insurer of last resort, to buy houses and zones deemed indefensible instead of continually paying to repair them. 

How bad is the problem? Bad, and it’s getting worse. 

The NFIP is straining under the weight of ever more frequent and severe flood events. Congress paid $16 billion to bail the program out in 2018, and Congress proposed another $20 billion in 2021. 

That problem is only growing

• Flood damage could rise more than 25 percent by 2050, putting an additional $8 billion at risk
• 14.6 million homes are at “substantial” risk of flooding, according to data from nonprofit First Street.

Flooded before mortgage paid off: Meanwhile, the nation’s coastlines are set to rise an average of 12 inches in sea level rise by midcentury — with Florida and the Gulf Coast facing even higher water levels, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. 

“That’s basically saying that if you’re building a home south of I-10 in Louisiana, if you’re building that home today, it’s going to be underwater before you have paid off a 30 year mortgage,” Casten told Equilibrium. 

Do people have to move? No. But in certain properties at particular risk from rising seas or increased flooding — where a buyout ends up being cheaper than repeated repairs — that could be the only way to get an NFIP payout, Casten said. 

No obligations, but no payments to stay: “You’re not obligating people to move but you’re saying. if you want to if you want to avail yourself with the NFIP program, we’re going to structure it towards a buyout rather than rebuilding,” Casten said. 

FIXING LEAKS IN THE PROGRAM 

On the flip side, the bill would also revamp Federal Emergency Management Administration policies program so that people who do want to leave can more easily do so, according to a press release from Casten’s office. 

Such as? NFIP payouts can take up to fix years, and under the current system require homeowners to come up with 10 percent of the house’s cost in order to receive the other 90 percent. 

Possible upgrades: America’s legacy of hydrological discrimination makes the moving people out of floodplains a form of social uplift, Casten suggested. 

“If you are paying for someone to move from the flood prone part of town to the non-flood prone part of town, you are also probably paying them to move from the poor part to the part of town that’s got better schools,” he said. 

That doesn’t erase fairness concerns: “It’s a really hard issue and like the equities are lost on none of us,” Casten said.  

But for many areas, he sees it as a choice between enforced retreat and chosen retreat in the face of a changing and inevitable reality.  

Tough calls: “Is it to say, you need to move out of the community where your grandparents lived, because the federal government isn’t willing to build there — or to say, ‘Your house is underwater and there’s no there’s no good choices, but I think here is a better choice.’” 

Read more here.

FDA won’t fully ban fast-food packaging toxin 

Sparking the ire of scientists and environmental groups, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Thursday that it would only restrict certain types of dangerous chemicals that are commonly found in food packaging, while leaving others unregulated. 

The decision came in response to three separate petitions requesting that the FDA limit the use of compounds called phthalates, which are known to disrupt hormone function and linked to birth defects, infertility, learning disabilities and neurological disorders.   

No more science necessary: Banning phthalates is “a way we can prevent impaired learning and reproduction in all Americans, but especially the most vulnerable,” Amit Zota, an associate professor at the George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health, told Equilibrium.   

“Here’s a pathway to prevention,” Zota continued. “We do not need more science. The science is clear.” 

Disproportionate impacts: Despite the proven health impacts of exposure to phthalates, these compounds are still common ingredients in food packaging.  

Scientists have found that marginalized groups suffer disproportionate impacts from these chemicals, in part due to greater fast-food intake.  

A partial ban: The FDA agreed on Thursday to institute a ban on the use of 23 phthalates for food contact applications, noting that these particular phthalates had already “been abandoned” by manufacturers anyway.  

The decision affirmed a July 2018 petition submitted by the Flexible Vinyl Alliance trade group. 

But the agency denied a separate petition on Thursday that was filed by a cohort of environmental organizations in 2016.  

Ubiquitous toxins: Zota called upon “the FDA to make evidence-based decisions to protect the health of Americans.” 

“Given the ubiquity of the problem and its magnitude on health, we need upstream policy decisions, policy action, and this is in FDA’s regulatory authority,” she said.  

To read the full story, please click here. 

Heat linked to rising US death rates: study 

Extreme heat events are linked to an increase in adult death rates across the U.S., posing a particular threat to older adults, men and non-Hispanic Black individuals, a new study has found.  

From 2008 through 2017, each additional extreme heat day per month was linked to 7 deaths per 10 million adults, according to the study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on Thursday. 

Heat death rates will keep climbing: “As extreme heat events increase over the coming decades, this will likely become an even greater issue,” lead author Sameed Khatana, an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, told Equilibrium. 

Worsening existing gaps: Without intervention from policymakers, the authors warned, the expected increase in extreme heat due to climate change could worsen existing health gaps among groups. 

“As with many other public health issues in the United States, the adverse health effects appear to fall disproportionately on certain populations, notably on non-Hispanic Black adults,” Khatana said.  

A nationwide problem: To draw their conclusions, the scientists cross-checked the number of extreme heat days in the summer months from 2008 to 2017 and county-level “all-cause mortality rates” across all counties in the contiguous U.S.  

The death figures, obtained from the National Center for Health Statistics, included adults aged 20 years and older, according to the study.  

Worrisome numbers: The scientists found greater increases in monthly mortality rates among specific groups. 

• Older adults, with 19 deaths per 10 million individuals 
• Males, with 12 million deaths per 10 million individuals. 
• Non-Hispanic Black individuals, at 11 millions deaths per 10 million individuals 

Prioritizing mitigation: “Local, regional and national policy makers need to make mitigating the health effects of climate change in general, and extreme heat in particular, a priority,” Khatana told Equilibrium.  

To read the full story, please click here. 

Musk embraces GOP — will they embrace EVs? 

Electric vehicle (EV) and solar panel magnate Elon Musk vowed on Wednesday to vote Republican in the next election. 

So what? Musk’s embrace of the GOP could help de-politicize clean energy and EVs in particular, Republican strategist Douglas Heye told Equilibrium. 

Further reading: We reported last week about the role of growing red state renewable manufacturing industries in shifting Republicans toward embracing clean energy — or at least the jobs it can bring. 

What Musk said: “In the past I voted Democrat, because they were (mostly) the kindness party,” Musk wrote on Twitter. 

“But they have become the party of division & hate, so I can no longer support them and will vote Republican,” added. 

A history of mockery: Historically, Republicans have been somewhere between bemused and contemptuous of EVs, Heye said. 

“Republican [Congressional] members kind of make fun of them,” he said. “They think they’re all Priuses.”

A possible change: Musk’s recent embrace of the GOP could throw a wrench in that narrative, Heye suggested. 

“Musk could change that calculation,” he said. 

Thursday Threats

Colorado and Nebraska embroiled in water squabble, the Arctic’s ground burns faster than it grows and a lack of pipeline regulation puts communities at risk. 

Colorado, Nebraska spar over water  

• Farmers on both sides of the South Platte River are facing uncertainty, after Nebraska’s Republican-controlled legislature voted earlier this year to divert water from Colorado over the border, The Associated Press reported. 

Cut emissions, for peat’s sake 

• The warming Arctic is experiencing a great destruction of carbon-trapping peat — a wet, boggy and flammable muck that is like a cross between soil and coal — at the same time that, paradoxically, the greener landscape is causing new peat to form, Wired reported. 

Carbon dioxide pipelines pose unregulated risk 

• A lack of regulation has put communities across the country are at risk from a growing network of carbon dioxide pipelines — essential to nationwide “carbon capture” schemes that aim to trap the greenhouse gas from smokestacks and the atmosphere, Gizmodo reported.

Please visit The Hill’s Sustainability section online for the web version of this newsletter and more stories. We’ll see you tomorrow.

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Energy & Environment — House passes Democrats’ gasoline price-gouging bill

The House narrowly passed a bill related to alleged price gouging, while Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced that the department will soon propose an offshore oil and gas leasing plan. 

This is Overnight Energy & Environment, your source for the latest news focused on energy, the environment and beyond. For The Hill, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk. Someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. 

Price gouging bill narrowly approved by House 

The House voted Thursday to pass Democrats’ bill aimed at combating alleged price gouging on gasoline. 

The bill passed 217-207, with no Republicans voting for it and four Democrats voting against it:

• Stephanie Murphy (Fla.)
• Lizzie Fletcher (Texas)
• Kathleen Rice (N.Y.)
• Jared Golden (Maine)

…but it’s not going anywhere: The legislation is unlikely to gain traction in the Senate, where it would need the support of 10 Republicans to advance, but it’s part of a major messaging push by Democrats as they try to blame the oil industry for skyrocketing prices.  

Their claims of price gouging have been met with some skepticism from analysts, who have blamed market forces — rather than gouging — for high gasoline prices. 

Still, Democrats point to record profits posted by major oil companies as evidence of an issue.  

“What’s infuriating is that this is happening at the same time that gas and oil companies are raking in record profits and then putting those dollars into stock buybacks,” bill sponsor Rep. Kim Schrier (D-Wash.) said in a floor speech on Thursday.  

So what exactly does the bill do? The legislation, from Schrier and Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), would outlaw the selling of fuel at an “excessive” price during an energy emergency, though it does not detail any particular price threshold. 

The bill would also empower the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to pursue legal action if instances of price gouging are discovered. 

Lawmakers also approved two additional amendments ahead of the final vote. 

• One, from Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.) and others, would require the FTC to investigate whether the price of gasoline is being manipulated by reducing refinery capacity or other means.  
• The other, from Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), would create a new unit at the FTC tasked with monitoring fuel markets.   

The backstory: Market analysts have said repeatedly that the high prices are being primarily driven by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as pandemic recovery.  

Some said that the latest spike is related to factors including refiners shifting toward other, more profitable fuels. 

WHAT’S WITH THE DEM ‘NO’ VOTES? 

Democrats who voted against the bill said they didn’t believe it would resolve the current issues and raised concerns about potential shortages. 

Murphy in a statement on Thursday said the price-gouging bill “takes the wrong approach,” claiming that it “could further reduce supply” and worsen the current situation. 

“At best, this bill is a distraction that won’t actually address the problem. At worst, it could make the problem more severe,” Murphy wrote. 

She also cited comments from Larry Summers, who served as Treasury secretary during the Clinton administration. Summers said the bill would not reduce inflation, but could “cause and contrive all kinds of shortages.”  

Fletcher in a statement on Thursday said “this legislation is not the answer.” 

“The Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act would not fix high gasoline prices at the pump, and has the potential to exacerbate the supply shortage our country is facing, leading to even worse outcomes,” she wrote. “For these reasons, I voted no on this legislation today.” 

Rice told The Hill in a statement that she objected to the bill because she is concerned that “it will not have any meaningful impact for consumers and could ultimately cause a chilling effect when we need to increase supply.” 

Read more here from Rachel and The Hill’s Mychael Schnell.  

Interior to propose offshore leasing plan by June 30

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said Thursday that her department will propose a  five-year schedule for offshore oil and gas by June 30, when the current program expires.  

“The previous Administration stopped work on the new five-year plan in 2018, so there has been a lot to do to catch up. Varying, conflicting litigation has also been a factor,” Haaland said in testimony before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. 

“As we take this next step, we will follow the science and the law, as we always do,” she added. …And she faced some heat on administration policy from Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). 

In the hearing on the Interior Department’s fiscal 2023 budget request, Manchin pushed back on the administration’s repeated references to the industry’s 9,000 unused leases to explain the energy crisis, arguing the administration has the power to pressure industry to use them.  

“If the administration’s argument is that industry is sitting on these leases … why don’t they do something about it?” Manchin said. “For example, if the concern is that too many leases are not being developed in a timely manner, the department could increase the rental rates over time to provide a financial disincentive against holding leases for speculation alone.”  

Manchin conceded that “new lease sales would not immediately increase production,” but claimed the administration’s focus on current production “puts America’s energy security at risk.” 

Read more about the announcement here.  

FDA won’t totally ban phthalates in food packaging

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Thursday that it will not impose a total ban on a set of dangerous chemicals commonly found in fast-food packaging, angering scientists and environmental groups who have long pressed for their removal. 

The decision came in response to three separate petitions requesting that the FDA limit the use of compounds called phthalates, which are known to disrupt hormone function and have been linked to birth defects, infertility, learning disabilities and neurological disorders.  

Despite proven negative health impacts, the compounds are still common ingredients in food packaging. Scientists have found that marginalized groups suffer disproportionately from the chemicals, partly because they consume more fast food.  

What they did ban: The FDA on Thursday did institute a ban on the use of 23 phthalates for food contact applications, but it noted that those particular compounds had already “been abandoned” by manufacturers anyway. In taking its action, the FDA agreed to a July 2018 petition submitted by an industry group known as the Flexible Vinyl Alliance. 

What they did not ban: The FDA will still allow the use of nine other similar compounds in food contact applications. And it denied a separate petition on Thursday from several environmental groups that had asked it to ban the 23 phthalates and an additional five from having food contact. 

It said the organizations that had brought the petition, including the Natural Resources Defense Council, Earthjustice and the Environmental Defense Fund, “did not demonstrate that the proposed class of phthalates is no longer safe for the approved food additive uses.” 

The FDA also denied another related petition — from some of the same environmental groups — that requested a ban on food contact use for certain phthalates and the revocation of previously sanctioned authorizations for others. 

The FDA said it rejected this petition because it failed to “demonstrate through scientific data or information” that such a ban on phthalates was warranted.  

Several groups in a research consortium called Project TENDR — Targeting Environmental Neuro-Developmental Risks — condemned the FDA’s decision. 

“These chemicals are approved for their use, they have the ability to leach out of these products into the food, they’re ending up in our food in our bodies and are leading to serious and irreversible health effects,” said Ami Zota, an associate professor at the George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health who is a member of Project TENDR. 

“That can affect the basics of human condition — like our ability to learn, our ability to have safe and healthy families,” she added. “And marginalized communities are disproportionately being burdened.” 

Read more here from The Hill’s Sharon Udasin. 

CAPTURE THE MOMENT 

The Biden administration announced on Thursday that it was launching a program that would put $3.5 billion toward the removal of carbon from Earth’s atmosphere.  

The project in question, the Regional Direct Air Capture Hubs program, is funded under the bipartisan infrastructure law and will involve the construction of four regional hubs for carbon dioxide removal.  

CO2 removal involves sucking carbon dioxide from the surrounding air and either storing it underground or using it for products that do not release it back into the air. It is a separate process from carbon capture, which aims to prevent the initial release of emissions outright.   

Read more about the launch here.  

WHAT WE’RE READING

• U.S. extends application deadline for nuclear power rescue program (Reuters)
• Japan OKs plan to release Fukushima nuclear plant wastewater (The Associated Press)
• Foresters hope ‘assisted migration’ will preserve landscapes as the climate changes (NPR)
• EPA commits additional funds to clean up Minnesota’s Spirit Lake (Duluth News-Tribune)
• Feds subpoena troubled mine safety commission, chair says (E&E News) 

ICYMI

• Flood insurance bill seeks to curb rising tide of bankruptcies 
• Twenty-one Democratic AGs file motion to intervene in California emissions lawsuit 
• The four Democrats who bucked party and voted against gas price gouging bill 
• Extreme heat linked to rise in US death rates: study 

And finally, something offbeat but on-beat: We love a FERC pun. 

That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hill’s Energy & Environment page for the latest news and coverage. We’ll see you tomorrow.  

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Source: TEST FEED1