The Biden administration on Monday issued a statement saying it will veto a GOP-led bill aimed at bringing down energy costs by making it easier for energy companies to get permits for domestic drilling.
“This Administration is making unprecedented progress in protecting America’s energy security and reducing energy costs for Americans – in their homes and at the pump. H.R. 1 would do just the opposite, replacing pro-consumer policies with a thinly veiled license to pollute," the Office of Management and Budget said in a statement on Monday.
"It would raise costs for American families by repealing household energy rebates and rolling back historic investments to increase access to cost-lowering clean energy technologies,” it continued.
The agency also highlighted that oil and gas companies are already making record profits and should be investing that money into expanding production.
In response, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana criticized the administration's handling of energy issues.
“Voters gave House Republicans the majority to reverse this insanity and make energy affordable again, and that’s exactly what the Lower Energy Costs Act does,” he said. “We will pass the bill this week, and urge the Senate and President Biden to work with us to make America energy independent again and provide the much-needed relief that hardworking desperately need.”
The House voted on Friday to expel Republican Rep. George Santos of New York after a critical ethics report on his conduct that accused him of converting campaign donations for his own use. He was just the sixth member in the chamber's history to be ousted by colleagues.
A New York appeals court Thursday reinstated a gag order that barred Donald Trump from commenting about court personnel after he continually disparaged a law clerk in his New York civil fraud trial.
Most U.S. cities would have to replace lead water pipes within 10 years under strict new rules proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency as the Biden administration moves to reduce lead in drinking water and prevent public health crises like the ones in Flint, Michigan and Washington, D.C.
Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, the diplomat with the thick glasses and gravelly voice who dominated foreign policy as the United States extricated itself from Vietnam and broke down barriers with China, died Wednesday, his consulting firm said. He was 100.