The Senate parliamentarian on Monday voided seven more parts of the Big, Beautiful Bill, believing that they violate the rules on reconciliation.
Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough advised that there are many provisions that would be subject to a 60-vote threshold if they remain in the Senate version of the Big, Beautiful Bill.
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This includes:
- A provision that would deem offshore oil and gas projects as automatically compliant with the National Environmental Policy Act.
- Requiring leases to be issued to successful bidders within 90 days after the lease sale for offshoring oil and gas leasing.
- Mandating the sale of millions of acres of public land, including Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service lands.
- Requiring the Secretary of the Interior to hold yearly geothermal lease sales and to change how geothermal royalties are calculated.
- Creating a “pay-to-play” regime for natural gas exports, allowing natural gas exporters to pay a fee to have their project be deemed in the “public interest.”
Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley (D-OR) said in a written statement, “Democrats continue to show up and fight every provision of this Big, Beautiful Betrayal of a bill, because this bill is an attack on workers and families everywhere.”
Merkley said, “Democrats will not stand idly by while Republicans attempt to circumvent the rules of reconciliation in order to sell off public lands to fund tax breaks for billionaires. We will make sure the Byrd Rule is followed and review any changes Republicans attempt to make to the bill.”
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on X @SeanMoran3.