Senate Advances Permitting Bill 73-25 as Republicans Race 5-Week Lame-Duck Clock
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Nov 9
Senate Advances Permitting Bill 73-25 as Republicans Race 5-Week Lame-Duck Clock
3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Nov 9
Summary
A 73-25 Senate vote moved a bipartisan permitting overhaul toward final passage, giving Republicans one of their clearest late-session legislative openings before they lose Congress on Jan. 3.
The bill would revamp federal project approvals, and Majority Leader John Thune has cast it as a major growth measure; it still must clear the House and could carry a broader agriculture package.
Five weeks remain in the lame-duck session, with lawmakers also facing a Dec. 11 shutdown deadline, the annual defense policy bill and a push to confirm dozens of Trump nominees, especially judges.
That crowded calendar is squeezing other GOP ambitions, including a reconciliation package for defense funding and other priorities that senators say would take weeks and leave little room for error.