House Votes to Limit States, Not Oil & Gas Influence
The House recently voted to curb states’ authority to block new pipelines, which Bloomberg, ever the diligent stenographer, cheerfully reports as a 'renewed Republican push to overhaul the federal permitting process.' One might applaud such efficiency, if 'efficiency' didn't consistently mean steamrolling environmental concerns and local sovereignty for corporate gain. This isn't about energy;
it's about eliminating pesky obstacles like public input and ecological review to grease the wheels for the fossil fuel industry. While Bloomberg's article mentions 'Republicans,' it conveniently omits the bipartisan love affair with 'infrastructure' that benefits specific corporate donors. Remember the 2016 #NoDAPL protests? Or the dozens of environmental justice battles against projects like the
Keystone XL? This bill (though Bloomberg skips the official number) is a national extension of that same corporate playbook, ensuring that grassroots opposition and sovereign nation rights, like those of tribal communities, are neatly sidestepped in favor of industry. It's a classic D.C. move: centralize power when it serves the donor class, decentralize it when it means gutting social safety
nets. Consistency, after all, is for suckers.