House Approves Bill to Accelerate Federal Permits for Natural Gas Pipelines
House Approves Bill to Accelerate Federal Permits for Natural Gas Pipelines
On Friday, the United States House of Representatives voted 213–184 to pass a bill aimed at speeding up federal permitting for interstate natural gas pipelines.
The proposal would designate the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) as the lead agency responsible for reviewing and coordinating pipeline permits.
Under the legislation, FERC would be allowed to incorporate water quality considerations into its environmental review process instead of waiting for separate certifications from individual states under the Clean Water Act
. Supporters argue that state-level certifications often delay pipeline approvals for years, slowing the development of new energy infrastructure.
The measure, called the Improving Interagency Coordination for Pipeline Reviews Act, is part of a broader push in Congress to accelerate federal permitting procedures for major infrastructure projects.
Lawmakers from both parties have also backed another related measure, the Promoting Efficient Review for Modern Infrastructure Today Act, which received bipartisan support in the House.
Members of Congress say that modernizing the permitting process has become increasingly urgent as the country faces rising electricity demand. One factor behind the surge is the rapid expansion of data centers across the United States, which require massive and reliable energy supplies.
Advocates for the legislation believe faster permitting could help expand energy infrastructure and potentially reduce household energy costs.
FERC, the federal agency overseeing energy infrastructure approvals, typically consists of five commissioners nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. In recent years, the commission has approved most natural gas pipeline projects submitted for review.
“This legislation will help ensure America can build the infrastructure needed to meet growing demand for affordable and reliable energy,” said Mike Sommers, president of the American Petroleum Institute.
Meanwhile, the United States Senate is working on its own separate effort to overhaul energy permitting rules. Senate lawmakers are considering broader reforms, including possible changes to the National Environmental Policy Act, which governs environmental reviews for major infrastructure projects. The proposal could also address improvements to the nation’s electric transmission grid.
In a separate political development, a new attempt to impeach Donald Trump failed in the House on Thursday after several Democrats joined Republicans to block the effort.
Al Green introduced two articles of impeachment through a privileged resolution, a procedural move that requires the House to consider the measure within two legislative days.
Republicans quickly moved to table the resolution, effectively stopping debate on the impeachment articles. The motion passed with bipartisan support.
In total, 23 Democrats joined Republicans in voting to block the impeachment push. Several Democratic leaders — including Hakeem Jeffries, Katherine Clark, and Pete Aguilar — chose to vote “present,” explaining that the effort lacked the extensive investigative work normally required for impeachment proceedings.
In a joint statement, the leaders said impeachment is a serious constitutional process intended to address corruption, abuse of power, or major violations of public trust. They argued that such an action requires detailed investigations, witness testimony, hearings, and a strong national consensus — steps they believe had not yet been completed.
The final vote on the motion to table the impeachment resolution was 237 in favor, 140 opposed, and 47 voting “present.”
Several Democrats who supported tabling the measure included Tom Suozzi, Josh Riley, Jared Golden, Jimmy Panetta, Chrissy Houlahan, Maggie Goodlander, Sharice Davids, Don Davis, and Shomari Figures, among others.
My Sister Hit My 6-Month-Old Baby at Christmas Dinner—Then My Husband Stood Up and Said 2 Words
My Sister Hit My 6-Month-Old Baby at Christmas Dinner—Then My Husband Stood Up and Said 2 Words
The entire table went silent.
My mother looked down.
My father said nothing.
No one moved.
Except my husband.
He rose from his chair slowly, calm and completely in control, looked my sister straight in the eyes, and told her to leave.
She never came back after that night.
Christmas dinner at my parents’ house had always been loud, crowded, and slightly exhausting.
But that year felt different from the moment we arrived.
My husband, Captain James Walker, had only recently returned from a long deployment.
Our daughter, Emma, was six months old.
She wore a tiny red Christmas onesie with little reindeer stitched across the front.
It was her very first Christmas.
For us, that alone made the night special.
Then my sister Lauren showed up.
Late, as usual.
She walked through the door carrying a bottle of wine in one hand and a list of complaints in the other.
She barely looked at Emma.
Dinner was already halfway over when Emma started getting fussy.
Nothing unusual.
She was tired, overwhelmed by the noise, and surrounded by people she barely knew.
I stood beside the table, lifted her into my arms, and gently rocked her against my chest.
Lauren immediately rolled her eyes.
“She’s already spoiled,” she said.
“You pick her up every single time she makes a sound.”
I looked at her.
“She’s six months old, Lauren.”
Lauren pushed back her chair and stood.
“Give her to me.”
Before I could answer, she reached for Emma.
I hesitated.
But Lauren had already put her hands out.
The moment Emma felt herself being pulled away from me, she squirmed.
Then she started crying harder.
Lauren’s face tightened.
And before I fully understood what she was doing—
she slapped my baby.
It wasn’t hard enough to leave a visible mark.
But it was hard enough.
Hard enough to make Emma scream.
Hard enough to make every person at that table freeze.
Hard enough to make something inside me snap.
“What did you just do?”
My voice came out louder than I intended.
Lauren stared at me like I was the one behaving badly.
Then she gave a careless little scoff.
“Oh, relax.”
“It was a tap.”
“You’re overreacting.”
I immediately pulled Emma back against my chest.
She was crying so hard she could barely catch her breath.
My hands started shaking as I held her.
My heart pounded against my ribs.
I looked around the table, waiting for someone—anyone—to say something.
My mother stared down at her plate.
My father cleared his throat but never looked at Lauren.
My uncle shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
No one defended Emma.
No one confronted Lauren.
Nothing.
“That was my child,” I said, fighting to keep my voice steady.
“You just hit my baby.”
Lauren folded her arms.
“Oh my God, you’re so dramatic.”
Then she actually laughed.
“Children need discipline.”
I stared at her in disbelief.
“Discipline?”
“She’s six months old.”
Lauren shrugged.
“Then maybe she should learn early.”
Still, nobody at the table said a word.
The silence hurt almost as much as what Lauren had done.
And then—
a chair scraped sharply across the floor.
Everyone turned.
James stood up.
He didn’t slam his hands on the table.
He didn’t shout.
He didn’t curse.
He simply rose to his full height and looked directly at Lauren.
His posture was straight.
His expression was unreadable.
I had seen that look before.
At military ceremonies.
During difficult phone calls.
In moments when everyone around him understood that the conversation was over before he even raised his voice.
“Get out,” James said.
Lauren blinked.
Then she gave a nervous laugh.
“Excuse me?”
James didn’t move.
“You struck my child.”
His voice remained quiet.
Controlled.
“You will leave this house.”
“Now.”
Lauren looked around the table, clearly expecting someone to jump in and defend her.
Nobody did.
Her smile disappeared.
“You’re seriously kicking me out over that?”
James held her gaze.
“I’m telling you to leave because you put your hands on my six-month-old daughter and then laughed about it.”
Lauren’s face reddened.
“This isn’t even your house.”
James took one slow step forward.
“No.”
“It isn’t.”
Then his eyes briefly moved across the silent faces around the table before returning to hers.
“But that is my daughter.”
“And you will never touch her again.”
Lauren opened her mouth to argue.
James didn’t give her the chance.
“If you don’t leave immediately,” he said calmly, “I will…”
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