Energy/Environment

Only 26 Democrats went on record with support for the pipeline project, a smaller tally than Republicans have been touting.

The House this week will pass a one-month extension of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), just a few weeks before the program expires at the end of May.

House Republicans on Wednesday will bring up H.R. 5740, the National Flood Insurance Program Extension Act, under a suspension of House rules. The bill extends the NFIP through the end of June, which Republicans hope will give the Senate more time to act on a House-passed bill extending the program through 2016.

Freshman Rep. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) announced on Tuesday that he will be pumping gas for constituents on Wednesday morning at an Exxon station in Charlestown, making him the latest of several Republicans who have taken to manning the pumps to highlight rising gas prices under the Obama administration's watch.

Scott said the Exxon station would serve as the first location for his new "Talkin' Shop with Tim" series of discussions with constituents.

The House on Friday quickly approved a bill that would require the secretary of the Interior to issue permits for pack animals to go into the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park, after a January court decision limited access for pack animals.

The bill, H.R. 4849, was quickly introduced Thursday and passed by unanimous consent on Friday morning, and enjoyed the support of both Republicans and Democrats who fear the decision would drastically reduce tourism in the park.

The Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Backcountry Access Act was introduced by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.).

Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) on Thursday night called on the Obama administration to fire an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official for comparing his work enforcing environmental rules against oil and gas companies to the Romans' effort to tame other civilizations by crucifying them.

"He needs to go," Poe said on the House floor. "He needs to be replaced with someone that cares more about the environment than personal crusades against industry."

Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) said Thursday afternoon that an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official's comparison to the work of the EPA to crucifixion in Roman times shows that the agency is practicing "enviro-fascism."

"This is enviro-fascism at its worst, and if someone needs to be made an example of, it's this EPA official who disregarded science and facts to randomly and negligently pursue the Obama administration's war on energy," Fleming said.

Fleming was reacting to a report that in 2010, EPA Region 6 Administrator Al Armendariz used a metaphor about getting companies to comply with environmental rules that compared it to how the Romans acted centuries ago.

Sen. Orrin Hatch is expected to introduce an omnibus energy/federal land use bill combining several House-passed bills.

House Republicans this week introduced legislation that would eliminate the flexibility Congress currently has to spend money on disaster relief beyond the discretionary budget caps that Republicans and Democrats agreed to last year.

Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) and 10 House Republicans on Wednesday introduced the Budget for Disasters Act, H.R. 4386, which would end that flexibility and require all disaster aid to be counted as part of the discretionary budget. Passage of the bill would require Congress to keep all disaster relief spending under the discretionary budget cap, instead of providing this funding above the cap.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said Thursday afternoon that Republicans would begin floor consideration of the first FY 2013 appropriations bill the week of May 7, starting either with a Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) bill or the Water and Energy bill.

"It is our intention to bring one of those forward… on May 7, to be debated," Cantor said in a colloquy with House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) again called for President Obama to immediately re-nominate Republican Kristine Svinicki to a second term at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), mirroring comments he made Wednesday.

"There is no reason for her re-confirmation to wait another single day," McConnell said on the Senate floor Thursday morning.