The Biden energy policies at risk in a government shutdown

Source: BY: ALEX GUILLÉN, KELSEY TAMBORRINO, BEN LEFEBVRE, JAMES BIKALES, ANNIE SNIDER, CATHERINE MOREHOUSE, Politico • Posted: Monday, September 25, 2023

Any shutdown of more than a few days will have a snowballing effect on agency work.

Interior Department headquarters.
A shutdown would likely lead to another delay in Interior’s preparation of a new five-year offshore oil and gas drilling plan — extending the process that has already taken four years.Francis Chung/E&E News

The federal government is hurtling toward a shutdown at the end of the month, and it could wreak havoc with President Joe Biden’s energy and climate agenda — as well as some top GOP priorities.

House Republicans’ failure to pass spending legislation looks increasingly likely to run out the clock of the fiscal year and force agencies to shutter all but the most essential operations sometime after October 1. While it’s hard to predict how long it will last, any shutdown of more than a few days will have a snowballing effect on agency work.

Worse for the Biden administration, it’s coming at a time many agencies are scrambling to get regulations in shape and put the finishing touches on Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act.

“A government shutdown will impact agencies doing important work implementing the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and hurt America’s energy economy,” Erin Duncan, vice president of congressional affairs for the Solar Energy Industries Association said in a statement. “Businesses are mobilizing now to incorporate IRA programs into their work. Delays in implementation mean delays in investment and, importantly, delays in hiring thousands of workers.”

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