'Sen. Whitehouse Knows Better': Democrat Urges Climate Action at COP31—But Pushes Despised Permitting Bill at Home | Common Dreams
Common Dreams reports that Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, attending COP31 in Türkiye with the Woodwell Climate Research Center and warning on video that "we're going to fail on climate as long as it's free for the fossil fuel industry to pollute," is under fire at home for helping advance the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, a permitting bill the Senate advanced 75-23 that critics call a "dirty deal" and "a blatant giveaway to Big Oil and Big Tech." Oil Change International's Collin Rees says the Trump-backed bill would gut environmental protections, fast-track gas plants and AI data centers, and urges Whitehouse—who could chair the Senate environment committee when Democrats take their majority in January—to reject it.
