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An oil storage facility tank in Houston.

Drill, baby, drill? Not so fast, say crash-wary energy investors

By Joseph Morton
Posted March 15, 2022 at 6:00am
Gas prices are displayed outside an Exxon station in Washington on Tuesday.

Voters will decide whether Biden or Putin gets blame on gas prices

By Joseph Morton and Stephanie Akin
Posted March 9, 2022 at 5:30am
An Aframax oil tanker, capable of transporting crude oil over unlimited distances, is seen under construction at the Zvezda Shipyard in Russia.

US shipping rules complicate bid to ban Russian oil and gas

By Joseph Morton and Benjamin J. Hulac
Posted March 8, 2022 at 10:00am
Murkowski, who faced fellow Republican Kelly Tshibaka, won a fourth full term in the Senate.

Moves to ban gas and oil imports from Russia gain steam

By Benjamin J. Hulac and Joseph Morton
Posted March 3, 2022 at 7:19pm
President Joe Biden shakes hands with Vice President Kamala Harris and Speaker Nancy Pelosi after delivering the State of the Union address on Tuesday.

Biden’s new pitch: Saving the planet saves families’ money

By Joseph Morton
Posted March 3, 2022 at 8:18am
Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont. said: “What’s happening in Russia and Europe is a stark reminder of the need to support American energy development, not hinder it.”

Ukraine invasion triggers rhetoric for both sides in US energy debate

By Benjamin J. Hulac and Joseph Morton
Posted March 1, 2022 at 9:00am
Storm clouds are seen over the White House on Aug. 16, 2021. President Joe Biden will renew his call for Congress to take action on climate change in his State of the Union address.

Biden to highlight climate policy at State of the Union

By Joseph Morton
Posted March 1, 2022 at 8:00am
The case was brought by states that argue the EPA overstepped its bounds in regulating carbon emissions by power plants.

Supreme Court arguments have big climate change stakes

By Joseph Morton and Benjamin J. Hulac
Posted February 28, 2022 at 6:00am
The Biden administration has limited options to stabilize the prices of oil or gas, which trade on global markets, experts said.

Biden’s options to avert gas and energy price spikes are limited

By Benjamin J. Hulac and Joseph Morton
Posted February 25, 2022 at 6:00am
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy defended the service’s plan as ambitious given both a lack of funding and a pressing need to replace an aging fleet.

Postal Service stands by plan for internal combustion engines

By Joseph Morton
Posted February 24, 2022 at 8:00am
President Joe Biden, seen here at a 2021 United Nations climate change conference, made the "30 by 30" goal a major part of his environmental agenda.

Biden’s rebranded conservation plan has critics on all sides

By Joseph Morton
Posted February 7, 2022 at 2:18pm
A recycling receptacle sits in the Senate subway in the Capitol. U.S. recycling rates have been hampered by challenges that include the prevalence of food contamination, low demand for recyclable materials and more.

Bipartisan bills look to boost nation’s lagging recycling rates

By Joseph Morton
Posted February 2, 2022 at 4:10pm
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., suggested the Senate should act in time for President Joe Biden’s March 1 State of the Union address.

Some Democrats hope climate consensus can save budget bill

By Joseph Morton
Posted January 31, 2022 at 9:22am
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, a main sponsor of the Senate bill, cited technological competition with China as an economic and national security imperative, but his bill does not include climate provisions.

Unlike Senate, House Democrats make climate push in China bill

By Benjamin J. Hulac and Joseph Morton
Posted January 26, 2022 at 11:45am
Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland, pictured here last July, called the lease sale a “once-in-a-generation opportunity.”

Administration announces record offshore wind sale

By Joseph Morton
Posted January 12, 2022 at 2:21pm
Manchin and United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts, left rear in blue shirt, in the Capitol on Oct. 3, 2017.

Manchin faces political blowback at home, but it may not last

By Benjamin J. Hulac and Joseph Morton
Posted December 23, 2021 at 1:22pm
Automakers have been counting on provisions in Democrats' budget reconciliation package that would support electric vehicle charging infrastructure to help them meet the new emissions standards.

EPA finalizes tougher vehicle emission standards

By Joseph Morton, Jessica Wehrman and Benjamin J. Hulac
Posted December 20, 2021 at 3:21pm
A worker shovels sand into a trench as a utility crew installs new water pipe in Walnut Creek, Calif., earlier this year.

EPA proposes tightening Trump rule on lead pipes

By Joseph Morton
Posted December 16, 2021 at 8:00am
Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., believes the tax credits will pass muster with the Senate parliamentarian.

Democrats push forward with EV tax credits

By Joseph Morton
Posted December 14, 2021 at 10:30am
President Joe Biden spoke at the General Motors electric vehicle assembly plant in November.

Biden flexes federal purchasing power on climate

By Joseph Morton
Posted December 8, 2021 at 3:51pm
“I'm still optimistic we will add a polluter fee to the Build Back Better legislation here in the Senate," said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.

Democrats push climate proposals amid internal fights

By Joseph Morton
Posted December 2, 2021 at 7:00am
The Biden administration says it hopes to lower pump prices by selling 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Petroleum reserve sale seen having small impact on gas prices

By Benjamin J. Hulac and Joseph Morton
Posted November 23, 2021 at 1:48pm, Updated at 4:57pm
Rep. Sean Casten, shown with Speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2020 during a news conference on climate issues, said attendees at the international climate summit asked questions such as, “why didn't the United States sign on to the pledge to stop financing coal plants"?

After climate summit, House Democrats feel heat on budget vote

By Joseph Morton and Benjamin J. Hulac
Posted November 15, 2021 at 3:55pm
“We shouldn’t use everyone’s tax dollars to pick winners and losers," Sen. Joe Manchin, shown recently on Capitol Hill, reportedly said while participating in an event announcing Toyota’s $240 million investment in a components plant in his state.

Manchin opposes additional EV tax credit tied to unions

By Joseph Morton
Posted November 12, 2021 at 8:00am
A worker installs copper water lines under the Eastern Market Metro plaza during a renovation project on April 5, 2021.

EPA touts water infrastructure money, but needs abound

By Joseph Morton
Posted November 10, 2021 at 12:27pm
From left, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.,and House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., turn away from the cameras after announcing their plans to move forward with the infrastructure and larger spending bill.

House sends infrastructure bill to Biden without budget vote

By Jessica Wehrman, Lindsey McPherson and Joseph Morton
Posted November 5, 2021 at 11:35pm
Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal speaks with reporters on the Build Back Better Act and the infrastructure bill outside the Capitol on Friday.

House votes Friday on infrastructure, budget bill rule in doubt

By Jessica Wehrman, Suzanne Monyak and Joseph Morton
Posted November 5, 2021 at 11:07am, Updated at 6:13pm
Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman Tom Carper says he's seeking a 'middle ground' on a new methane fee.

Democrats pinning climate hopes on revised methane fee

By Joseph Morton
Posted November 1, 2021 at 4:00pm
Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va., has resisted what he describes as punitive measures on the fossil fuel industry.

Democrats tout climate spending in reconciliation

By Joseph Morton
Posted October 28, 2021 at 1:29pm
Sen. Thomas R. Carper, D-Del., left in this 2013 photo, said he’s been making progress in his search for middle ground on the methane fee as he continues to discuss the issue with Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va., right.

Climate negotiations continue as Biden prepares for Europe

By Joseph Morton
Posted October 28, 2021 at 6:00am
A sign warns beachgoers in Huntington Beach, Calif., on Oct. 3 after authorities said oil leaked from a damaged pipeline connected to an oil rig off the Southern California coast.

Lawmakers warned of risks from aging offshore infrastructure

By Joseph Morton
Posted October 14, 2021 at 7:03pm
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said the days of fossil fuel companies getting whatever handouts they seek are over.

Climate hawks reject compromise in reconciliation

By Joseph Morton
Posted October 7, 2021 at 4:27pm
West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin III’s position on Democrats’ budget reconciliation package have made him a center of attention.

With GOP sidelined, Manchin steps up to defend fossil fuels

By Benjamin J. Hulac and Joseph Morton
Posted October 7, 2021 at 6:15am
Brenda Mallory, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, in her office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington.

White House moves to restore environment reviews eased by Trump

By Joseph Morton
Posted October 6, 2021 at 5:04pm
A car sits crushed under the rubble of a building destroyed by Hurricane Ida on Aug. 30 in New Orleans.

Climate-fueled disasters are increasing, FEMA chief warns

By Joseph Morton
Posted October 5, 2021 at 4:55pm
Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland testified during the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on the Department of the Interior budget in July.

Haaland: BLM headquarters coming back to Washington

By Joseph Morton and Benjamin J. Hulac
Posted September 17, 2021 at 6:04pm
The Colorado River winds through Horseshoe Bend in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Page, Ariz., at sunset in late August.

In response to Western drought, a flood of legislation

By Joseph Morton
Posted September 15, 2021 at 5:30am
Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., right, walks with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in the Capitol on Monday. Sanders introduced the Democrats' $3.5 trillion budget resolution, which Schumer said the Senate will take up Tuesday after it votes on the infrastructure bill.

Senate to vote on infrastructure bill Tuesday morning

By Joseph Morton
Posted August 9, 2021 at 9:28pm
“I’m not trying to expedite this process whatsoever,” said Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn.

Debate on infrastructure bill stretches into Sunday — and likely beyond

By Jessica Wehrman and Joseph Morton
Posted August 7, 2021 at 8:08pm
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer filed a cloture motion Thursday night.

Senate seeks finish line for infrastructure bill

By Joseph Morton and Jessica Wehrman
Posted August 6, 2021 at 5:52pm
Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., both standing, led the 22 lawmakers who negotiated the infrastructure bill.

Senate aims for weekend vote on infrastructure bill

By Jessica Wehrman, Joseph Morton and Peter Cohn
Posted August 5, 2021 at 10:55pm
“The fact that something is bipartisan doesn’t mean that it makes sense for the American people,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said of the infrastructure bill.

Conservatives take aim at infrastructure bill in Senate

By Jessica Wehrman and Joseph Morton
Posted August 4, 2021 at 7:04pm
“We need to attack climate change head-on. I am deeply worried that even within the two bills there’s not enough,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

Let down by infrastructure bill, climate hawks eye reconciliation

By Benjamin J. Hulac and Joseph Morton
Posted August 4, 2021 at 9:00am
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., conducts a news conference in the Capitol on Tuesday.

Amendment holds slow Senate infrastructure bill’s progress

By Jessica Wehrman, Lindsey McPherson and Joseph Morton
Posted August 3, 2021 at 8:10pm
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., said the Senate would act quickly on the infrastructure package after legislative text was released on Sunday.

Schumer seeks infrastructure bill passage ‘in a matter of days’

By Joseph Morton
Posted August 2, 2021 at 6:19am
Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-W. Va., spoke at a Problem Solvers Caucus news conference on the infrastructure deal on Friday.

Senate moves to debate on infrastructure as bill takes shape

By Jessica Wehrman and Joseph Morton
Posted July 30, 2021 at 3:54pm
Sky turns orange with smoke haze from the Dixie Fire in Quincy, California on July 25.

Infrastructure bill would transform energy, but maybe not enough

By Benjamin J. Hulac and Joseph Morton
Posted July 30, 2021 at 6:00am
From left, Republicans Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Rob Portman of Ohio, Susan Collins of Maine, and Mitt Romney of Utah, announce an agreement on an infrastructure bill during a news conference in the Capitol on Wednesday.

Infrastructure bill advanced with $550 billion in new spending

By Joseph Morton, Jessica Wehrman and Lauren Clason
Posted July 28, 2021 at 1:08pm, Updated at 9:29pm
“They just sort of went on their own. And that's not the way they should have done it," Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin said of the infrastructure negotiating team.

Infrastructure committees ask: What about us?

By Jessica Wehrman and Joseph Morton
Posted July 28, 2021 at 6:00am
The disagreement over transit “could sink the whole thing,” said Sen. John Tester, D-Mont., who has traditionally been one of the more optimistic members of the infrastructure negotiating team. “But I don’t think it’s gonna.”

Bipartisan infrastructure talks said to be stuck on transit

By Jessica Wehrman and Joseph Morton
Posted July 22, 2021 at 7:38pm