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November 25, 2013

House Bills Loosen Curbs on Fracking 
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The Republican-controlled House has approved several bills that would
provide a major boon to oil and gas fracking in the United States. A
measure approved Thursday would fast-track the construction of gas
pipelines. That vote came one day after the House passed legislation
that would strip the federal government's authority to regulate fracking
in states with their own rules. Another provision would impose a $5,000
fee on anyone filing an official protest against a drilling project. The
measures have little chance of Senate passage and President Obama has
already threatened a veto should they reach his desk. A new study from
the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington says oil
and gas industry spending on congressional campaigns in fracking states
and districts has jumped 231 percent since 2004.

 

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