In a bipartisan vote, the House of Representatives approved the forestry bill, which the Biden administration opposed.
The vote was 268 to 151. Fifty-five Democrats voted with Republicans in favor of the bill.
The bill seeks to exempt projects such as tree cutting to prevent wildfires from being subject to environmental review.
Supporters of the bill say it will help prevent wildfires and improve forest management.
“America's forests are on life support after decades of mismanagement,” Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Arkansas) said in a written statement. “With seconds ticking on a time bomb, Congress must act swiftly to save our forests from imminent destruction.”
Opponents, including leading environmental groups, say the bill would weaken important environmental protections and could lead to more logging.
A White House statement about the bill said the legislation “is packed with provisions that would undermine fundamental protections for communities, lands, waters, and wildlife; reduce opportunities for public input; increase the likelihood of conflict and litigation; and delay needed forest restoration and resilience work.”
The White House said it was “strongly opposed” to the bill but stopped short of issuing an explicit threat of veto, making the bill unlikely to pass.
