The White House is pressing lawmakers to reach a bipartisan permitting reform agreement before the November midterm elections, while Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse says Senate votes may instead take place during the lame-duck session. Whitehouse said lawmakers need time to review the framework and complete ordinary Senate procedures, and indicated that the administration had generally agreed to improve the treatment of wind and solar projects. The administration says it and congressional Republicans have already made a strong bipartisan offer and will not necessarily preserve its concessions until after the election. The proposal would accelerate approvals for transmission, renewable-energy and fossil-fuel projects while revising environmental reviews and legal procedures. Earlier negotiations included an offer to advance 30 of roughly 300 wind projects awaiting Pentagon approval, after talks broke down following President Trump’s halt of five near-complete offshore wind farms.