On September 30, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chair Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chair Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Ranking Member Martin Heinrich (D-N.Mex.) introduced the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 (S. 5653).
The highly anticipated bipartisan permitting bill would make significant changes to the National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, federal historic preservation reviews, and energy and transmission permitting. Specifically, the bill would streamline federal reviews, establish more predictable permitting timelines, limit certain litigation-related delays, and provide greater certainty after federal agencies approve projects.
“Electrical contractors are ready to meet the tremendous growth happening across our country, but we need a permitting system that allows critical projects to move forward with greater certainty and efficiency,” IEC Executive Director Amy Biedenharn said in an IEC statement. “Our members are building the infrastructure that powers communities, data centers, manufacturing, and economic growth. Bipartisan permitting reform is an important step toward ensuring we can put skilled people to work and build the energy infrastructure America needs.”
BAAJA’s Key Permitting Reforms
The Senate legislation, commonly known as BAAJA, contains provisions that closely track several permitting bills passed by the House in 2025 that IEC supported through multiple grassroots campaigns, IEC’s 2026 Policy Conference, and coalition lobbying activities.
BAAJA’s NEPA reforms closely track provisions in the SPEED Act (H.R. 4776), while its Clean Water Act title includes reforms also found in the PERMIT Act (H.R. 3898). The bill also incorporates core provisions from the ePermit Act (H.R. 4503) to modernize federal permitting through digital tools and improved project tracking. It includes Endangered Species Act consultation timeline reforms similar to those in Capito’s 2022 START Act (S. 4815). The bill’s ESA provisions also closely track language in the IEC-supported ESA Amendments Act of 2025 (H.R. 1897), including a substantially similar definition of “best scientific and commercial data available.”
Beyond these reforms, BAAJA would make several broader changes intended to provide greater certainty for major infrastructure projects. The legislation would establish clearer timelines and processes for federal environmental reviews, limit opportunities for projects to be delayed through successive or duplicative reviews, and establish additional protections for projects after federal agencies have completed the permitting process. The bill also includes provisions addressing federal agency interference with certain approved projects and potential remedies when federal action improperly delays or interferes with a project.
The legislation addresses the rapidly growing electricity demand associated with large-load customers, including data centers. BAAJA would establish a framework for large electricity customers to bear responsibility for the incremental costs associated with serving their demand, including costs related to generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure. The bill also includes provisions intended to provide greater transparency and certainty around the allocation of those costs. These provisions are particularly relevant as utilities and policymakers grapple with how to accommodate rapidly expanding data center and other large-load demand while reducing the risk that other electricity customers will bear the costs of infrastructure required to serve those new loads.
For IEC members, these reforms could have significant implications for the pace and predictability of construction projects subject to federal permitting requirements, including new generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure, manufacturing facilities, data centers, and other projects that will require substantial electrical contracting capacity.
More predictable federal permitting processes can help all projects move from planning to construction more quickly, providing contractors and their employees with greater certainty and helping the nation meet its rapidly growing demand for electricity and other infrastructure.
To learn more about key provisions in this 400-plus-page bill, review the Bipartisan Policy Center’s excellent explainer on BAAJA.
Next Steps
When the Senate returns from recess for a busy post-election “lame-duck” session, there will be limited Senate floor time to advance BAAJA. The Senate faces a crowded legislative calendar, including deadlines and negotiations surrounding the Highway Trust Fund reauthorization, Water Resources Development Act, Farm Bill, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations, and the December 11 government funding deadline.
The outcome of the November 3 elections will also shape the lame-duck agenda and the priorities of congressional leadership. Senate leaders will have to determine whether to use the remaining legislative days of the 119th Congress to address major outstanding legislation or defer some issues to the 120th Congress.
The Senate will need 60 votes to invoke cloture and advance BAAJA over a filibuster. If the Senate passes the legislation, the House would then need to consider and pass the Senate-passed bill before it could be sent to President Trump. If the House and Senate instead pass different versions, the chambers would need to resolve their differences and approve identical legislation before it could reach the President.
“IEC appreciates Senators Capito, Whitehouse, Lee, and Heinrich for working across party lines to advance meaningful permitting reform legislation,” IEC government affairs spokesman Ben Brubeck, Principal and CEO of Government Affairs Solutions, said. “Congress must build on this bipartisan progress when it returns from recess in November and send comprehensive permitting reform legislation to President Trump’s desk this year.”
“Negative early reaction by some conservative members of the House and environmental defense groups on the left suggests that influential stakeholders on the extreme wings of both parties may push back on this bill,” Brubeck said. “Now is the time for the business community, clean energy groups, and the center of the American electorate to work together and push this bill over the finish line before the window for permitting reform closes again.”
Take Action
IEC’s new grassroots action alert asks IEC members to contact their U.S. Senators and urge them to swiftly advance bipartisan permitting reform legislation when the Senate returns in November.
Please contact your Senators today and be on the lookout for additional information and grassroots alerts as BAAJA moves through the legislative process.