Many MindedSenate negotiators revise bipartisan permitting bill ahead of procedural vote
Senate negotiators released an updated text of the bipartisan permitting deal on Saturday, in the form of a manager's amendment. The bill is the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, or BAAJA. A procedural vote was scheduled for the day Heatmap published its briefing, and President Trump endorsed the bill the night before on Truth Social, urging all senators to vote for it Monday.
The changes target the sticking points. On transmission lines, the revision alters the permitting provisions to answer concerns that letting federal and state permitting start at the same time threatens states' power. It also adds benefits for lines upgraded with advanced transmission technologies so they can carry more electricity. On tribal issues, it moves away from some proposals that Native American groups said infringed on sovereignty, and it exempts records tribes share with federal and state governments from the Freedom of Information Act, to protect sacred sites.
Why it matters: permitting is one of the main bottlenecks on cheap, abundant power. Transmission, solar and wind projects can wait years for approvals, and that delay raises costs. Rules that shorten timelines, and that reward squeezing more capacity from existing wires, would lower the price of getting new electricity to people. The tribal and records provisions also bear on the commons, since they decide who has a say over shared land and sensitive sites.
What to watch: the outcome of the procedural vote is not reported in the source text. Heatmap's writers said it remains to be seen whether the changes land in a political 'Goldilocks zone.' Julian Brave NoiseCat wrote on X that the changes would not satisfy all 575 tribes, though large tribes and those with major energy-development interests may find them acceptable. The source text is also truncated, so the full detail sits with Heatmap.
Source: Heatmap