U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, on Wednesday helped introduce the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, which sponsors say will help bolster cheaper energy and create more jobs by reforming the federal government’s regulatory process for energy and infrastructure projects.
The bipartisan agreement was announced shortly before the Senate left for the break by Heinrich, along with West Virginia Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, chairwoman of the Environment and Public Works Committee; Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, ranking member on that committee; and Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee, chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
A fact-sheet on the legislation lists some of its key provisions as: providing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission more authority to approve major interstate power line; requiring regional and interregional transmission planning to account for new transmission and future transmission needs; and forcing data centers to “pay their fair share.”
The bill also proposes introducing a two-year deadline for Environmental Impact Statement reviews and a one-year deadline for Environmental Assessment reviews; along with “securing a statutory role for Tribes in determining how projects affect historic and cultural resources and protecting Tribes’ rights to formally consult during the processes.”
In a virtual news conference with New Mexico reporters, Heinrich cited theSunZia wind and transmission project in the state, which took 17 years to permit and build. “Mostly to permit,” he noted. “My experiences with permitting Sunzia led me to fully appreciate how slow and sometimes broken our permitting system can be. That’s a real problem right now because if we have any hope of cutting energy costs for families, America needs to be able to build things in years, not in decades.”
Heinrich, who said he spent the “better part of this entire Congress” negotiating the bill, said it will “deliver cheaper energy to New Mexico homes, create more jobs for New Mexico workers, and make sure that our growth is responsible, not by permitting every project, but by getting our permitting decisions to a yes; or if it’s a bad project, to a no, faster than in the past.”
During a Wednesday news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., Capito said the goal is for the package to be the first vote when the Senate returns in mid-November, to start the sometimes long and complicated floor process.
Whitehouse said negotiators had to go down several “dead-end avenues” before they were able to reach the final agreement they unveiled Wednesday, though that’s not the end of the process.
“This is a hugely important milestone but there are two big pieces of work in front of us,” he said, noting that their Senate colleagues now get to review the bill and offer amendments.
