STATEMENT: CAP Statement on Permitting Reform Legislation

Washington, D.C. — Senate negotiators have released the text of a substitute amendment for their proposed Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act. In response, Neera Tanden, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress released the following statement:

Permitting reform legislation is important for our energy needs as a country, including robust development of clean energy. The legislation contains many crucial provisions that address long-standing problems, and the recent manager’s amendment offers important clarifications on several points. This bill would make meaningful improvements to facilitate the construction of transmission infrastructure necessary to connect more clean energy generation to the grid, reduce emissions, and begin lowering the costs of electricity over time, and it would require data centers to pay their fair share of transmission costs, which is a strong step forward.

We are committed to achieving permitting reform, transmission policy reform, and requirements that data centers pay the fair share of their full electricity costs.

We welcome the improvements made by the manager’s amendment while noting that the concessions negotiated in this bill are substantial and many carry serious risks that should be addressed in further amendments on the floor. We intend to continue working with the bill negotiators and Congress to improve the permit certainty sections, in particular, so that they speed our capabilities to build without sacrificing our interests in clean water and public lands. We recognize the importance of this legislation, and that’s why it’s crucial that needed changes are made, including through amendments on the floor.

For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Sam Hananel at [email protected].