New Democrat Coalition Leadership Statement on Senate Permitting Reform Managers’ Amendment and Cloture Vote

Today, New Democrat Coalition Leadership issued the following statement after the Senate began the process to bring the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA) to a vote:

“Last Tuesday, voters across the country sent an unmistakable message: they want Congress to bring down the cost of living. Few things drive up costs for American families more than an energy system that takes too long and costs too much to build. The managers’ amendment to BAAJA reflects good-faith, bipartisan negotiation, incorporating feedback from House Democrats, Tribal leaders, labor, and the clean energy community. These reforms move the legislation in the right direction toward lower costs for the American people, and will make it easier and cheaper to quickly build the transmission and energy generation our country needs. This amendment also responds directly to concerns raised by Tribal nations, though we recognize significant Tribal concerns remain to be addressed.

“New Dems will continue to engage our House Democratic colleagues, partners in the Senate and across the aisle as this bill moves through the legislative process. Our priorities have not changed: make it easier to build transmission lines, ensure permit certainty and parity for all forms of energy — particularly clean energy — and protect consumers from price hikes. The American people are paying more because of a broken system, and they expect Congress to fix it.”

The Coalition has continuously engaged with our partners in the Senate and across the aisle to push for the priorities included in our framework to achieve energy independence, security, and affordability. These include:

• Reforming permitting rules to make it faster and cheaper to build energy transmission and generation infrastructure.
• Ensuring energy is available and abundant by establishing a level playing field for all forms of energy.
• Reallocating electric grid costs to protect consumers from price hikes due to manufacturing and data center development.

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