Senators reach agreement on building permit reform before elections

Senators reached a long-awaited deal on building permits on Wednesday just before the House leaves Washington until after the November midterm elections, setting up a race to address a major trade priority in the upcoming lame-duck session of Congress.

Lawmakers have long prioritized streamlining the nation’s complex web of federal laws to speed up construction of energy projects and other critical infrastructure. Permitting is a lengthy process that often takes years – a problem as the United States seeks to develop more electrical capacity to power power-hungry data centers.

The bipartisan agreement, reached by Senators Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.V., Sheldon Whitehouse, DR.I, Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., brings Congress significantly closer to passing licensing reform. Ultimately, this would benefit both traditional forms of fossil energy and clean energy sources, both of which can be hampered by permitting issues.

The measure, called the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, would also require data center developers to pay their own energy transportation costs.

Negotiators presented the deal as a way to reduce energy costs and build major infrastructure in a timely manner.

“If we can pass this bill, we will flood the grid with clean, affordable energy and ensure that data centers start paying their fair share,” Whitehouse said in a statement accompanying the release of the deal. “We believe this is a compromise that will result in a brighter, cleaner, more affordable future.”

Capito said in a statement that “broken and outdated federal environmental review and permitting processes have stood in the way of energy reliability, job security, modern infrastructure and economic growth.”

“The bipartisan reforms we secured in this agreement will transform our country’s ability to fuel our economy and fuel future growth, while continuing to protect the lands, water and wildlife we ​​all cherish,” she said.

The bill is now expected to be a top priority in the Senate in the lame-duck session following the Nov. 3 election. Capito, at a news conference announcing the deal, said negotiators planned for this to be the first vote they would hold upon their return.

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., told CNBC earlier Wednesday that enabling reform and funding the government would be senators’ top priorities when they return.

“Appropriations, authorizations. I think there will be an authorization bill ready that we will act on,” Coons said.