Senate permitting bill nears a vote with key Democrats still split

A bipartisan permitting and transmission bill faces a Senate floor vote in three days, with Democrats divided over taking the deal now or waiting.

The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, known as BAAJA, is a Senate permitting and transmission bill. Its authors plan a floor vote in three days. They are also working on an amendment meant to answer critics' concerns while keeping the bipartisan balance. Heatmap's Emily Pontecorvo interviewed Rep. Mike Levin (D-California), who said he was undecided.

The bill would make it easier and cheaper to build high-voltage transmission lines that carry renewable power to demand centers. It would also speed permitting for solar, geothermal, pipelines and liquefied natural gas terminals. Its ratepayer protections would require data centers to pay all grid upgrade costs needed to connect.

The costs are contested. The bill would make federal permits much harder to revoke once issued, and in some cases possibly impossible. Critics fear that gives Trump broad leeway to approve oil and gas projects in his remaining two years. They also point to limits on public participation in environmental review, changes to the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act, and weaker tribal consultation under the National Historic Preservation Act.

For abundance, transmission and permitting are a bottleneck. Cheap generation does little good if it takes years to connect. Faster approval could cut the time and cost of getting power to the grid. The same speed also trades away some public input and review, so the gain is not clean.

The Democratic split is a useful signal. Sen. Ruben Gallego says the White House may be less willing to negotiate in six months and urges taking the win now. Sen. Mark Kelly wants to see if more priorities can be added in the next Congress. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries opposes the current version.

Passage is uncertain, and the benefits depend on it. The vote and the amendment are plans, not completed events. The source text cuts off early in the Q&A, so Levin's own reasoning isn't covered here. The detail sits with Heatmap.

Source: Heatmap