Federal permitting reform bill supporters win another procedural vote
Senators inched BAAJA closer to full vote
Tuesday evening, U.S. senators gave another procedural victory to a federal permitting reform bill that supporters say could net billions of dollars for construction and energy projects nationwide despite growing objections from tribes and allies.
By a vote of 62-21, senators moved debate forward on the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act.
The bill is co-sponsored by Democratic Sens. Martin Heinrich from New Mexico, Sheldon Whitehouse from Rhode Island and Republican Sens. Shelley Moore Capito from West Virginia and Mike Lee from Utah
Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) cited tribal sovereignty concerns as his reason for voting against the bill.
“As drafted, the bill does not do enough to ensure sovereign Tribal governments can protect their cultural resources and ancestral homelands, which they have stewarded since time immemorial,” Bennet said in a statement. “The bill also fundamentally overhauls how the federal government engages with the public and local communities as projects move through the permitting process.”
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