On Sept. 30, 2026, Senate negotiators announced agreement on the text of the “Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026,” a long-awaited bill to reform and expedite federal environmental and energy permitting. The 417-page bill is the product of intensive negotiations among the chairs and ranking members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Environment and Public Works Committee that began early in the 119th Congress.
The bill would make the most substantial amendments to NEPA since its enactment in 1969, and would reform permitting and review requirements under the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and numerous energy and mining statutes. The bill narrows federal jurisdiction, strengthens state authority, imposes agency review deadlines, vests original jurisdiction over NEPA and National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) decisions in the federal courts of appeals, creates 150-day limits on judicial review of agency NEPA, NHPA and permitting decisions, and adopts limits on standing and remedies for litigants, all in an effort to shorten permitting timelines and reduce delays resulting from court challenges and injunctions.
If enacted, the permitting reform would represent a landmark update to the major environmental, energy, and mining laws governing development in the United States. However, the path to enactment remains uncertain. In a press conference on Sept. 30, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse noted that the bill sponsors plan a manager’s amendment, and expect further input and amendments from fellow senators, who are seeing the text of the bill just now. He also noted that the Trump administration’s renewable energy policies had complicated the negotiations, that this issue is not resolved, and that discussions with the administration are ongoing. The outcome of these discussions (among other factors) may determine whether the bill has enough Democratic support to reach the 60-vote threshold necessary to eliminate the threat of a filibuster so the Senate can proceed to consideration of the legislation.
The bill also would have to be reconciled with House permitting reform efforts, but sponsors noted at their Sept. 30 press conference that the bill already contains provisions from the House bills, and that House Committee chairs have been consulted as the Senate negotiations progressed. The House and Senate are now in recess until after the election, but the Senate will conduct a procedural vote on the permitting bill immediately when it returns on Nov. 9.