# Senate Advances Energy Permitting Bill

The Senate advanced the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA, S. 5653) in procedural votes of 73–25 on November 9 and 62–21 on November 10, 2026. The bill is not enacted, and senators are still considering amendments amid disagreement over environmental review, historic preservation, tribal consultation, and state and community input. If enacted, it would accelerate federal permitting for energy generation and transmission projects and require large data center operators to cover more of the grid-upgrade costs they cause. The signals identify no solicitation, contract award, or dedicated funding, so this is a potential change to project schedules and market conditions—not an active procurement opportunity.

- Energy developers and contractors in transmission, generation, renewable energy, pipelines, storage, and data-center infrastructure may see permitting timelines and project economics change if the bill becomes law.
- Data-center developers and their infrastructure contractors should account for the proposed allocation of grid-upgrade costs; the proposal would also protect other utility customers if projects fail.
- Because final provisions and passage remain uncertain, contractors should distinguish the bill’s proposed requirements from current obligations when planning bids, schedules, and project costs.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Construction & Infrastructure, Energy & Utilities
**Topics:** Policy, Physical Infrastructure
**Published:** November 11, 2026

### Government Entities
- U.S. Senate (Senate)
- U.S. House of Representatives (House)
- U.S. Congress (Congress)

### Key Quotes
> I am grateful to Senators Heinrich, Whitehouse, Capito, and Lee for their leadership in crafting a bipartisan bill that will reduce emissions, deploy clean energy, upgrade old transmission lines, and fast-track urgently needed projects across the country while preserving important environmental and community safeguards.
> — Chris Coons, U.S. Senator

> BAAJA will help get more affordable energy connected to the grid while making sure massive energy consumers like data centers pay up.
> — Martin Heinrich, U.S. Senator

> Virginia’s multiple historic resources, including sites connected to the Commonwealth’s seven federally-recognized tribes, are given critical protections by that Act and I want to ensure that those protections are not weakened.
> — Tim Kaine, U.S. Senator

### Sources
- [Congress weighs data center power costs and energy permitting after Democratic election gains - Oil & Gas 360](https://www.oilandgas360.com/congress-weighs-data-center-power-costs-and-energy-permitting-after-democratic-election-gains) - Oil & Gas 360
- [STATEMENT: Sen. Schiff Statement on Permitting Reform Legislation](https://www.schiff.senate.gov/news/press-releases/statement-sen-schiff-statement-on-permitting-reform-legislation/) - Schiff Senate
- [US Congress gets first post-'Blue Wave' crack at data centers with permitting bill | Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/us-congress-gets-first-post-blue-wave-crack-data-centers-with-permitting-bill-2026-11-09) - Reuters