The Last-Minute Changes to the Senate Permitting Deal, Explained
Heatmap News explains the manager's amendment to the Bipartisan Affordability and American Jobs Act, released the Saturday before a Monday Senate cloture vote requiring 60 votes: it strengthens the bill's transmission provisions — interregional planning, cost allocation, and federal backstop siting — while easing Southeast utilities' objections, cutting National Historic Preservation Act reforms sought by tribes, and adding data-center ratepayer protections. Reactions are mixed, with the Wilderness Society still opposed, tribal groups unconvinced, and GOP strategist Liam Donovan saying the amendment accounts for the concerns of anyone looking to get to yes.
