- 53 minutes ago
Democrats and Republicans have reached a long-awaited bipartisan deal aimed at lowering electricity costs for Americans while requiring data centers to shoulder more of the power costs associated with their growing energy demand.
The agreement focuses on speeding up energy and infrastructure projects, expanding clean energy, creating jobs and addressing rising electricity bills as data-center development increases demand on the U.S. power grid.
Watch the latest details on the bipartisan energy deal, electricity prices, data centers, clean energy and the impact on American consumers.
~PR.462~ED.194~GR.508~HT.178~VG.HM~
The agreement focuses on speeding up energy and infrastructure projects, expanding clean energy, creating jobs and addressing rising electricity bills as data-center development increases demand on the U.S. power grid.
Watch the latest details on the bipartisan energy deal, electricity prices, data centers, clean energy and the impact on American consumers.
~PR.462~ED.194~GR.508~HT.178~VG.HM~
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NewsTranscript
00:00This should lower electricity costs measurably for Americans.
00:08This should increase clean power significantly for Americans.
00:16We'll appear together. Well, good afternoon.
00:19September 30th is a great day.
00:22It's a good day for the Senate.
00:23It's a good day for Shelley Moore Capito because it's the birthday of my youngest child.
00:27So I knew something else good could happen today.
00:31And I want to thank all of you all for being here.
00:33And I'm thrilled to share the news that Chairman Lee, Ranking Member White House, and Ranking Member Heinrich and I
00:40have reached an historic bipartisan agreement to reform America's federal environmental review and permitting processes known as the Bipartisan American
00:49Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026.
00:53This is a major step towards making it faster and more efficient and easier to build infrastructure projects, certainly without
01:03giving up any of the strong protections for our environment.
01:07For far too long, West Virginia – America has had a permitting system filled with delays, expenses, red tape, uncertainty,
01:15you name it.
01:15Too long, too expensive, and we've seen projects that should be finished more quickly, going decades.
01:21And even worse, we've seen projects that have actually been ceased because of the permitting issue.
01:26In my state, whether it's too long to build roads or infrastructure, energy infrastructure, and other investment, it costs us
01:34jobs.
01:35It costs us the strengthening of our local economies.
01:38So, when these projects are not built, what happens?
01:42The costs are shifted onto our families, who pay more for energy, housing, and other items.
01:48So, this is not a sustainable way for the United States to compete with the rest of the world.
01:52And it's certainly not sustainable to address the energy and affordability issues that we are facing today.
01:57So, the way I look at it is, we are meeting the moment.
02:02We cannot meet this moment with a permitting system that is stuck in the past.
02:07The status quo will not hold.
02:09The agreement we've reached today represents something that's become increasingly rare in Washington.
02:15Republicans and Democrats sitting down, identifying a problem, and in this case, a problem that has festered for at least
02:22a decade and more,
02:23uh, that impacts all Americans, and for us to sit down and work together to solve it.
02:28So, this isn't about choosing economic development and growth within our environmental stewardship.
02:34We wouldn't all be standing here if it was.
02:36It is about establishing a permitting system that's faster, more predictable, and better equipped to serve the American people.
02:43American people sent us here to do big things, to really take the big steps.
02:48This is a big thing.
02:50It's monumental, and it's legacy setting.
02:53So, the way this is, uh, is formulated, there's two committees, obviously, here.
02:59I'm going to talk about the EPW, very briefly, section of this.
03:02Just basically, the first part of the bill, and then, uh, everybody else will talk about the sections,
03:07and whatever, whatever they want in committee jurisdiction or the bill in general.
03:12So, the first part of the bill is a comprehensive reforms to the laws that set the framework for our
03:18environmental review and permitting processes.
03:20The National Environment Policy Act, saying NEPA, uh, as well as two substantive, uh, environmental statutes that govern our permitting
03:28and consultation systems,
03:30those being the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act.
03:34This provides certainty.
03:36When we went around and asked people, what do you want more than anything, without getting into the specific details
03:41of what they want,
03:42the one thing people want, uh, to be able to build is the certainty that we are guaranteeing in this
03:48bill.
03:49So, if we don't have it, what happens?
03:51Jobs aren't created.
03:52Economies can't move.
03:53Critical infrastructure isn't built.
03:55So, these processes should be tools for informed decision-making, not reasons that decisions cannot be met.
04:03These are not partisan ideals.
04:05These are American ideals.
04:07And so, I want to thank here today, from deep inside my heart, uh, I want to thank, uh, Senator
04:13Lee,
04:13Senator Whitehouse, my ranking member, we get along terrifically, and Senator Heinrich, uh, as well.
04:18That we all came to the negotiating table, and I know you're probably not going to believe this,
04:24but we have had numerous personal meetings, and I think that shows the personal investment that we all have, uh,
04:30in, in the name of the country, uh, for this process.
04:33I want to thank my staff, personally, and the staff of all the other members who have spent months ironing
04:40out,
04:40and many, many, many, many, many, many hours.
04:43I want to thank the president and his team for their, uh, constant communication,
04:48and for seeing, helping us see this through.
04:51I want to thank our colleagues in the House, Chairman Westerman and Chairman Graves.
04:55They worked on the Speed Act and the Permit Act, which gave us some good momentum at the end of
05:00the year.
05:01And I want to thank all the variety of stakeholders and communities who have weighed in and helped us tremendously.
05:06They've been great advocates, speaking out effectively, not just for theirs,
05:11but for what this means in the whole, for the country.
05:13I mean, our first testimony we had in January really represented a broad, uh, broad spectrum of, uh, folks,
05:20from the business community to labor to the solar folks to the regulators.
05:24And, uh, that also, I think, gave us a good jump start.
05:27So now we have to finish the job.
05:29I look forward to working with my colleagues, the Senate and the House, to move this legislation forward.
05:34And, uh, I want to thank you all for being here.
05:36I can't wait to see that presidential signing of something that will, I think, really change this country and the
05:43face of the country.
05:43So I'm going to go to Senator Lee, and then we will move through the speaking order.
05:49Thanks so much.
05:49I want to begin by thanking my negotiating partners, uh, Senator Capito, uh, Senator Heinrich, and Senator Whitehouse.
05:56It's been an honor and a pleasure to work with them and their staffs who have worked tirelessly to put
06:00this deal together.
06:01We're motivated, motivated by one central shared concern.
06:05We want to make it easier in America to build things, to build things in a way that moves them
06:11forward,
06:12allows the American people to benefit from them.
06:14When we do that, the American people can prosper as a result of things being built.
06:21Uh, the cost of goods, uh, becomes more affordable when we do this.
06:26I'm reminded of a moment 29 years ago, uh, shortly after I graduated from law school.
06:31My wife and I have two very young children, and, uh, we were up late one night putting together a
06:37piece of furniture that had way too many parts.
06:39While we were assembling this piece of furniture, we watched a lengthy and fascinating documentary about the construction of the
06:46Golden Gate Bridge.
06:46Uh, it was amazing to me how quickly they were able to put all that together, the engineering that went
06:52into it.
06:53Uh, the construction involved was difficult, painstaking, a lot of engineering.
06:59It progressed really fast, particularly by today's standards.
07:03By the end of the documentary, I was almost finished putting together this piece of furniture.
07:09And when I realized I had made some mistakes, I'd put a couple of pieces of it, uh, together wrong.
07:14And I joked to my wife, uh, the Golden Gate Bridge perhaps was built faster, uh, than this piece of
07:20furniture.
07:21It was that same summer when I, uh, was assigned at my law firm, uh, to do some research on
07:27NEPA, National Environmental Policy Act.
07:29Uh, I was asked specifically to compare NEPA and how it operates to how it operates in a number of
07:34other developed nations that had copied it.
07:37What I'd learned at the time was that other companies had figured out ways to consolidate the time it takes
07:43to go through the permitting process,
07:44achieving the same, in some cases, even better environmental outcomes, uh, uh, without it having to take years or even
07:51decades to complete.
07:52And that, in essence, is a lot of what we're focused on here, not just with NEPA, but also other
07:58statutes,
07:58including, uh, some dealing with historic preservation and then some other related provisions.
08:03The point is that we can build things quickly, effectively, and allow Americans to benefit from them without sacrificing environmental
08:10quality,
08:10without sacrificing historic, uh, preservation interests.
08:14Uh, we can do this by making sure government operates more effectively and more efficiently.
08:19This bill is neither Republican nor Democratic. It's neither liberal nor conservative.
08:23It's an American bill. It's a pro-consumer bill.
08:25And it is also pro-environmental, pro-historic preservation.
08:29We can do these things. We've got to be smart about how we do them.
08:32I look forward to the opportunity to sell this provision, uh, to Democrats, Republicans, liberals, conservatives,
08:38and people everywhere in between. This is good for all of us.
08:41Uh, so, uh, thank you, colleagues, for working, uh, with me on this.
08:45Thanks to my staff and to your staff for all of your hard work.
08:49And I'll turn the time over now to my friend and the ranking member of the Energy and Natural Resources
08:54Committee,
08:55New Mexico Senator, uh, Martin Heinrich.
08:58Thank you, Mike.
08:59Thank you for sending your way.
09:00Uh, I want to start, too, just by thanking my colleagues.
09:03This was a pretty...
09:05Sorry about that.
09:06No worries.
09:06We'll have cleaned it up.
09:07It was a pretty remarkable effort, and everyone literally, really did work in good faith, uh, to achieve, uh, this
09:16result.
09:17I, uh, I wore, uh, a pin today. It's not my Senate pin. It's, it's a pin that I like
09:23to wear, uh, that was my dad's 60-year IBEW pin.
09:29Um, and it represents 60 years of him, uh, working for a local utility company to keep the lights on.
09:38Um, and today, in my home state of New Mexico, there is a switch yard, um, named after my dad,
09:46Pete Heinrich.
09:47And that switch yard is connected to the Sunzia transmission line.
09:54Um, that transmission line, which is 550 miles long,
09:59carries the electrons from three and a half gigawatts of, uh, clean wind generation,
10:06took 17 years to permit and build.
10:11That's why I'm here today.
10:13Because I was part of that process that should have taken probably five years
10:18to figure out how to get to yes or how to get to no, um, a whole lot faster than
10:25that.
10:26We need to be able to build big things in this country again.
10:29And if we don't, uh, experts like the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas have,
10:35have estimated that we will see 20 to 30% increases in the cost of electricity in the near term.
10:43Not a decade from now, but a couple of years from now.
10:46Um, and so with the incredible demand that is on our grid right now,
10:50we came together to find ways to do the things that we've done historically,
10:55but do the processes in parallel.
10:58Don't do them one after the other, after the other,
11:00and keep the process open for years and years at a time.
11:05This process will mean, um, that we develop responsibly.
11:10It'll mean more jobs.
11:12It'll mean cheaper energy.
11:14It'll mean that we actually require big load centers, whether that's a factory or a data center,
11:21uh, to not pass those costs onto the American consumer by statute, not a suggestion, an actual law.
11:29This is an opportunity for us to unleash American innovation and our incredible skilled labor force,
11:38uh, to build big things again.
11:40And, and I have to say, um, I, I wasn't sure at the beginning if we could all get there.
11:46And it's because this group of people and the amazing staffs on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee
11:54and the Environment and Public Works Committee kept at it in good faith through thick and thin
12:01that we have arrived at this product.
12:03And, um, I want to thank everyone who contributed to that.
12:15And, um, I want to begin by acknowledging how much work this was.
12:24This has taken a long time.
12:27No issue was an easy issue.
12:30A lot of dead end avenues had to be explored before we found the compromises.
12:36That made this possible.
12:39And, uh, as is true of, uh, I think all senators, most of the work was done for me by
12:49my very talented staff.
12:51So I first want to thank Dan Dudas, who is the Democratic Staff Director on the Environment and Public Works
12:57Committee,
12:57for his really exemplary work.
13:00And my, uh, Deputy Staff Director, Kara Allen, who has enormous subject matter expertise, uh, for hers.
13:07That is the deadly duo that made this possible, uh, for me.
13:13Um, next I want to thank the Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee.
13:18We had very big policy disagreements.
13:24But I don't believe that we ever had a disagreement that was dishonorable from Chairman Capito.
13:35And she and her staff director, Adam, I think have worked in really exemplary good faith to get to this
13:43product.
13:44So I want to just, we are a pair of pairs up here.
13:49There's the energy pair and the Environment and Public Works pair.
13:53And, uh, I want to express real appreciation to Chairman Capito for how successful our pair was in working through
14:04immensely challenging problems to, uh, get to, uh, a resolution.
14:11The third thing I want to say is that this is a hugely important milestone, but there are two big
14:18pieces of work in front of us.
14:23Sorry, Dan.
14:25Sorry, Jasmine.
14:26Sorry, uh, everyone.
14:29Um, the work is going to continue because today essentially begins a process that will conclude with a Manager's Amendment
14:37when we get back in November.
14:40And evaluating all of the different proposals as our colleagues get to see this bill for the first time and
14:47try to offer what they will consider improvements and what we will consider as well is going to take a
14:54good deal more work.
14:55Um, but the four of us will guard and protect this bill to make sure that it is, in fact,
15:00improved by those amendments.
15:02And I have full confidence in our fearsome foursome, um, on that.
15:08The other piece that is still outstanding is the question of returning to regular order for wind and solar projects
15:18in the Trump Administration.
15:20And, um, that is unresolved, but we have had what I would consider to be a very reasonable opening proposal
15:31from the Trump Administration.
15:33We need more clarity on that, and when we have more clarity on that, there will be back and forth
15:38to try to resolve those issues.
15:42That will happen in parallel with the amendment work, and we look forward to good results on that.
15:49Um, I think there's reason for concern on a lot of people's parts about how that will work.
15:56But I do think that the way in which the White House staff, two words, negotiated with us was not
16:05outside the bounds of ordinary legislative disagreement.
16:09And the initial proposal they made was a signal that they want to land this in good faith.
16:17And most importantly, we have solid bipartisan support that that needs to get done.
16:23Which is not just hypothetical, but was actually tested when our offshore wind farms got blockaded.
16:31And Republican colleagues came to the support of those projects and helped us move them forward.
16:39So it is a tested proposition that senators will work together in bipartisan fashion to solve that.
16:46And that gives me confidence about getting that solved in the weeks ahead.
16:50The last thing I'll say is that the wins from this, I think, could be very, very big ones.
16:57Um, this should lower electricity costs measurably for Americans.
17:06This should increase clean power significantly for Americans.
17:13This should significantly add construction and jobs across the country.
17:23And this should contribute to a lift in America's overall economy.
17:29Those have been our guideposts as we have done this.
17:33And the bill as we have it now, I think, will achieve those goals.
17:38And if we can improve on it through the amendment process, after having heard from so many colleagues
17:43and advocates who are going to see this for the first time, so much the better.
17:47But I approach these last two projects or aspects of this project with real confidence
17:54because of the goodwill, the trust, and the professionalism that our negotiating group has already shown.
18:04I do want to add one thing that I forgot to say.
18:07Not only did a lot of our teams work immeasurably well together and brought policy,
18:14but we have a lot of policy both on the ENR side and the EPW side that came from other
18:20members.
18:21There were bills that were in the pipeline.
18:24So I want to thank all of my colleagues in general for some of the great ideas that we've seen.
18:30I know that our leader, Leader Thune, has been working with us hand in hand to try to make this
18:39happy
18:40as Senator Schumer is working with them.
18:44So I want to make sure that we're taking a lot of credit here that I think we deserve.
18:50But there are other ideas here that are not original to us and that our colleagues weighed in on.
18:58So we're going to take a couple questions.
18:59Even some House language.
19:00Even some House language.
19:01Yes.
19:01Hi.
19:04Can you tell us more about the White House's initial proposal on Wendy Seller?
19:08What are they operating?
19:09Nope.
19:11Other than that, I think it was a respectable opening proposal.
19:15And we're going to continue to try to refine it and improve it so that we can convince our colleagues
19:22that these improvements in the law will be honored by a law-abiding approach to regulatory administration.
19:29Josh.
19:30From the Republican perspective, I mean, how anxious, how worried are you that I know it
19:35was very hard to get the president to a place to where he was willing to, you know, begin
19:40on the process of easing his sort of blockade on his renewable projects.
19:44Like, how anxious are you that that, you know, that pledge will hold over a month?
19:49You don't know the election result.
19:50You don't know how it will be feeling in November.
19:52Well, I think the administration has not only talked to us, to Mike and I, but have talked
19:58to Sheldon and Martin as well.
20:01So this hasn't been just us negotiating with the Republican, White House Republicans.
20:07And I think that bodes well.
20:10I think that the Energy Dominance Council and the Department of Energy and the Department
20:16of Interior and Susie Wiles and others have been extremely helpful.
20:20You know, there are no guarantees in life, and we know that.
20:23But when you talk about, and I think all of us talked about it, the number of jobs, the
20:30increased energy, the lowering of your energy costs, all of these are things that I think
20:34are shared values with the White House.
20:36And so we are very optimistic that the agreements that we have will stand.
20:41I don't know if anybody wants to say anything.
20:43No, you said it perfectly.
20:44Yeah, yeah.
20:44Rachel with the Hill.
20:46I know that this morning it seemed like there was a little bit of a dispute as far as some
20:49of the language.
20:50Has that been resolved?
20:51And if so, where did you land?
20:53The language, if it hasn't been released, will be released as soon as we leave.
20:57We're good.
20:58We're good.
21:00Jump in here if you want.
21:01Yeah.
21:01Yes.
21:01With respect to the data centers, there is language in the bill that would require them
21:07to pay their fair share of costs making it mandatory.
21:10Do you think you guys worked on that piece?
21:13Yeah.
21:13So it takes the incremental additions to the grid that would be necessary to serve those
21:20things, and it ascribes those costs to the developers, not to rate payers in a given
21:27utility or geographic area.
21:31We're very pleased with this.
21:32A lot of our colleagues, including on our side, Senator John Husted from Ohio, have worked
21:36really hard on this issue.
21:37We feel good about that language.
21:39I'm grateful to Senator Husted's work on that issue.
21:43Back there.
21:43Have you had any input or sign off from your counterparts in the House?
21:47And generally on either side, did the election results, do you think that's going to change
21:52anyone's ability to try to leverage different things after the election based on where the
21:56election results fall?
21:57We've had several meetings and dinners with our House counterparts, both Republicans and
22:03Democrats.
22:04Some of the language, and I would say maybe some is too small of an amount for me to describe
22:09it, but there are ideas that were direct from the House language, and I think I alluded
22:18to that.
22:20I think what's going to happen in the election, who knows in five weeks what's going to happen.
22:25But I'll go back to what I said originally.
22:28We were sent here to do big things.
22:30Sometimes big things can happen in lame duck, and so we're banking on it.
22:36We're banking on our colleagues seeing what this does for everybody and the bipartisan nature
22:41of it.
22:42Can I briefly do that?
22:44I understand the question is a legitimate one, because on a lot of things, when there
22:50is an intervening election, midterm or otherwise, sometimes a bipartisan deal can be one that
22:56might be thrown into a state of uncertainty following that election.
22:59I believe that in this case, it should not make a difference.
23:04We have negotiated this thing in a way that really is good for both sides, and I don't
23:11believe any outcome when you approach any election, there are almost infinite number of possible
23:17combinations as to the outcome, regardless of how it turns out for either party in either
23:22chamber.
23:23I believe this one still makes sense, because of the nature of it.
23:28Now, even though there may be things for both sides that one side or the other would
23:35have preferred to make it into the bill that didn't, there is nothing sufficiently objectionable
23:40in this bill that I think either party would want to change, regardless of the outcome of
23:45the election.
23:47So my encouragement is going to continue to be as it has been so far with my colleagues
23:52in the Senate, our counterparts in the House.
23:55I believe this is something that we ought to pass.
23:57If there is something more you want to get in later, there is nothing to stop us from adding
24:01other things later on either side of the aisle.
24:05And some of that could be affected by the outcome of this election.
24:08But on this one, I'm very confident that when our colleagues and our House counterparts see
24:13it, they will conclude as Senator Capito and I have, and as Senator Heinrich and Senator
24:18Whitehouse have, and as President Trump and his team have, that this is good for everyone.
24:23We need to do this.
24:24I think we'll just take one more then.
24:26How soon after the election could this be cut to vote?
24:30Well, our goal is to have it be the first vote when we come back, and at least to begin
24:36the process.
24:37And that's our goal.
24:40We think we struck that agreement, was that yesterday?
24:43Yesterday night.
24:44Yesterday night.
24:46And we all feel it's a very good agreement.
24:49So that's where we are.
24:50So thank you all very much.
24:52Yeah.
24:52Thanks everybody.
24:53Thanks.
24:53Bravo.
24:55Martin Martin.