It’s a bill that would make it easier to build big infrastructure projects in America – everything from fossil fuel pipelines to transmission lines that would add more clean energy to the grid.
asserted
that → ’ → grid
And it would roll back environmental and social protections to achieve this goal.
asserted
it → roll → goal
That is why climate advocates are torn over the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs act (Baaja), which is scheduled for an initial procedural Senate vote on Monday.
asserted
which → tear → Monday
Donald Trump urged all senators to vote for the 417-page bill, which is sponsored by two Republicans and two Democrats in the Senate, but after last week’s historic “blue wave” elections, some environmental and tribal advocates called on Democratic leadership to pump the brakes.
asserted
advocates → urge → brakes
Earthjustice, Sierra Club and the ACLU have come out against the bill because it would significantly weaken environmental laws including the National Environmental Policy Act (Nepa) and accelerate the construction of gas pipelines and ICE detention centers.
asserted
it → come → pipelines
Indigenous groups held a press conference on Friday calling on senators to vote against Baaja because it would weaken the federal government’s legal obligation to consult tribes on projects that affect them.
asserted
that → hold → them
“This is such an existential threat to Indian country,” said Mark Macarro, president of the National Congress of American Indians.
asserted
Macarro → say → Indians
Protesters rallied outside Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer’s building on Friday over concerns that the bill could boost datacenters.
uncertain
bill → rally → datacenters
“It would be highly ironic if, having won an election where datacenter opposition was at the front and center, the first act of Congress was to make it easier to build datacenters,” said Bill McKibben.
asserted
McKibben → win → datacenters
Democrats elected in the blue wave will not take their seats until January, so the bill’s proponents still have time to rush it through the Senate, and technically there is time for it to pass in the House before new Congress and go to Trump.
But the election success for the Democrats is dialing up the political friction.
asserted
success → elect → friction
House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, expected to be the House speaker in the new Congress, said the bill “falls short in several areas” including failing to protect tribal sovereignty, and he would not “rubber-stamp legislation without more constructive involvement with our caucus”.
asserted
he → expect → caucus
On Monday, the bill’s Democratic sponsors, Senators Martin Heinrich and Sheldon Whitehouse, said they had the votes to pass the bill.
asserted
they → say → bill
Heinrich said they had made last-minute changes to ensure tribal consultation, and they believed the bill would favor renewables over fossil fuels.
asserted
bill → say → fuels
“If we can create an open, competitive level playing field, clean is cheap, and cheap wins in the marketplace,” Heinrich said.
asserted
Heinrich → create → marketplace
Whitehouse, who wore a tie with wind turbines on it, argued that passing the bill would set the stage for Democrats to work on clean energy policies next year with majorities in the House and Senate.
asserted
Democrats → wear → House
“People should just cool their jets and have a little faith that this is not the end of the story,” he said.
asserted
he → cool → story
Proponents of Baaja say it is needed because it takes too long to build large projects in America and the bill shortens timelines.
asserted
bill → say → timelines
It simplifies federal rules for building interstate transmission lines, it narrows what gets reviewed under the National Historic Preservation Act and limits tribal consultation, it limits the use of the Clean Water Act, shortens timelines for the Endangered Species Act, limits how the executive branch can interfere with federal permitting, and makes big changes to Nepa such as changing what requires Nepa review and who has standing to sue.
asserted
who → simplify → standing
Baaja would expand fossil fuels
asserted
Baaja → expand → fuels
The fossil fuel industry is backing Baaja.
asserted
industry → back → Baaja
The American Petroleum Institute (API) hailed the bill as “a historic opportunity” and called on congress to “finish permitting reform this year”.
asserted
Institute → hail → reform
“It creates a very accelerated fast track for gas pipelines,” said Earthjustice Action’s president, Abbie Dillen.
asserted
president → create → pipelines
“The gas industry is extraordinarily excited about this because they are interested in expanding existing pipeline capacity to get more liquefied natural gas out for export, and to be feeding power-hungry datacenters with gas.
asserted
they → expand → gas
The bill could help pave the way for the Constitution gas pipeline that Williams Companies is trying to build through New York.
uncertain
Companies → pave → York
The state denied the project’s water quality permit in 2016, but the company has revived the project under the Trump administration.
asserted
company → deny → administration
The proposed pipeline could benefit from the bill’s changes to the Clean Water Act.
uncertain
pipeline → propose → Act
Baaja could also enable construction of gas pipelines in the west.
uncertain
Baaja → enable → west
Fossil fuel advocacy group Western States and Tribal Nations wants to build gas pipelines to feed domestic datacenters and export LNG from the west coast.
asserted
group → want → coast
During a 3 November election day meeting with New York’s Sweetwater county board of commissioners, the advocacy group’s president, Andrew Browning, said he was talking to lawmakers about the bill:
asserted
he → say → bill
“The permitting bill’s a huge thing …
asserted
bill → ’ → ?
We’re going to need that for everything we’re envisioning and building out.”
asserted
we → go → everything
How the bill would increase clean energy
asserted
bill → increase → energy
Some clean energy advocates want the bill to pass because it would connect renewables to the grid.
asserted
it → want → grid
Wind, solar and battery storage are now cheap to build, but the country lacks the necessary transmission lines to bring clean energy where it’s needed.
asserted
it → build → energy
Interstate transmission lines can take a decade to get built, and energy projects also face a bottleneck in connecting to the grid.
asserted
projects → take → grid
At the end of 2025, 2,060 GW of total generation and storage capacity were waiting in a queue to connect to the grid.
asserted
GW → wait → grid
Ben King, energy and climate director at Rhodium Group, said Baaja would reform the interconnection queue process and unlock the ability to build the transmission that is needed.
asserted
that → say → transmission
“We’re at a pretty low point for policy support for clean [energy],” he said, referring to Trump’s repeal of clean energy tax credits.
asserted
he → ’re → credits
“[Baaja] sets up the ability to build stuff more quickly for when the next wave of climate policy happens.”
asserted
wave → set → policy
Many experts have modeled what the bill would do to emissions, but there is a lot of uncertainty on that question.
asserted
bill → model → question
…and 27 more, not listed.
The Aporia
