Key facts
- Senator Sheldon Whitehouse said the Senate will take up amendments and a final passage vote on the permitting bill next week.
- The Senate voted 75-23 earlier in the week to advance the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, Whitehouse said.
- Democrats led by Adam Schiff want to strike National Historic Preservation Act provisions, arguing they would weaken tribal resource protections.
- Senator Josh Hawley introduced amendments to protect farmers and landowners from eminent domain takings for transmission lines.
- Whitehouse said the 75-23 vote improved the bill's prospects in the House of Representatives.
- Whitehouse said the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus assured senators the House will vote on the measure.
The US Senate is not expected to hold additional votes on the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, a permitting reform bill, until next week, when lawmakers will take up amendments and a vote on final passage, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse said on November 11, 2026.
Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island and one of the bill's four authors, is in Turkey attending the COP 31 United Nations climate change conference. He told reporters by phone that he would return by Monday for the next permitting reform vote.
Some senators are submitting proposed amendments to the bill during the week of November 9. A group of Democrats led by California's Adam Schiff is seeking to strike provisions related to the National Historic Preservation Act, arguing they would weaken protections for tribal resources. Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, introduced amendments aimed at protecting farmers and other landowners from having their land taken through eminent domain for transmission lines.
Whitehouse said the 75-23 Senate vote to advance the legislation earlier in the week had improved its prospects in the House of Representatives. He said members of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus had assured senators that the House will hold a vote on the measure and were optimistic about its chances of passing.