Bill > S5653

This bill, known as the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026, enacts comprehensive permitting and regulatory reforms across federal environmental, energy, water, and historic preservation statutes to accelerate infrastructure development and project deployment. To achieve this, the legislation amends the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA)—the law requiring federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of major federal actions—by establishing strict statutory deadlines for environmental reviews, mandating the use of digital tools and data standards known as "eNEPA technologies" through a centralized online portal managed by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), and narrowing judicial review timelines and available legal remedies. Additionally, the bill reforms the Clean Water Act (CWA) by streamlining state water quality certifications under Section 401 and extending the maximum terms for pollutant discharge and dredged material disposal permits, while updating the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) to clarify the best available scientific data standard, tighten Section 7 consultation timelines, and establish a program allowing states to assume federal wildlife consultation responsibilities. Furthermore, the legislation addresses electric transmission and energy infrastructure by reforming Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) rules on grid planning, cost allocation, and advanced transmission technologies, creating federal categorical exclusions for grid and pipeline upgrades within existing rights-of-way, reforming onshore and offshore leasing and permitting processes for renewable and geothermal energy, and adjusting federal historic preservation laws under the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) to streamline consultations and impose binding timeframes on State and Tribal Historic Preservation Officers.