Democrat permitting bill authors ‘not going to wait’ for new US Congress

Nov 4 (Reuters) – The Democratic architects of proposed bipartisan energy permitting legislation said on Wednesday they would not delay the bill in hopes of securing a better deal next year when Democrats take control of both chambers of Congress.

The measure, known as the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, would overhaul federal permitting processes for energy and infrastructure projects and is expected to be a major focus of Congress now that the midterm elections are over. The bill is the culmination of a years-long effort to pass legislation aimed at speeding construction of transmission lines, mines and both renewable and fossil fuel energy projects.

“This is the closest we have come to actually finding something that can get signed into law, and I’m not going to wait,” Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico said in a statement to Reuters.

In a separate statement, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island said: “A good permitting bill comes together over years of complex negotiations… It’s a bird in the hand.  We’d be fools not to take it.”

The call to advance the bill during the post-election lame-duck session comes as lawmakers like Representative Jared Huffman, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, and environmental groups have argued that they can pass more ambitious legislation in a Democratic-controlled Congress.

Huffman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Investment firm TD Cowen on Wednesday cut its outlook for the bill’s success from about 40% to about 25%, saying Democrats’ resounding election victory “likely emboldens voices arguing bill gives too many concessions to (oil and gas).”

Heinrich said he had long supported negotiating across party lines on the issue.

“I’ve always said I would negotiate in good faith,” he said.

The bill was negotiated by Heinrich and Whitehouse with Republican Senators Shelley Moore Capito and Mike Lee.

Representatives for Capito and Lee did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

(Reporting by Nichola Groom; Editing by Nia Williams)