Senate votes 73-25 to take up bipartisan permitting bill, two outlets report

The Senate voted 73-25 Monday to end debate on the motion to proceed to H.R. 2347, the vehicle for a bipartisan permitting bill, New Mexico Political Report and The Washington Sun reported.¹² That cleared the 60 votes required. The Senate had not posted its roll-call record when this report was updated at 7:09 p.m. Monday; its list of 2026 votes still ended with a Sept. 30 vote, and the page for vote No. 257 showed no result.³⁴

The Washington Sun reported that 51 Republicans, 21 Democrats and one independent voted yes. New Mexico Political Report said most of the 25 senators voting no were Democrats, including Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., and that a majority of Democrats opposed cloture. The Sun listed Sens. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill.; Adam Schiff, D-Calif.; and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., among the no votes.¹²

Monday’s vote was procedural, not on passage. The Senate’s floor schedule called H.R. 2347, titled the Survivor Justice Tax Prevention Act, “the legislative vehicle for the permitting reform bill.”⁵ Cloture requires three-fifths of senators duly chosen and sworn, or 60 of 100.⁶

What comes next

New Mexico Political Report said the vote sets up final debate and votes in the coming days, with Heinrich and his co-sponsors offering their manager’s amendment before other senators can offer their own. Both outlets said the bill would still need to pass the House.¹² The Sun reported that Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, who voted yes, plans to offer amendments, and that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was still reviewing the package Monday.²

The bill

The measure is the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, S. 5653.⁷ Its sponsors, Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.; Mike Lee, R-Utah; Martin Heinrich, D-N.M.; and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., announced it Sept. 30.⁸ They released a substitute amendment Nov. 7, calling the changes clarifying, conforming and technical.⁹

According to Heinrich’s September fact sheet, the bill as introduced would set two-year deadlines for environmental impact statements and one-year deadlines for environmental assessments, strengthen federal authority to site major interstate power lines, require data centers to pay all of their associated transmission costs and set a 150-day deadline for certain legal challenges.¹⁰

What supporters say

“In my view, leadership is hardest when you disagree with your friends,” Heinrich said Monday, according to New Mexico Political Report, which said he pointed to new language in the amendment requiring tribal consultation.¹ “This becomes our biggest implemented climate bill,” Whitehouse said, according to The Washington Sun, which reported that Senate Majority Leader John Thune called the measure a “bipartisan win” in a floor speech Monday.²

What opponents say

The National Congress of American Indians had urged senators to vote no on cloture. “This is not serious legislating. This is not consultation,” President Mark Macarro said.⁷ Leonard Forsman, chairman of the Suquamish Tribe, said, according to The Washington Sun, “Efficiency must never come at the expense of tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, or the destruction of sacred places.”²

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., voted to proceed but said, “I cannot ignore the concerns that Tribes in Nevada have with this bill text,” the Sun reported. Citing Punchbowl News, the Sun reported that she would not support the bill unless provisions affecting tribal rights were removed.² New Mexico Political Report said Gov.-elect Deb Haaland publicly opposed the bill and amendment Monday.¹

What the records do not show

• The official roll call. The tally and party breakdown above come from New Mexico Political Report and The Washington Sun; the Senate had not posted its record when this report was updated. The reported totals account for 98 senators; neither outlet said how the other two were recorded.
• Whether the provisions above survive unchanged. The fact sheet describes the September bill; SignalData did not review the substitute’s text.
• The date of a final Senate vote, and any House action on the measure.