FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CCL endorses Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act

October 2, 2026 – Citizens’ Climate Lobby is proud to endorse the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA) of 2026.

“If America is going to meaningfully reduce our emissions and truly address climate change, we need to connect much more clean energy to the grid,” said CCL’s Executive Director Ricky Bradley. “This bill will make remarkable, rapid progress toward that goal. We’re proud to endorse it, and we’re excited to mobilize our grassroots volunteers in full support.” 

This comprehensive bipartisan permitting package, put forth this week by Sens. Whitehouse, Heinrich, Capito, and Lee, will substantially reduce America’s emissions, unlock a huge amount of clean energy deployment, and lower electricity costs for families nationwide. 

“These are policy ideas that our grassroots volunteers have been lobbying for since 2022,” said Jennifer Tyler, CCL’s VP of Government Affairs. “We look forward to coordinating our volunteers nationwide to help build additional support for the package as it moves through the legislative process.”

For too long, an outdated and inefficient permitting system has slowed the clean energy projects and transmission infrastructure we need to cut emissions and build a cleaner, more reliable energy system.

This comprehensive permitting reform package aims right at the heart of that problem, including measures that will speed the buildout of transmission lines and get new clean energy projects connected to the grid faster. 

Plus, this legislation will provide the certainty that clean energy developers need to plan and move forward on their projects with confidence.

The path to this bill has been defined by bipartisan collaboration. That has led to a compromise bill that doesn’t match any one political party or organization’s exact preferences, including CCL’s.

“Though it’s not the exact bill we would have written, we see real value in bipartisan compromise, especially on an issue as complex and far-reaching as energy permitting. To see the long-term climate benefits of this bill, we need these important reforms to stick,” Tyler said. “This bill’s bipartisanship makes it durable so we can realize those climate benefits well into the future, even as political winds shift.” 

“We’re grateful to the senators and their staff for their commitment to this issue over the years and for doing the hard work of bridging differences to reach an agreement,” said Tyler.

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Citizens’ Climate Lobby is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, grassroots advocacy organization focused on national policies to address climate change. Learn more at citizensclimatelobby.org.