(L-R) Sen. Capito, Sen. Lee, Sen. Whitehouse, and Sen. Heinrich at a September 30 press conference announcing the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CCL welcomes introduction of bipartisan permitting package
Sept. 30, 2026 – Citizens’ Climate Lobby is encouraged to see a bipartisan group of Senators release a comprehensive permitting reform package today.
The effort to develop this bill, named the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026, has been led by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Mike Lee (R-UT) and their staff.
“We thank the senators and their staff for their sustained work on this important legislation,” said Jennifer Tyler, CCL’s VP of Government Affairs.
Citizens’ Climate Lobby has supported permitting reform since 2022, with grassroots volunteers and Government Affairs staff working in partnership to build support in local communities and on Capitol Hill.
Why? Because federal permitting reform is vital to loosen the bottleneck slowing down new energy projects — around 90% of which are clean energy — from being built and connected to the grid.
Just this summer, more than 750 CCL volunteers were on Capitol Hill for 431 meetings with congressional offices focused on this topic. Earlier in 2026, CCL’s grassroots volunteers went deep on the nuances permitting reform through an in-depth training series.
In addition to lobbying on this issue since 2022, CCL volunteers have also used op-eds, letters to the editor, and community outreach events to educate their communities about the need for permitting reform and the huge opportunities it offers to reduce America’s emissions. Their efforts have revealed a nationwide appetite for permitting changes that not only reduce emissions but improve energy affordability and support job growth.
“Our volunteers have been so persistent on this issue, consistently working to build local support for permitting reform and show that support to their Members of Congress,” said Brett Cease, CCL’s VP of Field Operations.
Furthering these grassroots efforts, CCL’s Government Affairs staff has been in close communication with Environment and Public Works and Energy and Natural Resources Committee staff on both sides of the aisle throughout the negotiations around today’s legislation.
“We’re digging into the bill text now to compare it with available modeling and understand what it will mean for clean energy deployment, transmission buildout, and reducing emissions,” said Tyler.
The bipartisan nature of the process toward this bill and of today’s announcement is also encouraging and reflects CCL’s own advocacy approach. All four Senators spoke warmly of their colleagues, with Democratic Sen. Whitehouse specifically noting that Republican Sen. Capito and her staff “worked in exemplary good faith to get this product.”
Each of CCL’s lobby days, local media pieces, and community outreach efforts aims to build more common ground that we can stand on to make real progress.
CONTACT: Flannery Winchester, CCL Vice President of Marketing & Communications, 615-337-3642,
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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.
