The Senate voted to proceed to debate its permitting reform bill this evening, but the process remains a long way from over.
Senators voted 73-25 to bring the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA) to the Senate floor, with 21 Democrats joining all voting Republicans in support of beginning debate, and 25 Democrats voting in opposition. The Senate will now begin debate on the bill (technically, they are debating an unrelated House-passed bill, the Survivor Justice Tax Prevention Act, into which BAAJA’s sponsors hope to add the permitting bill).
Does this vote mean that the permitting bill is on a glide path to Senate passage? No. In fact, it does not necessarily mean that 73 Senators will ultimately vote in favor of the bill.
The motion that passed tonight merely allows the bill’s backers to bring the bill to the floor for debate. Some Senators will vote to allow debate to begin, even if they are opposed to the underlying bill, so that they can offer amendments to it. Under Senate rules, there is no limit to how much time Senators can debate the bill – unless they vote again to limit debate. Such a motion also would require 60 votes to pass.
When and if that second 60-vote threshold is reached will the Senate wrap up debate and move to a final vote. That vote would need a simple majority of the Senate to pass. Should that happen, the bill then would go to the House, where it faces a different set of procedures to advance.
What this means is that the debate over BAAJA has only just begun. ACRA and its preservation allies continue to lobby members of Congress to oppose the bill, or at the very least pass an amendment to strike the Title III historic preservation provisions from it. The ability of the Senate to conclude debate on the bill will depend in no small part on convincing enough Senators to demand changes in the form of amendments before allowing debate to close.
That’s why sending messages to your representatives in both the Senate and House to oppose the bill matter greatly. They need to hear from you before making any final decisions on the bill.
Stay tuned to ACRASphere for more updates.
This bill so deeply flawed with giveaways of land. On November 3, voters signaled that we do not want those like this past anymore. Ask single bills only stop giving away our land to data centers and big corporations..
Title 3 – Historic Preservation part of the BAAJA Bill is like giving the government emminent domain over our cultural heritage! Strike Title 3 from the BAAJA Bill!!!
I’m so disappointed in the 21 Democrats who voted in favor of this awful, deceptively named bill. I’ve read the new amendment outfit by Senators Whitehouse and Heinrich and I don’t believe it corrects the dangerous flaws. Please keep fighting for sanity and environmental and historical responsibility.
Hi Suzanne – thanks for your comment! The post above alludes to this, but there are Democrats that voted yes last night that are opposed to the bill, but voted yes in order to offer amendments during the debate process (and have made statements confirming this). Thus, their vote last night does not necessarily indicate how they would vote in a final vote on the bill. The fight continues, and make sure you are continuing to talk to both your Senators and your Representative in the House!