1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

Dear Senators, I urge you to vote NO on the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA), including the November 7 substitute amendment. I recognize the substantial benefits of modernizing our electrical grid, accelerating clean-energy development, creating jobs, and requiring large data centers to bear the infrastructure costs they generate. These are important objectives that deserve congressional action. However, the legislation also proposes far-reaching changes to environmental review, historic preservation, federal permitting, and judicial oversight. Despite recent amendments, significant concerns remain: Environmental protections: Changes to longstanding environmental laws risk weakening oversight and limiting meaningful public participation. Tribal sovereignty and historic preservation: Tribal organizations and preservation advocates continue to identify serious shortcomings in protections for sacred sites, cultural resources, and meaningful consultation. Government accountability: The project-certainty provisions, even with their exceptions, raise unresolved questions about agencies' ability to revisit problematic permits and implement future pollution controls. Judicial oversight and taxpayer exposure: Restrictions on certain legal remedies and provisions for substantial damages to qualifying developers raise important questions about access to justice and responsible stewardship of public funds. I support responsible permitting reform, but the potential economic and energy benefits do not, in my judgment, justify these unresolved risks to the public interest. Congress should pursue targeted reforms that accelerate necessary infrastructure while preserving environmental protections, Tribal sovereignty, public participation, effective judicial review, and governmental accountability. Please vote NO on BAAJA in its current form and support legislation that achieves these objectives without sacrificing essential safeguards.