1. United States
2. Pa.
3. Letter

Oppose S. 5653, the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, in its current form. The clean energy benefits are real, but the Democratic support for this bill is conditioned on a White House promise to lift its blockade on wind and solar projects. That promise is not in the bill text, and the White House has not publicly confirmed it. What is in the bill text is damaging. S. 5653 guts Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, cutting Tribes and communities out of decisions about federal projects near sacred and historic sites. It locks in permits permanently, even unlawful ones, and bars courts from stopping harmful construction even after a judge finds a project broke the law. It forces taxpayers to pay developers 50 to 100 percent of construction costs when the government delays a project, and it hands public lands to mining and drilling companies with fewer safeguards. Grid reform is worth doing. Weakening the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, and Tribal consultation rights is not the price we should pay for it. Vote no on S. 5653 unless these provisions are removed or significantly amended.