The Time is Now: Why Congress Must Pass the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act

The future of America’s economic prosperity depends on minerals. The copper in our power grid, the rare earth elements used in defense systems, and the lithium used for our cell phones and laptops all depend on one thing: a reliable minerals supply chain.  

Policymakers striving to strengthen America’s competitiveness, lower costs and secure our nation continue to face a significant barrier: a slow and inefficient permitting system that hampers growth. Introduced in the Senate on September 30, the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 is among the most significant permitting reform efforts in recent years and has the potential to serve as a great step forward to support energy affordability, domestic minerals production and infrastructure development.

What The Bill Does

Led by Senators Shelley Moore Capito, Mike Lee, Sheldon Whitehouse and Martin Heinrich, the bipartisan legislation offers a comprehensive plan to streamline federal environmental review and permitting procedures for infrastructure development.

This legislation would:

• Reaffirm decades of precedent and practice confirming mining operators right to use federal lands for ancillary mining activities.
• Establish a one-year deadline for Environmental Assessments and a two-year deadline for Environmental Impact Statements, with consequences for agencies that miss those deadlines.
• Create a 150-day statute of limitations for legal challenges to permitted projects in order to reduce uncertainty after approvals have been granted.
• Create thousands of jobs across the energy supply chain in the United States.

Bottomline, the goal is to create a more efficient permitting process while maintaining important environmental safeguards.

“We cannot continue to kick the can down the road on this essential legislation. Comprehensive, bipartisan legislation would signal to every American, and the rest of the world, that the United States is serious about addressing its supply chain and national security concerns.”

– Rich Nolan, President and CEO of the National Mining Association

Looking Ahead

With support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, this piece of legislation has the potential to finally address the consequences of our nation’s long and grueling permitting process head-on.

As the Senate returns from recess, lawmakers are expected to consider the legislation on the Senate floor. If passed there, it will go to the House for consideration with the hope of final passage during the lame duck session, putting this landmark permitting reform proposal at the center of a jam-packed policy debate at the end of the year.

There’s no excuse for delay. Permitting reform is no longer a luxury, it’s an economic and national security imperative. Lawmakers must move swiftly to pass this legislation and signal to the world that America is committed to building the infrastructure, and securing the minerals, that our future demands.