New Mexico US Sen. Heinrich urges Senate passage of permitting reform bill amid ongoing opposition

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) on Monday urged his Senate colleagues to pass his bipartisan permitting reform bill, even as tribal coalitions, environmental advocates and members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation dismissed new amendments to the bill as insufficient. 

Over the last month, Heinrich has presented the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, of which he is a lead sponsor, as a way to hasten the approval of renewable energy developments, bring down utility costs and hold data centers accountable for their electricity needs. 

But the bill has drawn widespread criticism, particularly from environmentalist and tribal organizations, who say its provisions will also enable new fossil fuel projects and cut tribes out of the regulatory process. They are urging the bill’s sponsors to wait until January — when a new Congress convenes with Democratic majorities in both chambers — to consider the legislation

Faced with mounting criticism, Heinrich and other cosponsors on Saturday introduced more than 70 pages’ worth of amendments to the sweeping permitting reform bill, including those that aim to restore tribal input on federal decisions regarding whether energy developments harm traditional or cultural sites. 

But tribal groups, including the All Pueblo Council of Governors in New Mexico, said the amendments fall short and the bill could still fast-track projects New Mexico Pueblos adamantly oppose, including a uranium mine seeking federal permits near Mount Taylor, an area deemed sacred to many Indigenous peoples.

“We are profoundly disappointed and frustrated,” Council Chairman Joey Sanchez said in a statement Sunday about the amendments. “Despite the concerns we relayed, both the Tribes and the Public are still not part of the process.”

Heinrich, in a news conference Monday morning in Washington, D.C. alongside fellow sponsor U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), said the amended bill “means that mandatory tribal consultation is now built into every single step” of the federal government’s historic preservation reviews.

Heinrich also said the nation can’t wait any longer for the bill’s many provisions to go into effect, including those that could save ratepayers money on their utility bills. He said voters who cast ballots in the Nov. 3 midterm elections largely did so out of concerns over rising prices.

“That message that the people sent was pretty clear,” Heinrich said of the midterm election results. “They want Congress focused on making their lives more affordable, and that’s precisely what this permitting reform bill will do.”

President Donald Trump over the weekend also signaled his support for the bill, saying in a social media post that it will “ensure that we can build Pipelines, Mines and power Plants faster than ever before, lowering Energy Costs for American Families.” 

The U.S. Senate is scheduled to take its first procedural vote later Monday, a vote that opens the door to floor amendments and a final vote, before it would, if passed, head to the U.S. House of Representatives.

In the House, U.S. Reps. Teresa Leger Fernández and Melanie Stansbury, both  New Mexico Democrats, held a news conference with environmental advocates and tribal representatives last week to express opposition to the bill. Stansbury, in a statement to social media Sunday, urged the bill’s sponsors to reconsider taking the bill to a vote before January. 

“This is a bill that has had no public process, no hearings, and which Trump bragged himself last night he’d use to push through pipelines and data centers,” she said. “Especially in light of last week’s historic election, we’re asking the Senate to take a beat.”

Where the remaining members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation stand on the measure remained unclear Monday. 

Adán Serna, spokesperson for U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján told Source NM in an emailed statement Friday that the senator was awaiting updated bill text to review before he took a final vote. Serna did not immediately respond to Source NM’s request for comment Monday.

Jake Morel, a spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.), told Source NM on Friday in a text message that Vasquez declined to comment on where he stands on the permitting reform bill.