Tell Congress to build clean energy faster
Write to your Democratic members of Congress and ask them to pass the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act before the current Congress ends.
S. 5653 Introduced in September by Senators Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Mike Lee (R-UT) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV).
Why this matters
In 2026, America is asking for more of our electrical grid than we have in a generation, and our aging energy infrastructure can’t keep up. The increasing electrification of our economy, as we’ve adopted more clean tech into our homes and daily lives, has driven record power usage, and new energy projects haven’t come online fast enough. As a result, household electricity prices have skyrocketed, while broader energy costs have risen about 5% this year alone.
America should be able to build an ample supply of clean solar and wind energy to meet this new demand. Developers across the country have proposed spending billions of dollars to bring more than 2,000 gigawatts of power generation and storage online — and roughly 85% of the projects waiting in line are for solar, wind, and battery storage projects. But they are hamstrung by endless and outdated approval processes that lead to long delays. Energy projects now take an average of half a decade from initial application until the time they come online. For every year of delay, households lose out on hundreds of millions in savings.
The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (S. 5653) is the most serious – and most viable – federal permitting reform legislation in decades, and it tackles these bottlenecks head-on.
What S. 5653 does
- Fast-tracks routine upgrades to existing infrastructure, and small solar and battery projects on brownfield sites.
- Puts federal agencies on a clock, with firm deadlines and designated lead agencies, so clean energy developers get a predictable timeline, while environmental review stays in place.
- Sets reasonable deadlines for lawsuits, so approved projects can’t be tied up in litigation for years.
- Protects already-approved solar, wind and other energy projects from being canceled for political reasons, and lets developers fight back when an administration singles out clean energy projects unfairly.
- Helps build the power lines that connect the places that generate clean energy with the communities that use it, by giving federal regulators more authority to approve major interstate transmission projects.
- Modernizes grid planning, with a more proactive federal framework for transmission.
- Makes the largest new power users pay for the grid upgrades they need, so families and small businesses aren’t footing the bill.
What’s it costing your state?
Change in home electricity prices, January to August 2026 vs. 2025. Pick a state to see its numbers.
- Flat or down
- Up under 5%
- Up 5–10%
- Up 10% or more
U.S. average: 18.2¢, up 6.8%, about $10 more a month.
Sources: EIA; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Queued Up 2026. Every state
Who’s it from?
Writing tips
Personal letters get noticed. We HIGHLY recommend changing the provided copy or writing your own letter entirely.
Keep yours short, and add a sentence or two about why this matters to you: your electric bill, a clean energy project near you, or the jobs it would bring. Check out this document with suggested talking points based on where you might live, and why you might care about BAAJA.
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Hi, my name is [your name] and I live in [your ZIP]. I just wrote asking them to support the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, S. 5653. Can I count on their support?
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