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Register entry No. 0001Floor orderH.R. 2347 · S. 5653

Senate order sets Nov. 9 cloture vote on motion to proceed to H.R. 2347, the vehicle for a permitting package

A unanimous-consent order entered Sept. 30 brings the Senate back at 3 p.m. Monday to a 5:30 p.m. cloture vote on H.R. 2347, a House-passed tax bill described as the vehicle for the 417-page Lee-Capito-Heinrich-Whitehouse permitting bill, S. 5653.

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Summary

The Senate is scheduled to convene at 3 p.m. on Monday, November 9, 2026, resume consideration of the motion to proceed to H.R. 2347, and reach a cloture vote on that motion at 5:30 p.m., under a unanimous-consent order Majority Leader John Thune obtained on September 30, 2026 [1, 2]. The order is the first item listed under unanimous-consent agreements in the Senate’s Calendar of Business for November 5 [3]. H.R. 2347 is a House-passed tax bill, Calendar No. 453, that a lame-duck preview by Harbinger Strategies described as “the legislative vehicle for permitting reform” [4, 7]. The permitting text it is expected to carry is the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026, introduced the same day as S. 5653, a 417-page bill [8], by Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, Mike Lee, Sheldon Whitehouse and Martin Heinrich [1, 5].

What the record shows

The vehicle. H.R. 2347, the Survivor Justice Tax Prevention Act, would amend section 104(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income damages, other than punitive damages, received on account of a sexual act or sexual contact [4]. The House passed it on April 27, 2026. The Senate received it April 28, read it the first time July 13, and on July 14 read it a second time and placed it on the calendar [4]. Nothing in its text concerns energy or permitting [4].

The motion and the cloture filing. On September 30, Thune withdrew a pending motion to proceed to Calendar No. 648, H.R. 9340, then moved to proceed to Calendar No. 453, H.R. 2347, and sent a cloture motion to the desk [1]. The motion, filed under rule XXII, seeks to “bring to a close debate on the motion to proceed” to the bill [1]. It carries 17 signatures, including Thune, John Barrasso, Shelley Moore Capito and John Cornyn [1].

The order. By unanimous consent, the Senate agreed to hold pro forma sessions through Thursday, November 5, and then stand adjourned until 3 p.m. on November 9. At that point morning business is closed, the Senate resumes the motion to proceed to H.R. 2347, and “notwithstanding rule XXII, at 5:30 p.m., the cloture motion filed during today’s session of the Senate ripen” [1, 2]. The November 5 calendar restates the order and dates it September 30, 2026 [3].

The permitting text. S. 5653 was introduced September 30 and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources [1, 5]. Its table of contents has two divisions. Division A, from Environment and Public Works, covers NEPA, the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act and “project certainty.” Division B, from Energy and Natural Resources, covers electric transmission, onshore, geothermal, hydropower and offshore permitting, and historic preservation [5]. Four provisions bear directly on project finance and utility regulation:

  • NEPA judicial review (sec. 1110). A new NEPA section 111 would bar a claim unless it is filed within 150 days of the authorization’s publication in the Federal Register (where an EIS was prepared) or of its being made public. The claim would also have to come from a party that filed a sufficiently detailed substantive comment. Original and exclusive jurisdiction would sit in the court of appeals for the circuit where the project is located. The only remedy for a NEPA violation would be remand “without vacatur or issuance of an injunction,” on a schedule not exceeding 180 days, and the authorization would remain in effect during remand [5].
  • Permit certainty (sec. 1401). Agencies could not revoke, rescind, suspend or alter a federal authorization in effect on or after September 16, 2026, for a project with a non-federal sponsor, except under listed conditions. These include a court order, material breach, fraud, a specific and urgent harm based on new information, or a request from the holder [5].
  • Transmission siting (sec. 2101). The bill amends Federal Power Act section 216 so that FERC “shall,” after a comment period of at least 45 days, issue permits for facilities “necessary in the national interest” meeting listed findings. Those findings include a voltage of not less than 230 kilovolts and benefits to consumers and reliability. Applications for lines of 345 kilovolts or more would be filed with FERC simultaneously with, or after, the state application. A new paragraph titled “Preservation of state siting authority” limits FERC’s permitting authority to the circumstances in section 216(b)(1) [5].
  • Data center transmission costs (sec. 2107). Within 270 days of enactment, FERC would have to revise its 1994 transmission pricing policy statement (59 Fed. Reg. 55031). The revision would require utilities to charge customers seeking service for “computational load” sites the embedded and incremental cost of transmission. A rulemaking notice would follow within 270 days of the revised statement’s publication [5].

Where it sits in the process

The November 9 vote is on cloture on the motion to proceed, not on the bill [1, 3]. Harbinger Strategies, in its October 16 preview, said sponsors oppose substantive changes. It said technical changes are expected “through a Substitute Amendment,” and that leadership will seek passage “before leaving for Thanksgiving,” though “consideration could take up to two weeks” [7]. The same preview said that “If the Senate has 60 votes for passage, the bill’s future will lie with the House” [7]. Apollo Counsel reported that a manager’s amendment is planned before the floor vote [8]. SDPB reported that the motion to bring the bill to the floor is the first step after the election and that bipartisan support is needed [9]. The Republican majority runs until January 3, 2027 [9].

What the record does not show

The September 30 Record and the November 5 calendar identify H.R. 2347 only by its tax title. Neither states that the bill will carry S. 5653 or any permitting language [1, 3]. No substitute amendment text appears in the materials reviewed, so the operative provisions that would reach the floor are not yet public in final form [7, 8]. S. 5653 itself was referred to committee and has no committee report in the record reviewed [1, 5]. The terms of a “sidecar” agreement that Apollo Counsel reported Democrats were negotiating with the White House over wind and solar permitting are not described in any public document located [8]. The House path is also unsettled. Harbinger reported that House Energy and Commerce Chairman Brett Guthrie “has not endorsed the Senate agreement” and wants provisions from his POWER Act draft added [7].

Positions on the record

On introduction, Heinrich said, “It should not take decades to build the infrastructure our country needs,” and Whitehouse said, “Like all major pieces of bipartisan legislation, this bill is a compromise” [6]. The release said the bill keeps permits in place absent extraordinary circumstances, violations of law or a court order, and requires data centers to pay all associated transmission costs [6]. Speaking on the floor September 30, Lee described the effort as “comprehensively reforming America’s permitting system” [1].

Thune told SDPB, “We need permitting reform,” and said jurisdictional questions affecting states must be resolved: “I think if we can figure out how to thread that needle, I think we can get the bill across the finish line” [9]. South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Chairman Chris Nelson objected to giving Washington the final say on transmission permits. “We think it’s wrong to take that decision making away from a state agency and send it to Washington D.C.,” he said [9]. House Natural Resources ranking member Jared Huffman objected to the Endangered Species Act changes, according to Apollo Counsel [8]. Semafor reported on November 4 that Senate Democrats “will have to decide next week whether they’re ready to advance a bipartisan permitting reform bill” [10].

Note on sourcing

The Congressional Record and the Senate calendar identify the Nov. 9 cloture motion only by H.R. 2347's existing tax title; neither says on its face that the bill will carry permitting text. That link rests on a lame-duck preview by Harbinger Strategies and on the sponsors' and leadership's stated plans as reported by Apollo Counsel and SDPB. No substitute amendment text was located in the materials reviewed, so the provisions described here are from S. 5653 as introduced and may change. congress.gov, senate.gov cloture and floor pages, the Senate press gallery floor log and the Akin Gump alert returned HTTP 403 and could not be read; bill text and Record pages were read via govinfo instead. A Nov. 4 Heinrich-Whitehouse statement reported secondhand by one trade site could not be located on a Senate website and is not used. Results of the Nov. 3 elections were not verified and are not characterized.

Sources

  1. Congressional Record, Senate (September 30, 2026): Survivor Justice Tax Prevention Act, motion to proceed and cloture motion; unanimous-consent agreement; introduction of S. 5653U.S. Government Publishing Office (govinfo), September 30, 2026 · govinfo.gov
  2. Daily Digest, Congressional Record (September 30, 2026)U.S. Government Publishing Office (govinfo), September 30, 2026 · govinfo.gov
  3. Senate Calendar of Business, Thursday, November 5, 2026: Unanimous Consent AgreementsU.S. Government Publishing Office (govinfo), November 5, 2026 · govinfo.gov
  4. H.R. 2347, Survivor Justice Tax Prevention Act (Placed on Calendar Senate)U.S. Government Publishing Office (govinfo), July 14, 2026 · govinfo.gov
  5. S. 5653, Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 (Introduced in Senate)U.S. Government Publishing Office (govinfo), September 30, 2026 · govinfo.gov
  6. Heinrich, Lee, Capito, and Whitehouse Introduce Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (minority), September 30, 2026 · energy.senate.gov
  7. Lame Duck PreviewHarbinger Strategies, October 16, 2026 · harbingerdc.com
  8. Permitting Reform's Path ForwardApollo Counsel, October 1, 2026 (updated October 2, 2026) · apollocounsel.com
  9. Congressional permitting reform bill faces jurisdictional concerns, potential midterm election hoops, Thune saysSouth Dakota Public Broadcasting, October 25, 2026 · sdpb.org
  10. Congress faces long lame-duck to-do listSemafor, November 4, 2026 · semafor.com

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