Mike Lee

Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026

This bill modifies federal permitting processes, including environmental reviews, to expedite a wide range of projects.

The bill limits the scope of the National Environmental Policy Act and expedites environmental reviews, including by

• further limiting the types of federal actions that trigger environmental review,

• narrowing the range of alternatives that must be considered in environmental reviews, and

• exempting additional types of projects from environmental review.

It also establishes deadlines for issuing permits once an environmental review is complete.

The bill also limits permit obligations under the Clean Water Act, including by

• narrowing the scope of review for water quality certifications,

• extending the term for permits issued under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, and

• limiting the time period for review of permits for discharges of dredged or fill materials.

It also modifies requirements concerning threatened or endangered species to expedite the review of federal permits, including by shortening the timeline for certain consultations.

Additionally, the bill addresses numerous aspects of energy infrastructure permitting, including by

• expanding the authority of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to issue construction permits for certain interstate electricity transmission projects;

• directing FERC to establish ratepayer protections related to certain large computational loads (e.g. data centers);

• removing permit requirements for onshore oil and gas drilling on nonfederal land; and

• accelerating renewable energy, geothermal, hydropower, or offshore energy projects.

It also limits the scope of the National Historic Preservation Act, including by limiting what types of projects trigger review.

Connected Vehicle Security Act of 2026

This bill prohibits the importation, manufacture, sale, resale, or introduction into U.S. interstate commerce of connected vehicles and related software and hardware components associated with China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea.

Connected vehicle means a vehicle that (1) integrates onboard networked hardware with automotive software systems to communicate with any other network or device using certain methods (e.g., wireless spectrum connectivity); or (2) is designed, manufactured, or originally equipped to communicate via such methods, regardless of whether such capability is enabled, disabled, or removed at the time the vehicle enters the United States.

Current regulations administered by the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) prohibit transactions involving vehicle connectivity system hardware and covered software designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied by persons owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of China or Russia.

The bill expands the BIS regulatory framework, including by (1) expanding the countries covered by the prohibition to include China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea (Current BIS regulations apply only to China and Russia.); and (2) specifying that certain artificial intelligence components are covered by the prohibition.

By January 1, 2027, BIS must publish a list of items that are authorized for the importation, manufacture, sale, resale, or introduction into U.S. interstate commerce and would otherwise be subject to the bill's prohibition.

The bill also includes enforcement mechanisms, including that BIS must assess civil penalties for violations of the prohibition.

Audit the Pentagon Act

This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to reduce spending for any department, agency, or other DOD element that DOD determines has not achieved an unqualified opinion on its full financial statements for the calendar year ending during that fiscal year. (An unqualified opinion or clean audit means an auditor has determined the financial statements are presented fairly and provide a true view of an entity’s financial position.)

Specifically, the amount available to such department, agency, or element for the fiscal year when the determination is made must be reduced by 2%. Amounts unavailable to such department, agency, or element must be applied on a pro rata basis against each program, project, and activity.

DOD must deposit such unavailable amounts in the general fund of the Department of the Treasury for purposes of deficit reduction.