U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, speaks on the Senate floor about the future of permitting reform, Jan. 7, 2026. Courtesy photo

U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last week, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, delivered remarks on the Senate floor on how the Trump administration’s actions to cancel and stall energy projects are killing jobs, skyrocketing electric bills, and threatening permitting reform.

The speech comes as Donald Trump has suspended every permit for offshore wind projects and stalled the permits of more than 500 clean energy projects – exacerbating our nation’s energy affordability crisis.

“Any permitting deal is going to have to guarantee that no Administration of either party can weaponize the permitting process for cheap political points. By raising electricity prices and killing American jobs, this Administration has made it crystal clear that they are not interested in permitting reform, or bringing down the price of energy,” said Ranking Member Heinrich. “The bottom line is this: The Trump Administration needs to follow the law, they need to reverse their illegal stop work orders, and they need to start approving legally compliant energy projects. Full stop.”

A video of Heinrich’s floor speech can be found here.