Senate advances federal permitting bill with provisions aimed at faster apartment construction

The Senate advanced the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 in a 73-25 procedural vote, setting it up for further debate, Multifamily Dive reported. The bill focuses mainly on energy and infrastructure, but it would exempt many HUD- and USDA-supported housing projects from federal historic preservation reviews and generally limit them to streamlined environmental reviews, affecting about $10 billion a year in programs such as CDBG and HOME. It would also streamline Clean Water Act reviews, which the outlet said could cut costs by up to about $425,000 per project. The National Apartment Association, the National Association of Home Builders and YIMBY Action have backed the housing provisions.