Senators clinch construction permitting deal before election jet-set

Senators on Wednesday clinched a long-awaited construction permitting deal just before the chamber is set to leave Washington until after November's midterm election , setting up a race to deliver a top business priority in the coming lame-duck congressional session. Lawmakers have long prioritized streamlining the nation's complex web of federal permitting laws to speed the buildout of energy projects and other critical infrastructure. Permits are lengthy processes that often take years to complete — a problem as the U.S. seeks to build out more power capacity to feed electricity-hungry data centers . The bipartisan deal, struck by Sens. Shelley Moore Capito , R-W.V., Sheldon Whitehouse , D-R.I, Mike Lee , R- Utah and Martin Heinrich , D-N.M.