The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, along with 350 business organizations, has called on Congress to modernize the United States’ permitting processes to make way for building the infrastructure of the future.
In a letter addressed to congressional leaders, the group expressed its frustration with the outdated, inefficient, and unpredictable permitting process that has hindered the development of public and private sector infrastructure projects.
Federal permitting, on average, takes between 4 1/2 and 7 1/2 years, according to the group’s estimates.
“Today, the single biggest obstacle to building the infrastructure of the future is a broken permitting system,” the letter stated. “We are calling on Congress to ‘Permit America to Build’ by enacting meaningful, durable legislation to modernize America’s permitting processes before the end of the summer.”
The group emphasized the importance of investing in highways, bridges, transit systems, ports, and new energy production, transmission, and distribution projects in order to move people and goods more quickly and efficiently.
“Our permitting system is fundamentally broken, and it is delaying the investments that we desperately need in energy, transportation, broadband, technology, and countless other sectors,” said Neil Bradley, chief policy officer at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “It should never take longer to get a permit than it does to build a project.”
With representation across the country, signees pointed out that vital infrastructure can’t be established if the permitting process remains inefficient and unpredictable.
“We have discovered that outdated federal permitting processes are preventing these projects from getting started,“ said Mary Beth Sewald, president and CEO of the Vegas Chamber of Commerce. ”This harms economic growth, job creation, and public safety.”
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has been a strong proponent of permitting reform.
A key swing vote in the evenly divided Senate, Manchin threw his weight behind the Inflation Reduction Act last year. In return, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) promised to bring legislation to streamline the permitting process for new energy projects to the floor.
Environmental groups expressed their opposition, arguing that it could rapidly increase fossil fuel development.
In September 2022, Manchin faced bipartisan pushback and withdrew the reform measures that he had initially attached to a must-pass government funding bill. This decision left the permitting reform bill in limbo.
Congressional leaders have yet to respond to the letter, but the group remains optimistic that meaningful and durable legislation will be enacted before the end of the summer.
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