In the past two years, Congress has enacted the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act, which could spur combined public and private infrastructure investments of nearly $2 trillion. However, these investments are of little use if we can’t get the projects approved and built due to America's outdated and unpredictable permitting process.
Fortunately, the recent debt ceiling agreement included the first significant reforms to America’s permitting process in more than 50 years.
Key permitting reform provisions in the debt ceiling agreement include:
- Updates the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Permitting Process
- Expedites Permit Approvals for the Mountain Valley Pipeline Project
While the significance of this accomplishment shouldn’t be overlooked, there’s much more work to be done to achieve the meaningful permitting reform that our country and communities need. Our Permit America to Build initiative continues to urge Congress to build on this momentum and enact comprehensive permitting reform by the end of the year.
