Martin Durbin
President, Global Energy Institute, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Senior Vice President, Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Published
July 31, 2024
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 with a strong 15-4 bipartisan vote. Chairman Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Ranking Member John Barrasso (R-WY) spent more than a year crafting this bill that would improve the transparency, predictability, and efficiency of our broken federal permitting process for energy and mining projects. The Chamber is proud to join a wide range of organizations in supporting their bill, as it will promote affordable and reliable energy, drive energy innovation, and strengthen America's position as a global leader in energy development of all kinds.
The Chamber launched our Permit America to Build initiative last year to address the massive delays in federal permitting that are slowing progress. On average it takes more than four years to simply get a yes or no answer on a federal permit, with some stretching much longer.
What's in the Bill?
- Meeting Energy Demand: Rapid increases in demand for energy and minerals are driven by the growing deployment of artificial intelligence, widespread electrification under the energy transition, the reshoring of manufacturing, and renewed energy demand from Europe.
- Why it Matters: Meeting this increasing demand for energy molecules, electrons, and minerals requires fewer permitting hurdles to facilitate the massive infrastructure buildout that is necessary. The lengthy and cumbersome nature of the permitting process and frequent project-level litigation creates costly delays and uncertainty that hinder innovation, investment, and deployment.
- Driving Energy Innovation: By making the permitting process more predictable with clear timelines and fewer hurdles, the legislation would drive investments in all energy sources. It would support recent investments made by Congress by offering practical solutions to help expedite infrastructure siting and energy development without compromising environmental safeguards.
What's Next?
Let’s keep the bipartisan momentum going and advance this important bill to the full Senate for consideration as part of a comprehensive approach. Permit America to Build!
Join Us
We’re calling on Congress to keep up the momentum and fix the permitting process now!
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About the authors
Martin Durbin
Martin (Marty) Durbin is president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Energy Institute (GEI). Durbin leads GEI’s efforts to build support for meaningful energy action through policy development, education, and advocacy, making it a go-to voice for commonsense energy solutions.
Chad Whiteman
Chad S. Whiteman is vice president for environment and regulatory affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Energy Institute.
