News

The U.S. Chamber held a Permitting Day of Action on January 7, uniting business leaders and lawmakers to advocate for permitting reform. This event, part of the U.S. Chamber’s Permit America to Build initiative, emphasized the need to modernize outdated permitting processes that delay projects, increase costs, and hinder economic growth. Following an event in the Cannon House Office Building, members of the Permit America to Build Coalition fanned out across Capitol Hill to advocate for swift action on permitting reform. 

Why it matters: Permitting delays often stall critical infrastructure projects for years. Reforming permitting processes is essential to building the projects communities need, improving Americans’ quality of life, and ensuring the U.S. remains competitive.

State of play: Momentum for reform follows the U.S. House of Representatives’ recent passage of several permitting bills, including the SPEED Act and the PERMIT Act. The focus now shifts to the Senate to craft a bipartisan solution.

What they said:

• Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, highlighted the potential of reform, stating it could make America “the manufacturing, the infrastructure, the space, the telecommunications, the housing, champion of the world.”

• Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) called permitting reform “the most important work I think I've ever done,” underscoring that modernizing the process would ensure “we can build things more quickly with a greater amount of certainty.”
• Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN) pointed to the tangible benefits of reform, stating, “All these delays are costing the taxpayer money.”
• Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR), Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee and the leading force behind the SPEED Act, added, “If we're going to keep building things in our country, then we must reform our broken permitting process.”

Our take: Neil Bradley, U.S. Chamber Executive Vice President, urged swift action: “We want to see real progress over the next several weeks. We want to see legislation moving. We want to see something sent to the President's desk.”