WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ahead of tomorrow’s Senate vote on a motion to proceed on the Continuing Resolution containing permitting reform, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President and Chief Policy Officer Neil Bradley issued the following statement:
"The federal permitting process is stifling new infrastructure, from pipelines and critical mineral mining to renewable generation. That’s why permitting reform has been such a high priority for the business community. Despite many efforts over five decades, only one impactful change has been made to NEPA by Congress, and it wasn’t nearly enough.
"Now, there is an opportunity to make more progress, and Congress should take it. Senator Capito has laid out a blueprint for thorough, impactful permitting reforms that we will continue to work toward. In the meantime, Chairman Manchin has crafted thoughtful legislation that makes material improvements to the permitting process and can pass Congress right now. It isn’t perfect. In fact, we have concerns with provisions related to transmission siting and encourage lawmakers to revise this section.
"We thank Senators Manchin and Capito for their leadership and urge the Senate to include permitting reform as part of the Continuing Resolution as these improvements will strengthen our energy security and lower costs for consumers and businesses."
