A collection of U.S. representatives united this week to introduce the Federal Permitting Reform and Jobs Act, intending to improve critical infrastructure development through a revamp of the permitting process.
“Necessary infrastructure improvements have been suffocated by environmental litigation and a convoluted permitting process for far too long,” Ranking Member Rob Bishop (R-UT) said. “In 2015, we passed a five-year authorization known as the FAST Act, which significantly reformed the federal infrastructure permitting process while leaving environmental protections in place. It was a no-brainer solution that garnered bipartisan support, and one that has proven to be successful in helping more than 40 infrastructure projects through the permitting process. Today, the Federal Permitting Reform and Jobs Act looks to make the success of this program permanent and applicable to even more projects in need of completion.“
Bishop is joined in this by U.S. Reps. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) and Collin Peterson (D-MN). The legislation would permanently enshrine the reduction of the statute of limitations for National Environmental Policy Act challenges to infrastructure projects. That reduction, covered under Title 41 of the FAST Act, is nearing its sunset. This new bill would also expand what that reduction applies to, improve, and expand the powers of the associated permitting council’s operations and establish a two-year goal for the permitting of covered projects.
“Anyone who has dealt with the federal government knows the frustration that the slow bureaucratic process can bring,” Armstrong said. “Government delays to infrastructure projects have a tangible cost to job growth. Every delay in a project due to the federal government is a delay to infrastructure investment and job creation. The Federal Permitting Reform and Jobs Act allows more projects to qualify and streamlines the permitting process. Simply put, more projects will be able to be completed in a shorter period of time. This is a win for jobs. This is a win for infrastructure improvements.”
The bill is companion legislation to one introduced in the Senate by U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH).