U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR) and James Lankford (R-OK) introduced two pieces of legislation this week aimed at rolling back burdensome regulations and cutting red tape caused by the National Environmental Policy Act.
Cruz, a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, said the bills would streamline infrastructure projects.
The first bill, the Federal Permitting Modernization Act of 2020, would establish deadlines for federal agencies to act under the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. The second bill would shorten the timetable to file a petition for judicial review of a permit, license, or approval of an infrastructure project from 150 days, to 90 days.
“For far too long, complying with NEPA has hindered key infrastructure projects, and in some cases, has left projects effectively halted in court. These much-needed reforms will streamline the approval process and roll back burdensome delays – all of which are needed to get the boot of big government off the backs of businesses and help get men and women all across the country back to work,” Cruz said.
The bills were designed to give proponents of infrastructure projects more control over the timetable to completion and to prevent litigants from being able to hold the project up unnecessarily, the senators said.
“Keeping our infrastructure up-to-date is important for the economy and for keeping America competitive in the global market. Too often, burdensome litigation causes our hardworking men and women to sit idle on job sites as they wait on court processes. The reforms we’re incorporating in NEPA will expedite the often lengthy and onerous process so that Arkansans can quickly get back to work,” Cotton said.
The bills would still protect the economy while streamlining the infrastructure construction timelines, Lankford said.
“The federal permitting process has become overly complicated leading to unnecessary delays for important infrastructure projects in Oklahoma. These two bills reform the National Environmental Policy Act to protect the environment and provide permitting certainty for projects across the nation, which are critical to the smooth functioning of our economy. There is no better time than now to pursue real reforms that would cut red tape and speed up construction,” Lankford said.