Letter to House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Promoting Efficient Review for Modern Infrastructure for Today Act

Dear Chairman Graves and Ranking Member Larsen: 

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce urges the Committee to favorably report the package of permitting reform legislation, the Promoting Efficient Review for Modern Infrastructure for Today Act’’ or the ‘‘PERMIT Act’’ when you mark up the proposals later this week.

Streamlining and modernizing our federal permitting systems is intrinsically linked to fostering economic growth.  A more transparent and efficient permitting process will facilitate the timely construction of quality infrastructure, which in turn will help create jobs and grow the economy.  As the need for energy grows to meet the projected demands of artificial intelligence and data centers, increased domestic manufacturing and electrification efforts, building the smart, modern, resilient infrastructure required to meet that demand will depend on a commonsense permitting approach.  Improving the permitting process aligns with the Chamber's Growth and Opportunity Imperative, which calls for policies that drive at least three percent annual economic growth, creating opportunities for American workers and businesses to thrive.

The PERMIT Act is a step in the right direction and addresses long-standing challenges in the permitting process by enhancing transparency, reducing regulatory uncertainty, and ensuring timely decision-making.  The business community strongly supports provisions such as extending NPDES permit terms, clarifying and expediting judicial review timelines, and improving coordination between federal and state agencies, which will significantly reduce delays and costs associated with advancing infrastructure projects. The proposal provides a pathway for promoting rapid deployment of commercially available and cost-effective technologies for companies to deliver improved water quality for communities across our nation.

The bill also provides key improvements to the Nationwide Permitting process for linear infrastructure, including oil, gas, and hydrogen pipelines, electricity transmission, broadband, and water, which has a strong track record in facilitating rapid approval of infrastructure projects with lower environmental impact to accelerate meeting our ambitious infrastructure goals.

We commend Subcommittee Chairman Mike Collins (R-GA) for his leadership on this important legislation and urge its swift passage.  Thank you for your attention to this matter and for your continued commitment to advancing our nation’s infrastructure needs in a balanced and responsible manner.

Sincerely,

Marty Durbin  

Senior Vice President, Policy  

President, Global Energy Institute                  

U.S. Chamber of Commerce