EPW Hearing on Permitting Reform
On February 20th, 2025, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing entitled, “Improving the Federal Environmental Review and Permitting Processes” lasting approximately two hours. Republican and Democratic members as well as the witnesses were largely supportive of passing bipartisan permitting legislation.
Witnesses:
Leah Pilconis- General Counsel, the Associated General Contractors of America
Carl Harris- Chairman of the Board, National Association of Home Builders
Jeremy Harrell- CEO, ClearPath
Nicole Pavia- Director, Clean Air Task Force
Brent Booker- General President, Laborers’ International Union of North America
Summary: The Members and witnesses addressed inefficiencies of the current permitting system which contribute to rising prices and regulatory uncertainty, agreeing on the need for urgent reforms. Concerns centered on delays in interconnection to the grid and overlapping jurisdictions that create confusion and slow approvals. There was overall support for balancing regulatory inefficiencies with environmental safeguards.
Republican Position: Republicans criticized agency overreach under rulings such as the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) and the Clean Water Act, arguing that excessive regulations and litigations drive up costs and delay projects. The senators advocated for reducing regulatory burden by limiting permitting requirements, such as environmental impact statements and environmental assessments, with Sen. Lummis (R-WY) referencing the proposed Full Responsibility and Expedited Enforcement (FREE) Act, which would expand permit by rule for lower emission sources.
Members also highlighted the opportunity to reclaim congressional authority over the permitting system, especially in light of recent Chevron and Sacket rulings.
Sen. Cramer (R-ND) stated “all of these are such clear messages that the bureaucracy does not have the power they think they have.”
Democrat Position: Democrats expressed concern over recent actions of President Trump’s administration and the need for proper agency staffing to improve efficiency. Many Democrat members acknowledged the importance of permitting reform to advance green energy projects and emerging technologies while emphasizing the need to maintain environmental protections.
Ranking Member Whitehouse (D-RI): “Democrats cannot agree to any permitting reform unless and until the Trump administration ends it lawless disregard for congressional authority and judicial order.”
Sen. Padilla (D-CA) discussed the need for proper staffing at federal agencies to increase efficiency and voiced concern over Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts.
Sen. Kelly (D-AZ): “The projects there that we are attacking are for clean energy industries and things like microchip and battery manufacturing.”
Crypto Mining Permitting
The current permitting system harms cryptocurrency mining by delaying upgrades to transmission infrastructure and hindering the production of colocation power plants. Additionally, foreign investments into the U.S. chip industry are deterred due to high costs and long approval times.
Sen. Husted (R-OH): “the regulatory regime we built to protect the environment and other important factors has become so large and unwieldy that it is in conflict with other priorities like the idea of made in America [which is] about creating more jobs in this country, about building a resilient supply chain in this country for our economic and national security and everything from energy to computer chips to pharmaceuticals.”
Sen. Kelly discussed the country’s permitting system deterring foreign companies to invest in the US citing past delays in Taiwanese chip manufacturing investments into the U.S., which set the country further behind in the industry.
Sen. Kelly: “These businesses were prepared to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the U.S. and create thousands of great paying jobs, but our permitting process led them to delay or scale back the planned investments.”
The hearing record will remain open until March 21st and comments can be sent to permitting@epw.senate.gov to allow stakeholders to share suggestions on how to improve the permitting system.