The current federal permitting process hamstrings every corner of American life. Everything from gravel road repairs to simple agricultural maintenance and large-scale industrial projects are smothered under the weight of this cumbersome process. Once a powerhouse for innovation, expansion, and production, the United States is now severely lacking in the resources needed to push necessary production across the finish line – being cut off at the knees by senseless, bureaucratic red tape. Projects that at one time took only a year or two from implementation to completion now take decades, with some still waiting to be finished.
This week, the president signed a Presidential Memoranda aimed at updating the technology used to speed up the permitting process — a process in which a series of steps are included in order to receive authorization for constructing or developing everything from infrastructure projects to economic and environmental development. When it takes years upon years to review environmental impacts, ensure compliance with zoning regulations, identify potential issues, and more, our investments wither and our nation falls behind as we wait for infrastructure that can compete with our global adversaries and meet the growing demands of a 21st-century society.
Under this Presidential Action, the president is urging executive departments and agencies to maximize their use of modern technology in their permitting processes for all infrastructure projects like highways, bridges, factories, and other projects that are required to meet the growing demands of a modern-day society — a step that will properly leverage technology to evaluate environmental permits which cause inordinate delays to delivering important infrastructure.
There is still a long road ahead, however there is no doubt that House Republicans will continue working with the administration on this initiative in the 119th Congress. As a longtime advocate and supporter of permitting reform, it is immensely exciting to know that steps are being made to reform this broken, antiquated process that shackles the great potential of our nation’s economic growth.
