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C. TODAY
Navigating the Permitting Maze:
U.S. Chamber Event Highlights Need
for Permitting Reform
By U.S. Chamber of Commerce
The U.S. Chamber hosted a gathering of for water projects. I thought it was interesting
influential voices in policy and business to that Suzanne said in her video that sometimes
elevate the critical need to reform America’s it takes longer to permit than actually to build.
outdated permitting process—an endeavor at the That’s really discouraging,” she said.
core of our Permit America to Build initiative.
This sentiment was also expressed by several
Upon arrival, attendees entered a “maze” built other speakers. Shirley Bloomfield, CEO of
adjacent to the event, where they had to navigate NTCA—The Rural Broadband Association
through several “roadblocks” highlighting the explained that it becomes all the more difficult
permitting challenges across various industries. to close the digital divide “when you build in
some remote areas, particularly in the northern
A call-to-action video from Chamber President part of the United States, [and] you might miss
and CEO Suzanne Clark and welcoming remarks a build season by the time the permit actually
from Chamber Executive Vice President and Chief comes through.”
Policy Officer Neil Bradley set an enthusiastic
and optimistic tone for getting permitting reform While this has become the unfortunate reality of
accomplished this year. the American permitting process, the goal of the
“Permit America to Build” initiative is to generate
The Current State of the Permitting Process both awareness and action for meaningful,
durable reform. “I am so excited about what
U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)— the U.S. Chamber is doing to pull together an
Ranking Member of the Senate Environment incredible coalition – an incredible both-sides-
and Public Works Committee and the author of of-the-aisle, all spectrums of thought – to really
a comprehensive permitting reform bill—built permit America to build,” said Capito.
on that enthusiasm and the need for bipartisan
compromise to achieve such reform, but not Realizing Clean Energy’s Potential Through
without first spelling out the challenges created by Permitting Reform
the current process.
Among the industries represented at the
“Now we have all these great expectations. We’ve event was clean energy. Renewable projects
got a lot of money; we’ve got a lot of need. But such as solar and wind face the same kind
we can’t build. I mean, some of the timelines that of permitting delays as roads, bridges and
we see for highway projects, for energy projects, other infrastructure. In addition, transmission
lines are essential to fully realize the potential
of clean energy, yet they are among the
infrastructure projects facing the longest delays.
American Clean Power CEO Jason Grumet
and AES Clean Energy President Leo Moreno
discussed the urgency for reform and the need
to take a broad approach.
“We are unleashing this clean energy revolution,
things are moving faster than ever before, and
not nearly fast enough…We can actually see the
future we want, we have created the federal
framework, we have the technology, we have the
workforce—what we don't have is a regulatory
system that permits success,” said Grumet.
15 AMCHAM SOUTH CHINA
Navigating the Permitting Maze:
U.S. Chamber Event Highlights Need
for Permitting Reform
By U.S. Chamber of Commerce
The U.S. Chamber hosted a gathering of for water projects. I thought it was interesting
influential voices in policy and business to that Suzanne said in her video that sometimes
elevate the critical need to reform America’s it takes longer to permit than actually to build.
outdated permitting process—an endeavor at the That’s really discouraging,” she said.
core of our Permit America to Build initiative.
This sentiment was also expressed by several
Upon arrival, attendees entered a “maze” built other speakers. Shirley Bloomfield, CEO of
adjacent to the event, where they had to navigate NTCA—The Rural Broadband Association
through several “roadblocks” highlighting the explained that it becomes all the more difficult
permitting challenges across various industries. to close the digital divide “when you build in
some remote areas, particularly in the northern
A call-to-action video from Chamber President part of the United States, [and] you might miss
and CEO Suzanne Clark and welcoming remarks a build season by the time the permit actually
from Chamber Executive Vice President and Chief comes through.”
Policy Officer Neil Bradley set an enthusiastic
and optimistic tone for getting permitting reform While this has become the unfortunate reality of
accomplished this year. the American permitting process, the goal of the
“Permit America to Build” initiative is to generate
The Current State of the Permitting Process both awareness and action for meaningful,
durable reform. “I am so excited about what
U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)— the U.S. Chamber is doing to pull together an
Ranking Member of the Senate Environment incredible coalition – an incredible both-sides-
and Public Works Committee and the author of of-the-aisle, all spectrums of thought – to really
a comprehensive permitting reform bill—built permit America to build,” said Capito.
on that enthusiasm and the need for bipartisan
compromise to achieve such reform, but not Realizing Clean Energy’s Potential Through
without first spelling out the challenges created by Permitting Reform
the current process.
Among the industries represented at the
“Now we have all these great expectations. We’ve event was clean energy. Renewable projects
got a lot of money; we’ve got a lot of need. But such as solar and wind face the same kind
we can’t build. I mean, some of the timelines that of permitting delays as roads, bridges and
we see for highway projects, for energy projects, other infrastructure. In addition, transmission
lines are essential to fully realize the potential
of clean energy, yet they are among the
infrastructure projects facing the longest delays.
American Clean Power CEO Jason Grumet
and AES Clean Energy President Leo Moreno
discussed the urgency for reform and the need
to take a broad approach.
“We are unleashing this clean energy revolution,
things are moving faster than ever before, and
not nearly fast enough…We can actually see the
future we want, we have created the federal
framework, we have the technology, we have the
workforce—what we don't have is a regulatory
system that permits success,” said Grumet.
15 AMCHAM SOUTH CHINA
