Barrasso Calls on Senate to Fix America’s Costly, Complex, and Cumbersome Permitting Process

"America is a nation of builders. We are not a nation of waiters. It's time for America's permitting process to get out of the way."

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) today discussed the challenges facing American builders because of the costly, complex, and cumbersome permitting process.

Senator Barrasso previewed his legislation that would streamline permitting for new energy projects in Wyoming and across America.

Click HERE to watch Senator Barrasso's remarks.

Sen. Barrasso's remarks as prepared:

"It takes too long to build anything big in America. Americans want to build. Americans are ready to build. The problem is, to build today, it is costly, it is complex, and there is a cumbersome permitting process. In America, you need to get permission from the government to build just about anything.

"I represent Wyoming. Wyoming is America's energy breadbasket. We have world-class coal. Abundant supplies of oil and natural gas. And the richest uranium deposit in the world. All of these affordable, available, and reliable forms of American energy are ready to power our country. Not just now, but for generations to come.

"We have world-class energy workers in Wyoming and energy workers around the country. They are ready to do the job. The federal permitting process is standing in their way.

"The federal permitting process is fundamentally broken. Permitting has become burdened by bureaucracy and weaponized by litigation. We have a system that won't let work begin. American energy, mining, roads, bridges, and buildings -

all of them are caught in the crosshairs of a culture of no.

"Energy projects have been especially delayed by the bureaucrats and trial lawyers. These are individuals who have never built anything, yet believe they deserve veto power over those who do. Meanwhile, energy demand in America is rising dramatically. The new energy demand in America is like adding another California to the grid.

"Every permitting delay costs our economy. They mean higher utility bills. They mean paychecks are delayed or lost. They mean fewer investments in our communities. This is all unacceptable.

"We need to produce more American energy. We need to produce more in order to lower costs. The best way to spur the government to issue permits is to impose strict deadlines and stop endless litigation. Builders need a clear yes or no. Once approved, they need certainty that their permits will endure.

"A law called the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, is the biggest obstacle. NEPA essentially halts any and all development in its tracks. NEPA was enacted in 1970. It requires costly and sprawling environmental reviews.

"America was built by men and women of daring. Now, they face delays.

"Our forefathers laid steel across mountains. They poured concrete into canyons. They built towering skyscrapers that still inspire the world. They forged our nation's future with speed and purpose.

"America built the Empire State Building in just 400 days. We built the Hoover Dam in just five years. We built the 2,000-mile Transcontinental Railroad in just six years.

"Today, a single environmental review under NEPA takes four years on average. That means you can't start construction without spending at least four years in the penalty box.

"It is embarrassing that it takes as long to approve everyday projects today as it took to build the wonders of the modern world.

"Right now, $1.5 trillion in critical infrastructure is trapped on the desks of unelected, unaccountable, and heavy-handed bureaucrats. Americans pay for every year a project sits on those desks.

"To make matters worse, NEPA is also one of the most litigated of all federal environmental laws. On average, 100 lawsuits related to NEPA are filed every year. Malicious lawsuits filed by radical environmental activists lead to higher costs, more delays, and no progress. Too many prefer legal molasses to affordable oil and gas.

"Just last year, the Supreme Court voted unanimously to limit the scope of NEPA's environmental review, which have grown dramatically. Justice Kavanaugh wrote in the majority opinion that NEPA has become 'a blunt and haphazard tool employed by project opponents… to try to stop or at least slow down new infrastructure or construction projects.' The Supreme Court is right. NEPA was once called the 'environmental Magna Carta.' Today, it is a regulatory Berlin Wall.

"Since Day One, President Trump has prioritized rolling back burdensome regulations. The President has accelerated the federal permitting process. Americans are already seeing the results. America is producing a record amount of energy. We can do more, and we can do it fast. Now is the time for Congress to act.

"I will soon introduce legislation to break the bottlenecks in federal permitting. That is the number one way to boost American energy and mineral dominance. It will also lower energy costs. My legislation will encourage access to oil and gas resources on federal lands and offshore. It will also enact common sense judicial reforms to NEPA.

"The Senate has a good start on permitting reform. Senator Manchin and I introduced the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024. This was bipartisan legislation to fix the nation's broken permitting rules. It was carefully negotiated over the course of a year. It earned strong, bipartisan support. It passed the Energy and Natural Resources Committee 15 to 4.

"Today, Senator Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Senator Mike Lee of Utah are taking the lead to advance common sense permitting reform. Senator Capito chairs the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Senator Lee chairs the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. They are the key committees for permitting reform. Senator Capito and Senator Lee are doing exemplary work. It is time for all Senators to find common ground.

"Americans still know how to build. Americans build the best in the world. Americans want to build. America is a nation of builders. We are not a nation of waiters. It's time for America's permitting process to get out of the way."

###