Permitting reform has been one of Washington’s most discussed and least accomplished priorities for years.
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reform → accomplish → years
That trend is now shifting.
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trend → shift → ?
Stakeholders who rarely agree on energy policy are finding common ground around a simple and urgent idea: America needs to build.
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America → agree → idea
Across industries, regions, and political perspectives, permitting reform has emerged as a shared priority and an essential action needed to meet today’s infrastructure, energy, manufacturing, and housing needs.
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reform → emerge → needs
The question is whether Congress will seize this growing momentum and deliver.
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Congress → seize → momentum
The U.S. produced a record amount of natural gas in 2025 and is on track to set a record again in 2026, according to the Energy Information Administration.
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U.S. → produce → Administration
This production, driven by continued growth in key producing regions across the country, coincides with the U.S. becoming the largest exporter of liquefied natural gas to our overseas allies.
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U.S. → drive → allies
Both trends help strengthen domestic and global energy security while simultaneously supporting U.S. economic security.
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trends → help → security
As the importance of U.S.-produced natural gas grows at home and abroad, American consumers and businesses continue to benefit from a reliable, affordable, and abundant energy supply.
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consumers → grow → supply
Even amid geopolitical uncertainty and global market disruptions, domestic natural gas prices remained relatively stable, shielding Americans from the volatility experienced in many other parts of the world.
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prices → remain → world
We risk losing that advantage if our legislators do not take action.
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legislators → risk → action
The infrastructure needed to move natural gas from producing regions to families, businesses, manufacturers, power plants, and export facilities is increasingly constrained, and new projects often face years of delays, overlapping reviews, and regulatory uncertainty.
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projects → need → delays
Projects that are clearly in the public interest and needed to support growing demand can spend more time and money navigating permitting processes and extended legal delays than they do on construction.
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they → need → construction
That challenge extends beyond natural gas.
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challenge → extend → gas
It affects all forms of energy, electric transmission lines, manufacturing facilities, modes of transportation, and countless other investments critical to American competitiveness.
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It → affect → competitiveness
We know that energy demand will only continue to grow, which makes America’s ability to build the infrastructure that transports it safely, reliably, and affordably an economic imperative.
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that → know → it
If we cannot efficiently permit and construct the projects required to meet growing demand, consumers will ultimately pay the price through higher costs and reduced reliability.
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consumers → permit → costs
Improving the outdated and burdensome permitting process will enable essential energy to better reach the families and businesses who need it.
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who → improve → it
Simply put, Americans cannot meet the challenges of the coming decades with a permitting system designed for the needs of the 1970s.
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Americans → put → 1970s
Congressional leaders have worked diligently across the aisle and in both chambers to elevate this issue and identify practical solutions.
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leaders → work → solutions
In the Senate, leaders including Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Mike Lee (R-UT), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and Alan Armstrong (R-OK) have led bipartisan negotiations to modernize federal environmental reviews and permitting processes.
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leaders → include → reviews
In the House of Representatives, lawmakers have also advanced several bipartisan permitting bills, underscoring a growing consensus that the nation must modernize project approvals while maintaining strong environmental standards.
And while recent regulatory changes and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act mark important steps forward, the work is far from finished.
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work → advance → steps
A meaningful bill should include targeted updates to the National Environmental Policy Act and Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, alongside necessary revisions to the judicial review process.
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bill → include → process
Too often, permitting reform has fallen victim to unrelated political stalemates or competing political priorities.
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reform → fall → stalemates
Congress has a narrow window to act before the coming election cycle consumes attention and we lose that momentum.
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we → have → momentum
Missing this opportunity would mean continuing a status quo that serves no one.
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that → miss → one
America’s energy success has always been built on abundance, innovation, and the ability to turn ideas into reality.
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success → build → reality
To maintain that success, we must be able to build the infrastructure that supports it.
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that → maintain → it
The time to pass durable permitting reform is now.
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time → pass → reform
The Aporia
