Throughout American history, there have been moments when building on an enormous scale has been a national necessity.
asserted
building → build → scale
Think of how the New Deal brought electricity to rural communities, or how two decades later, Dwight Eisenhower launched the Interstate Highway System, one of the largest public-works projects in our nation’s history.
asserted
Eisenhower → think → history
We are entering another such moment for infrastructure in this country.
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We → enter → country
After decades of relatively flat electricity demand, the United States is suddenly asking much more of its physical economy.
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States → ask → economy
We need more housing in the places where people most want to live, more power for factories and businesses, and a stronger industrial base capable of supplying our military in an increasingly dangerous world.
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people → need → world
Competition with China raises the stakes further — the race for leadership in artificial intelligence requires enormous amounts of electricity and computing capacity, as well as the infrastructure to support both.
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race → raise → both
Despite our tradition as a “Nation that Builds,” our legal and regulatory processes do a remarkable job of stopping Americans from building things.
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processes → build → things
Whether a builder is trying to deliver a power line, a neighborhood of starter homes, or a manufacturing facility, the answer is the same: wait.
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answer → try → homes
Take transmission lines, the high-voltage wires that carry electricity: federal permitting for a new line takes approximately four years.
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permitting → take → years
If the project crosses state lines, communities can expect to wait a decade or longer.
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communities → cross → decade
This 732-mile proposed transmission line spent two decades navigating roughly 50 separate federal, state, and local agencies before finally breaking ground in 2023.
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line → propose → 2023
As former members of Congress — one an Ohio Republican, the other a Pennsylvania Democrat — who both served in uniform in Iraq — we know how hard it is to get even two government agencies to coordinate with one another.
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agencies → serve → one
At least the TransWest Express is being built.
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Express → build → ?
Countless other projects are simply abandoned along the way or never even break ground at all.
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projects → abandon → ground
The problem extends far beyond transmission.
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problem → extend → transmission
An estimated $1.5 trillion in investment is currently awaiting federal permitting, and the review required for any major infrastructure takes a median of two to four years.
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review → await → years
This cannot be chalked up to the cost of doing business.
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This → chalk → business
It’s the result of overlapping jurisdictions, complex bureaucracies with sequential reviews, growing regulations, outdated technology, and lengthy litigation battles.
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It → ’ → reviews
Breaking through this red tape does not mean weakening environmental protections.
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Breaking → break → protections
In fact, it’s often lower-emission energy projects that are harmed by an onerous process.
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that → ’ → process
The goal should be a permitting system that subjects projects to serious review without stalling development altogether.
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that → subject → development
That means establishing strict timelines, eliminating duplication, stopping endless procedural litigation, and ensuring there is certainty when a final decision is made, such that the government doesn’t arbitrarily change its mind.
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government → mean → mind
The stakes extend beyond any one infrastructure project.
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stakes → extend → project
Energy costs, affordable housing, military readiness, and the infrastructure America needs to compete with China in the AI race all depend on building reliable infrastructure.
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America → need → infrastructure
Yet right now, each of these sectors faces the same permitting bottleneck.
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each → face → bottleneck
Consider what the current system is actually costing us.
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system → consider → us
According to a joint analysis by the National Association of Manufacturers and the Foundation for American Innovation, permitting delays cost manufacturers at least $7.9 billion annually.
uncertain
delays → accord → billion
Meanwhile, household electricity bills and natural gas prices continue to outpace inflation.
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bills → continue → inflation
This reality has created some strange bedfellows: solar developers, oil and gas producers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and trade unions are pushing for Congress to act.
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Congress → create → Commerce
These are groups that disagree on many issues but are united here because the impact of delay is universal.
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impact → disagree → delay
The economy cannot keep growing if we fail to build the infrastructure that growth requires.
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growth → keep → that
The House has engaged in a number of efforts to modernize certain aspects of the permitting process, including passing the SPEED Act and introducing bipartisan electricity sector and transmission reforms.
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House → engage → reforms
The Senate has a narrow window to build on this momentum and act, and there are real signs of hope, starting with bipartisan agreement on the need to cut a deal.
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Senate → have → deal
Ask a lawmaker on Capitol Hill what’s being done to lower energy costs, build more affordable housing, put the public to work, compete with China on AI, and fix defense supply chains, and you will be pointed to five different bills in five different committees.
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you → ask → committees
But all five ultimately come down to the same question: Can America build the infrastructure those goals require quickly and safely?
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goals → come → infrastructure
Energy permitting reform will affect every aspect of American life.
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reform → affect → life
Congress should use the time it has left this fall to pass this bipartisan legislation.
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it → use → legislation
Steve Stivers served as U.S. representative from Ohio, 2011-2021.
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Stivers → serve → Ohio
Patrick Murphy served as U.S. representative from Pennsylvania, 2007-11, and as undersecretary of the Army, 2016-17.
asserted
Murphy → serve → 2016
The Aporia
