Leading Legislation to Cut Red Tape & Increase Permitting Efficiency
Permitting delays are stifling important infrastructure projects across the country. As Chairman of the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee, I led members of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in introducing multiple bills to cut red tape, streamline reviews, and provide a predictable permitting process to help improve U.S. energy production and the timeliness of infrastructure projects.
My bill, the Nationwide Permitting Improvement Act, makes commonsense permitting reforms to keep projects on time and goods moving. A predictable permitting process is imperative for building the infrastructure necessary to responsibly utilize our natural resources, unleashing American energy production so that we are an even more dominant player world-wide, and improving our transportation network. Click here to read more about my bill as well as other measures I have co-sponsored to make commonsense reforms to the permitting process.
Examining the State of American Transportation Infrastructure
This week, filling in for Chairman Sam Graves who was stuck in Missouri due to inclement weather, I was tapped to lead my colleagues during a hearing on the state of our transportation network and our nation’s ability to effectively and efficiently move goods through our supply chain. To achieve this goal, we must make targeted investments to improve the infrastructure our shippers, truckers, and freighters rely on.
During the hearing, I highlighted the work needed to be done to ensure taxpayer funds are directed to projects that strengthen the state of transportation in the country. Despite the clear needs of our system, the Administration continues to push its Green New Deal agenda via onerous regulations on the American people instead of focusing its efforts on promptly distributing funds to projects that will meaningfully improve our roads, bridges, inland waterways, and ports.
I also highlighted the vulnerabilities in our supply chain, including the disruptions to maritime trade in the Red Sea caused by the recent Houthi militant attacks on cargo vessels. These threats have forced major carriers to opt for longer, more costly shipping routes, as they pause operations in the area.
Closer to home, the crisis at our southern border has led to repeated closures of rail border crossings. As a result, rail operations have been suspended – halting the movement of critical goods between the United States and Mexico in order to process the influx of migrant crossings. All of this translates to increased costs for goods and services, further fueling inflation.
