Both sides of the aisle are laser-focused on energy. Democrats are keyed in on green tech and want to shift our economy in a sustainable direction as quickly as possible. Republicans, on the other hand, see global economic and geopolitical trends as further evidence that American energy independence is paramount. While lawmakers debate the right approach to energy policy, American Policy Ventures’ latest poll shows 75 percent of Democrats and Republicans supported the use of permitting reform as a bargaining chip in recent debt ceiling negotiations. With voters’ support, the deal struck by Speaker McCarthy and President Biden includes permitting provisions that offer a step in the right direction. However, as Speaker McCarthy noted, much more still needs to be done on this front.
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was passed decades ago to protect our environment from hasty decision-making on new energy projects. While the intent remains important today, the pendulum has swung too far in the wrong direction. The Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) required by NEPA are going far beyond their original purpose. Rather than increasing the prioritization of environmental considerations in our decision-making processes for new projects, NEPA is essentially preventing effective decision-making from happening at all. The average time it takes to complete an EIS today, across all agencies, is 4.5 years. Some projects are dragged out far longer.
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