Permitting Reform – More to Come This Congress?

President Joe Biden on Friday signed legislation lifting the debt ceiling for two years and making modest changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Since the deal was announced, we’ve been pessimistic that there’s enough oxygen left on Capitol Hill for a purported second bite at the permitting apple that members from both parties have insisted is in the cards. We’re still skeptical of the odds for more permitting reform in the 118th Congress, but we are also more optimistic after surveying the post-debt deal landscape over the past week. 

Why the change of heart? For starters, even as the debt deal was in the process of being debated and ultimately passed on both sides of the Capitol, there was an impressive amount of work happening among offices on both sides of the aisle to pick up the pieces of what was left on the cutting-room floor. For example, Sen. Angus King (I-ME) has been aggressively courting GOP offices for introduction of a second permitting bill; Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) last week introduced not one but two new permitting-related bills, including legislation that creates a 30% investment tax credit to support investments in large-scale transmission projects and grid-enhancing technologies.

Secondly, key Members of Congress and the Biden administration have made clear over the past week that the work is not finished on permitting. This notably includes White House Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young, who is deeply respected on both sides of the aisle. “We got a little done here, but we'll need to get more done later,” Young said last week of permitting, calling the NEPA changes that ultimately became law the “start of a longer process that both parties know we have to do, especially to get clean energy projects going.”

Similar comments from key Members, including Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV), John Barrasso (R-WY), and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) also have left us with the clear impression that there may be more gas left in the tank for permitting reform than we initially thought. Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA) and Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO), who valiantly but unsuccessfully worked to get robust transmission provisions in the debt deal, are also vowing to redouble those efforts.

So count us pleasantly surprised at the determination we’ve seen, but please also understand that it will require sustained pressure from impacted sectors to keep Congress and the Biden administration from getting distracted and moving on. 

To read Lot Sixteen’s Federal Update, click here. We’ll continue to monitor the noise. Check back here for more permitting policy news.