At least one Republican senator is hopeful that Congress can advance meaningful legislation reforming the process for energy and infrastructure projects to obtain federal permits for construction by the spring, despite negotiations with Democrats still being paused.
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), one of the top Republicans on the Environment and Public Works Committee, told the Washington Examiner on Wednesday that he believes Republicans will be able to put forward “good language” regarding permitting “rather soon.”
“When I say rather soon, I mean, I don’t think we’re that far from it,” he said. “Now, could we have a markup by this spring? I think we could.”
Cramer’s remarks come after a hearing held by the committee, during which Democrats and Republicans agreed that passing permitting reform is a priority for this Congress.
Several members emphasized that with energy and electricity costs rising, driven by electrification, increased manufacturing, and the rapid development of artificial intelligence, there is an even greater need to accelerate the process for projects such as nuclear reactors and solar farms to help meet growing demand and dampen soaring prices.
However, several key Democrats in negotiations remain hesitant to advance legislation without commitments from the administration that the executive branch would execute any bipartisan law fairly.
These concerns stem from the Trump administration’s repeated efforts to stall the offshore wind industry, including by threatening permits granted to already federally approved and under-construction projects.
“We can add jobs and electrons and reduce emissions and waste, but it makes no sense to pass a bipartisan permitting reform that will be illegally butchered by a lawless executive branch vindictively, irrationally, and dishonestly,” ranking member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) said at the top of the hearing.
“The responsibility for resuscitating permitting reform rests now upon the executive branch,” he added.
Whitehouse noted that any permitting reform negotiations involving him or Energy and Natural Resources Committee ranking member Martin Heinrich (D-NM) remain paused.
Whitehouse first halted negotiations in December, after the Trump administration paused the leases for five under-construction offshore wind projects.
SENATE HAS THREE MONTHS TO PASS PERMITTING REFORM, GOP NEGOTIATOR WARNS
While four of those projects have been granted permission from federal courts to resume construction, Whitehouse is still waiting for commitments from the administration.
“A lot depends on the response of the administration, and so far, there has been none at all,” he told the Washington Examiner.
