Some 600 organizations — including several representing the energy sector — on Monday urged members of the U.S. Senate to prioritize and pass bipartisan, comprehensive permitting reform legislation this year.
“Communities across America are counting on Congress to deliver a modernized, efficient, predictable, and transparent permitting process — one that provides the project certainty needed to secure investment today, unlock economic growth, and foster innovation that creates opportunity and a stronger future for families and neighborhoods,” wrote the organizations in a Feb. 22 letter sent to the senators.
“The House of Representatives led the way by passing several important permitting reform bills at the end of 2025,” they added. “Their efforts reflect a bipartisan recognition that our current permitting process is broken.”
Now, the Senate must build on that momentum and deliver meaningful reform, wrote the groups, which are led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and included the American Gas Association, the American Public Power Association, the Center for LNG, the Consumer Energy Alliance, the Edison Electric Institute, the Electric Power Supply Association, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the Natural Gas Supply Association, the Independent Petroleum Association of America, and the Large Public Power Council, among others.
They pointed out that communities and businesses across the country are ready to invest in projects that will boost the U.S. economy and improve quality of life — from expanding broadband access and upgrading transportation networks, to building energy facilities that will provide new sources of power to meet growing demand, and modernizing drinking water systems.
“But too often, outdated and inefficient permitting processes stand in the way, delaying these investments and driving up costs,” the organizations wrote. “These delays not only increase the financial burden of construction due to inflation and rising material and labor costs but also postpone the critical benefits that new and improved infrastructure brings to communities.”
Improving permitting processes will result in businesses and communities investing in and delivering new infrastructure, according to their letter.
“A modernized permitting system will help us build smarter, faster, and more sustainably — we just need a system that keeps pace with our ambition,” wrote the groups, which urged the Senate to work across the aisle “to enact durable legislation now.”
Other industries and sectors represented included retail, airlines, cement, forests, farming, restaurants, builders, contractors, manufacturers, conservation, mining, distributors, and beef, to name a few.