Business groups, automakers call for fix to ‘broken’ permitting system

Washington — Hundreds of business groups, including major automakers, signed on to a letter led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Monday urging Congress to reduce bottlenecks for companies starting energy and infrastructure projects.

So-called permitting reform is one of the few policy areas in which Republicans and Democrats agree change is necessary, given the 4.5 to 7.5-year timeline for new projects to receive federal permits and the increasing mineral demands of the clean energy economy. However, the two parties rarely agree on which policy to pass to fix the issue.

People walk outside the U.S. Capitol building in Washington on June 9, 2022.

The Chamber’s letter comes as the U.S. House prepares this week to take up a Republican-led energy package that would include some such reforms, including provisions that would shorten timelines for environmental reviews and limit the window for legal challenges to permitting decisions.

The GOP package faces an uphill battle in the Democrat-led Senate, with the exception of the permitting reform proposals, which could be provide the starting point for a bipartisan compromise.

The Chamber’s letter urged Congress to find a policy they can agree upon to improve the country’s permitting processes before the end of the summer.

Nearly 350 groups signed on, including the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents most major automakers selling vehicles in the United States. Nine Michigan business groups also signed on, including the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and the Detroit Regional Chamber.

“Public and private sector infrastructure projects will improve our economy and the lives of millions of Americans,” they wrote in the letter.

They added that Improvements in transportation infrastructure, energy production and transmission projects, expanded internet access, drinking water systems and domestic production of critical minerals can improve the country’s economy, qualify of life and carbon footprint.