Modernizing policies to empower people in all levels of government and in the private sector to take care of America’s forests will save lives and livelihoods, protect the environment, reduce costs to the taxpayer and lessen overall damages American on the economy.
Free market principles, and the all-of-the-above approach they deliver, are the solution to the problems in Texas, and in energy markets everywhere.
"As our nation strives to build out our domestic infrastructure, President Biden must remain committed to permitting reform. We need it. The challenges presented by the issue are not abstract to the energy workforce. There are real-world negative consequences from this regulatory regime. Many have been pushing to modernize NEPA for years. It’s time to get the job done."
"Republican governors are working to deploy U.S.-made clean energy technologies, responsibly develop American energy, and secure domestic supply chains. Speaker McCarthy and House Republicans have developed an equally effective agenda to lead this nation. Now, it is up to all of Congress to take a page from these governors’ books."
"The ultimate point is that there is a wide gap between the way politicians, and even many analysts, enjoy talking about clean energy and what sort of policy would be needed to turn those hopes into reality. For the United States to become a dominant producer of clean energy, it will need to either significantly increase its imports of clean energy-related minerals, or it must find ways to make it easier to produce these minerals domestically. If the United States doesn’t take either of those steps, then it will probably continue to rely on the domestic energy sources in which it is already abundant, which are predominantly fossil fuels."
"The permitting process is broken. Environmental-impact studies are a racket, delaying projects for as long as five years over insignificant issues. Costs are increasing because of endless litigation and inflation. Contracting and labor rules have become so burdensome that no private enterprise could operate under them."
"'It’s a really good time to merge energy and climate policy with rational approaches to being cleaner,' said Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah), who chairs the nearly 80-member Conservative Climate Caucus. 'Before, maybe the whole conversation was on being clean. Now, it’s about being affordable, reliable, safe, and clean. That’s a good nexus for a lot of us.'"
"Poland has decided that nuclear energy has a part to play in its future energy strategy, and has cleared the regulatory decks to deploy nuclear energy faster. It’s time for the U.S. to do the same."
"Policymakers must stay on offense in the 118th Congress. Rounding the edges on these policies will enable Team USA to out-compete Chinese and Russian enterprises with American innovation. The World Nuclear Association states that, at the end of October, China was operating 53 commercial power reactors, making it third in the world after France, which has 56 reactors. The U.S., leading with 92 operating reactors, but only has two units under construction, while China has 23 reactors under construction. The U.S. must deploy and export innovative American nuclear technologies to retain its global nuclear influence."
NEPA’s outdated permitting process is doing more harm than good
