Industry and witnesses say permitting bottlenecks, not supply, limit benefits of energy production

Industry witnesses and some members emphasized that U.S. production gains cannot fully deliver consumer benefits or federal revenues without upgrades to pipelines, export facilities and permitting laws.

Dustin Myers of the American Petroleum Institute told the committee that the United States has become a net energy exporter and that the principal remaining bottleneck is permitting. "Projects that should take less than a year to permit can easily stretch to a decade or more," he said, adding that duplicative reviews and litigation lengthen timelines and raise costs. Myers urged Congress to pursue comprehensive permitting reform, including changes to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Clean Water Act processes to improve predictability while maintaining environmental review.

Several members asked about specific reforms; witnesses pointed to the need for clearer timelines, improved interagency coordination, and early identification of project impacts to reduce litigation risk. Chairman Gosar and others tied permitting reform to delivering the economic benefits described by proponents of expanded production, arguing that increased extraction alone will not lower costs for consumers unless infrastructure can move output to market.

Members and witnesses did not identify a single legislative text to enact permitting reform during the hearing. The industry said it would support comprehensive legislative action and provided general principles rather than a detailed bill text.