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Senate EPW hearing spotlights bipartisan push to fix permitting delays, protect approved projects
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Summary
Witnesses from industry, labor and state energy offices urged Congress to enact bipartisan permitting reforms that shorten review timelines, limit litigation abuses and protect already‑issued permits, warning that political revocations and extended reviews stall trillions in investment and threaten jobs and grid reliability.
Washington — Lawmakers and industry leaders told a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing that Congress must deliver bipartisan, durable changes to federal environmental review and permitting law to end prolonged delays, preserve investor confidence and protect jobs.
"Today we will continue our discussion on the need to modernize our federal, environmental review and permitting process," Chair Capito said in opening remarks, framing the hearing around predictability, consistency and finality in permitting. Ranking Member Whitehouse opened by criticizing recent executive branch actions that he said have undermined trust in agency decision‑making and paused some bipartisan negotiations.
The hearing featured five witnesses across business, labor, energy trade groups and state energy officials. Brendan Bechtel, chair and CEO of Bechtel and chair of the Business Roundtable smart regulation committee, told senators the average federal permitting path takes four to five years and estimated that roughly $1.5 trillion in potential investment is stalled in the queue. "Once permits are issued for major projects, 28% of those are litigated, delaying those projects for an average of 4.2 years," Bechtel testified, citing studies he submitted with his written testimony.
Brent Booker, general president of the Laborers' International Union of North America, pressed the human consequences of delays: "For Liana members, that means another day without a paycheck, another day without earning health care eligibility," he said, calling for statutory deadlines and clearer requirements for Clean Water Act section 401 state certifications so applicants receive a timely yes or no.
Dustin Mayer, senior vice president of policy, economics and regulatory affairs at the American Petroleum Institute, focused on judicial reform, NEPA modernization and Clean Water Act fixes. Mayer urged Congress to set clear statutes of limitation, define standards of review, limit standing to directly affected parties and make remand—not vacatur—the default remedy when courts find problems with an agency review.
Abigail Ross Hopper, outgoing president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, cited a July 15 Department of Interior memorandum that she said escalated dozens of project reviews to the secretary level and contributed to a de facto moratorium on some solar actions. Hopper warned that political roadblocks are endangering "70 gigawatts of solar and 42 gigawatts of battery storage projects" and urged statutory protections that prevent discriminatory treatment of particular energy technologies.
David Terry, president of the National Association of State Energy Officials, urged a technology‑neutral approach that respects state planning and called for stronger federal‑state cooperation, adequate federal staffing for environmental reviews, and expanded use of categorical exclusions and programmatic reviews where appropriate.
Senators from both parties pressed witnesses on specifics. Several expressed alarm that administration actions halting or reopening permits mid‑process create uncertainty that chills investment and training pipelines, while others emphasized that reforms must preserve environmental protections. Senator Husted asked Bechtel to explain the McKinsey estimates included in testimony; Bechtel cautioned that multi‑year delays also escalate construction costs and reduce investor value.
Throughout the hearing, witnesses and senators proposed a range of legislative tools: statutory timelines with enforcement mechanisms, clearer definitions of agency authority (to avoid secretary‑level escalations for routine reviews), programmatic NEPA approaches to remove redundant analyses, and judicial rules to curb venue shopping and open‑ended injunctions.
No formal votes or legislative actions occurred at the hearing. Ranking Member Whitehouse closed the proceedings and reminded senators of deadlines to submit written questions and for witnesses to respond. The committee left clear that bipartisan floor‑level legislation that creates permit finality and enforceable timelines is the next congressional objective.
