Lame Duck Session Of Congress Could Consider Permitting Reform

The U.S. House and Senate reconvened for the final two months of the 117th Congress on Monday, November 14. While lawmakers will have to tackle fiscal year 2023 spending legislation, they also could consider legislation that would improve the permitting process for federal energy and infrastructure projects.

Indeed, according to Politico, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is reportedly eyeing a must-pass military funding bill called the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) as a vehicle for his energy permitting reform proposal.

As Connecting the Dots reported earlier this fall, Sen. Manchin, with support from Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), tried unsuccessfully to pin efforts to speed up the process for approving energy projects to a previous government measure, but ran into resistance from both Republicans and Democrats.

Sen. Manchin’s bill, which is called the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2022, contains many positive reforms that MSCI and other industry groups have supported for many years. Generally, the bill would significantly simplify and shorten required project environmental reviews, prevent abuses by state permitting agencies, and reduce opportunities for opposition groups to tie up required permits in endless litigation. It also would expedite offshore oil leases and make it easier to add wind and solar power to the nation’s electricity grid.

Republicans prefer an alternative permitting bill offered by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) that contains additional reforms.