Published
January 08, 2026
The U.S. Chamber organized a Day of Action on Capitol Hill on January 7, bringing together business leaders and lawmakers on the first full day Congress was back in session this year to advocate for timely action on permitting reform.
As a new year and legislative agenda begin, there has never been a more critical moment to underscore the importance of a modernized permitting process—one that reflects the scale and urgency of American’s infrastructure needs.
This Day of Action was part of the U.S. Chamber’s Permit America to Build initiative, which highlights how the nation’s outdated permitting process too often stalls projects, drives up costs, and creates uncertainty for businesses—hindering economic growth. Permitting reform can “make America the manufacturing, the infrastructure, the space, the telecommunications, the housing, champion of the world,” said Sen. Shelly Moore Capito, Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
The bipartisan push for reform comes after the U.S. House of Representatives in December passed the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act, the Promoting Efficient Review for Modern Infrastructure Today (PERMIT) Act, and several other permitting-related bills aimed at streamlining permitting processes, reducing delays, and providing greater certainty for project approvals. The focus now shifts to the Senate to produce a comprehensive, bipartisan permitting reform proposal.
Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) called permitting reform “the most important work I think I've ever done,” underscoring that modernizing the process would ensure “we can build things more quickly with a greater amount of certainty.”
The U.S. Chamber and business leaders meet on permitting reform with the office of House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-IN).
Senator John Hickenlooper (D-CO) and Marty Durbin, Senior Vice President for Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce discuss the need for permitting reform.
U.S. Chamber Executive Vice President and Chief Policy Officer Neil Bradley speaks about the importance of permitting reform on Capitol Hill.
Senate Environment and Public Works Chair Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV) discusses permitting reform during the U.S. Chamber's event.
Business leaders meet on permitting reform with the office of Senator John Kennedy (R-LA).
House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-AR) and the U.S. Chamber's Head of Government Affairs Rodney Davis discuss permitting reform on Capitol Hill.
Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN) speaks during the U.S. Chamber's event on permitting reform.
Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) speaks during the U.S. Chamber's event.
Marty Durbin, President of the U.S. Chamber's Global Energy Institute, talks about the importance of permitting reform on Capitol Hill.
Lawmakers highlighted the tangible benefits of reform, particularly for infrastructure projects like roads and bridges. “All these delays are costing the taxpayer money,” said Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN). “We can build roads, and bridges and infrastructure, and we can harvest our natural resources in a responsible way.”
There was a strong consensus that when it takes longer to permit a project than to build it, the system is clearly broken. Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR), Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee and the leading force behind the SPEED Act, stressed the bipartisan impact of permitting delays, stating, “if we're going to keep building things in our country, then we must reform our broken permitting process with a legislative solution. You'll greatly decrease the cost of living for American families as permitting delays cost our economy billions of dollars each year.”
Neil Bradley, U.S. Chamber Executive Vice President and Chief Policy Officer, underscored the urgency of the effort: “We want to see real progress over the next several weeks. We want to see legislation moving. We want to see something sent to the President's desk.”
With heightened momentum, following the event, business and trade association leaders fanned out to meet with key Congressional offices to discuss the benefits of permitting reform and the need for action.
“We're now approaching the finish line. It's time to run this through the tape. It's time to get it done and build the things that America wants to build in 2026 and beyond,” said Bradley.
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About the author
Sean Hackbarth
Sean writes about public policies affecting businesses including energy, health care, and regulations. When not battling those making it harder for free enterprise to succeed, he raves about all things Wisconsin (his home state) and religiously follows the Green Bay Packers.
