To the Members of the United States Senate:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce strongly supports S.J.Res. 55, which would restore critical improvements to the National Environmental Policy Act’s (NEPA) permitting regulations. The Chamber will consider including votes on this legislation in our annual How They Voted scorecard.
To grasp the once in a generation investment made in transportation infrastructure and to build the energy infrastructure needed for the energy transition, we need to be serious about clear and efficient permitting processes. The Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) most recent changes would move us backwards. Adding steps in an already onerous and slow process, requiring more time-consuming analyses, increasing litigation risk for project decisions, and encouraging agencies to impose requirements that go beyond CEQ regulations would slow agency decision-making and discourage the transformational investments needed to build the infrastructure of the future.
Nullifying CEQ’s NEPA phase 1 rulemaking would restore the prior NEPA permitting improvements and help our common goals of more resilient transportation infrastructure, attract the investment to meet our energy needs and support our allies, and make faster progress on climate change.
We urge you to swiftly enact this important joint resolution of disapproval.
Sincerely,
Jack Howard
Senior Vice President
Strategic Advocacy
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
