Burgum Vows To Unleash American Energy — Now He Just Needs Congress To Do Their Part

WASHINGTON — Interior Secretary Doug Burgum urged Congress on Tuesday to pass a bipartisan permitting bill, one day after the Senate voted to advance it.

“The House should just take the Senate bill and say, hey, if we want to help everybody in America, let’s get this bill passed and passed right now,” Burgum said during a conversation with Daily Caller Editor-in-Chief Amber Duke. The conversation was part of “Daily Caller Live: Permission to Build,” an event the outlet hosted.

Burgum called the Senate’s Monday action a “historic vote” and said that the bill could be the most consequential piece of legislation in 20 years. He said that it would reshape “an entire industry that was built around stopping building stuff in America,” which he called “a real detriment to American competitiveness.”

The Senate voted 73-25 Monday evening to advance the bill, according to the Senate Press Gallery. The bill would speed permits for pipelines, mines and power plants, and it would still need to pass the Senate and the House and receive President Donald Trump’s signature to become law.

Citing economic projections, Burgum said that the bill could add half a percentage point to three-quarters of a point to GDP growth each year.

“Hopefully, the House can get the job done,” he said.

Asked about a dispute between Trump and Senate Democrats over wind projects, Burgum said that “the bill is largely technology independent.”

“In some ways, the negotiations are over. The bill is the bill,” he said.

Asked about the biggest obstacle to building more natural gas pipelines, Burgum said that Congress should pass the permitting bill. Stopping pipelines and transmission lines has become “not just an art form, it’s become a giant business model,” he said.