American dominance hinges on something less flashy than most expect: the ability to actually build.
Being able to efficiently build roads, energy projects, data infrastructure, housing and more is a necessity for America. And being able to continue doing so requires getting permitting reform across the finish line.
The problems with current permitting regulations are not only measurable, they are costly for businesses and every day Americans alike. The primary culprit is the National Environmental Policy Act, or “NEPA”, a federal law that requires extensive environmental reviews before nearly any major project can break ground.
What was originally designed as a safeguard has become a weapon of delay, exploited by bureaucrats and environmental activists to stall projects indefinitely. Average delays run between two and eight years.
Done right, permitting reform would be a clear win for President Donald Trump, a win for MAGA Republicans and more importantly, a win for America’s ability to compete and lead on the global stage.
Failure to act could undercut Republicans’ political momentum heading into November, when voters are looking for tangible results at the ballot box. Plus, if Republicans don’t deliver before midterms, they may lose their window to cement permitting reform as part of a lasting America First legacy.
The Mountain Valley Pipeline is a case study in everything broken about the current system. This natural gas pipeline spent over a decade navigating federal permitting, surviving legal challenge after legal challenge and agency review after agency review, before Congress was forced to intervene directly in 2023 to get it built. One pipeline took ten years.
A large portion of these delays are redundant. A single infrastructure project can face independent reviews from the Army Corps of Engineers, the EPA, the Fish and Wildlife Service and multiple state agencies. These all often cover identical ground and reach the same conclusions, but simply add more red tape and higher costs.
Streamlining this process aligns with core conservative values like eliminating bureaucratic waste, letting our domestic industry innovate and making sure that environmental stewardship is paired with domestic capacity.
At its core, permitting reform would set hard statutory deadlines on agency reviews, consolidate approvals under a single lead agency rather than a patchwork of competing jurisdictions, and limit the litigation windows that allow bad-faith actors to tie projects up in court for years after approvals have already been granted.
Every year a project sits idle in the permitting process is another year inflation drives up the price of materials, labor and financing. Projects that could have been built efficiently become exponentially more expensive, and the broader economy absorbs the damage. Estimates suggest that between $1.7 trillion and $2.4 trillion in GDP goes unrealized from infrastructure stuck in permitting limbo.
The country is spending more to build less while voluntarily stalling its own growth.
Federal permitting is the primary bottleneck for energy projects, pipelines, transmission lines and large-scale infrastructure, where NEPA bites hardest. State-level reform matters as well, particularly for housing, where local zoning and approval processes drive much of the affordability crisis, but Washington has the clearest lane on federal permitting, and that is where the most immediate action is possible.
The consequences for ordinary Americans are easy to overlook until they aren’t. Over time, the gridlock will mean fewer roads to ease traffic, fewer energy projects to stabilize prices, fewer broadband expansions to connect rural communities and fewer homes in a market already short on supply.
Permitting delays show up in longer commutes, higher utility bills and housing that working families simply cannot afford. For Republicans serious about addressing affordability heading into midterms, permitting reform is among the most achievable and meaningful steps available.
The opportunity is real. Permitting reform could serve as proof that an America First agenda is not only about protecting what exists but about building what comes next. It also sends a straightforward message to voters: Republicans in Washington are focused on speeding up construction, unlocking American potential, and making life more affordable for the people who elected them.
America must be able to build in order to lead. If Republicans cannot deliver on permitting reform, and soon, they may find themselves struggling to lead after the midterms as well.
The clock is ticking, and so is the patience of the American voter.
Aiden Buzzetti is the President of the Bull Moose Project, an organization advocating populist conservatism in Washington, D.C.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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