America Cannot Afford to Lose the Race to Build

America can only lead the world if America can build. Recently, the House Natural Resources Committee addressed the primary obstacle standing in the way: a broken approval process that keeps ready projects from ever breaking ground. The committee took up the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act in recognition that America’s outdated permitting system simply cannot meet the scale or speed of today’s economic and energy challenges, and that reform is no longer optional.

Before the SPEED Act markup last month, the Conservative Energy Network met with congressional offices representing districts nationwide. Those private conversations reflected what unfolded in the committee room. The bipartisan alignment we saw wasn’t a coincidence. Leaders in both parties know that America’s permitting system is failing, and they want to understand exactly how those failures are playing out in communities across the country.

During the markup, Republicans described the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) as a “bureaucratic bottleneck” that adds years to project timelines. Democrats, while defending NEPA’s environmental purpose, acknowledged the need for clearer processes and better accountability. Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) – one of the most independent voices in Congress – partnered with Chairman Bruce Westerman (R–AR) to negotiate a critical amendment that limits executive-branch permit revocation. That bipartisan compromise has since become a central feature of the broader debate as Congress prepares for floor action.

This amendment matters. It directly addresses what we have been hearing: unpredictable federal decisions, shifting political winds, and regulatory whiplash make long-term decisions and investments nearly impossible. The Amendment provides greater certainty for businesses, and the committee delivered a meaningful first step towards improving our permitting system’s current failures.

Permitting reform is no longer an ideological fight, but an economic imperative. Every day a project is held up in red tape, families pay more for energy, our grid grows more fragile, and the United States loses more ground to competitors like China – not because we lack innovation, but because we lack the ability to build efficiently.

Conservatives know we can fix this process without expanding the bureaucracy. We can streamline decision-making, protect taxpayers, uphold environmental standards, and get projects moving again – all at the same time.

The SPEED Act, especially with the Westerman-Golden amendment, moves us in the right direction toward making real change. It creates clear timelines, reduces regulatory ambiguity, and addresses one of the biggest barriers to investment – business certainty.

But, this cannot be the final word. America still faces massive challenges in transmission build-out, which the SPEED Act does not fully address. Our grid cannot meet rising demand from AI, manufacturing, and new housing developments, without major new transmission capacity – especially interregional lines. The SPEED Act is a foundation, not the finish line. Congress must build on this momentum with the same bipartisan spirit and tackle the structural issues holding back large-scale grid infrastructure.

America should never lose because our own rules won’t let us win. The United States has the best workers, the best innovators, and the best energy resources in the world. By embracing bipartisan reform and by listening to states, businesses, and communities who have been raising these issues for years, Congress can unleash the next wave of American energy leadership. With floor consideration approaching, lawmakers have a chance to deliver reform that meets the scale of today’s energy and economic demands. When America builds, America leads. It is time our policies let us do both.

John Szoka is CEO of the Conservative Energy Network and a former member of the North Carolina House of Representatives where he served as Chair of the Energy and Public Utilities Committee, and Chair of the Joint Legislative Commission on Energy Policy.