Staff Reports
Senator Dave McCormick (R-PA) grabbed the microphone at a policy event and said something a lot of Americans already feel: federal permitting rules are strangling American energy, jobs, and investment. His argument landed at Breitbart this week and it wasn’t mild. McCormick has filed the Unlock American Energy and Jobs Act (S.4475) and is pushing it as the fix to get projects moving, put capital to work, and boost the economy.
What McCormick Is Proposing
The bill zeroes in on four chokepoints: water-permitting reviews under Section 401, LNG export approvals, nuclear licensing modernization, and NEPA and litigation fixes to stop endless delays. McCormick calls for a one-year deadline for state water reviews, clear written reasons for any denial, limits on scope to real water-quality issues, and an end to approvals that can be revoked after the fact. He points to more than 650 projects on the federal Permitting Dashboard and warns of roughly $1–1.5 trillion in stranded capital waiting to be invested. If you like plain talk: he wants permits that are fast, final, and predictable.
Why Permitting Reform Matters for Jobs and Energy
Permitting reform is not a fancy policy exercise. It’s about getting power plants, pipelines, transmission lines, and factories built again. Industry groups point to higher construction costs and firms holding back investment because the permitting process is so slow and uncertain. McCormick and manufacturing backers say faster, predictable reviews would unlock investment, create jobs, reduce energy costs, and strengthen national security by speeding domestic LNG and nuclear projects. In plain English: faster permits mean more work for American workers and less dependence on unfriendly regimes.
The Real Obstacle: Delay, Litigation, and Political Games
McCormick didn’t mince words. He argued well-meaning laws have been hijacked by activists to delay or block projects, not to fix pollution. A one-year review limit and prohibiting revocation of approvals would blunt that playbook. Critics will say environmental review matters — and it does — but common-sense reform can protect clean water and wildlife while preventing decades-long roadblocks that chase away investors. Washington needs rules that serve the public interest, not rules that serve procedural theater and litigation windfalls.
Where This Goes From Here
The Unlock American Energy and Jobs Act has been filed and referred to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. It will need co-sponsors and a real push from senators who care about energy, jobs, and manufacturing. Industry groups and some labor organizations are already on board. The test now is political will: will Congress choose predictable permitting and economic growth, or will it keep choosing delay as policy? If McCormick is right, fixing permitting is one of the biggest, simplest things Washington can do to revive investment and get America building again.
