The election of President-elect Donald Trump and a Republican-controlled Senate and House offers a rare and timely opportunity for Washington to reshape America’s environmental and energy policies. Recent court decisions, such as the Supreme Court’s ending of the Chevron doctrine and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit’s challenge to the Council on Environmental Quality’s authority over the National Environmental Policy Act, suggest that the old ways of thinking about energy policy are on the way out — and the door is open for policymakers to rethink America’s energy future.
The country still faces high energy prices due to inflationary pressures not seen since the Great Depression, adding to the financial strain on families across the country. Meanwhile, much of the world has shrugged off the Left’s climate obsession in favor of more balanced, pro-growth energy policies. In this environment, the case for a new direction in American energy policy has never been stronger. Trump has recognized the moment as a golden opportunity to assert American energy dominance on the world stage. His creation of a National Energy Council signals a clear commitment to unleashing our energy potential and lowering costs for families and businesses.
Delivering on Trump’s promise to dramatically cut energy costs will require comprehensive permitting reform that strikes at the core of laws that unnecessarily delay and increase costs for critical energy projects. The National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and Jones Act have all been exploited by the Green Left to delay drilling, prevent pipeline construction, and force states to import energy from overseas.
Prior to the election, Sens. Joe Manchin (I-WV) and John Barrasso (R-WY) proposed the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024. The bill includes some commendable components, but its focus on increasing transmission capacity for intermittent, heavily subsidized renewable energy will inevitably increase costs for consumers and make our grid less reliable. Further, since the authors chose to limit the scope of the legislation, the bill falls far short of the comprehensive and strategic overhaul that is necessary in any meaningful permitting reform legislation.
Trump has made it clear that he intends to make energy policy a centerpiece of his agenda in the coming year. For Republicans eager to engage on this issue, patience is key. Aligning permitting reform efforts with the Trump administration’s vision will be essential to crafting policies that are not only effective but also stable in the long run. While some compromise with the Democrats will still be necessary, Republicans certainly do not need to settle on permitting reform in the lame-duck congressional session.
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With Trump in the White House, Republican leaders will have a much better opportunity to modernize the permitting processes and allow competitive markets to develop new energy technologies. This includes developing new plans for power generation, constructing necessary infrastructure such as pipelines, and empowering technologies that can reduce consumer costs without sacrificing environmental goals. At the same time, Republicans should reject the Manchin-Barrasso bill’s transmission provisions as they would eventually open the floodgates of the Inflation Reduction Act’s green subsidies.
Trump’s reelection presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rethink and rebuild our permitting system and, with it, American energy policy. With the right leadership in the White House and a clear-eyed vision, congressional Republicans can advance permitting reform legislation that not only enhances U.S. energy dominance but also lowers costs, spurs economic growth, and strengthens national security. But first, they must resist the call to settle before they even get the chance.
Tom Pyle is president of the American Energy Alliance and co-host of The Unregulated Podcast.
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
