30 Sep BPC Action Applauds BUILDER Act in Infrastructure

The following statement is BPC Action on H.R. 8333, the Building United States Infrastructure through Limited Delays and Efficient Reviews (BUILDER) Act.

“BPC’s Executive Council on Infrastructure identified permitting risk as one of the key obstacles to private investment in American infrastructure projects. However, the delays are not limited to potentially privately supported projects. All infrastructure projects, including transportation, energy, housing, water and broadband, face the risk of delays in permitting and regulatory approvals. We commend Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) for tackling this issue in the BUILDER Act which seeks to minimize unnecessary costs and delays. The bill is consistent with many of our recommendations including establishing clearer timelines for approvals, clarifying when an EIS under NEPA is required and improving public engagement.

“NEPA’s environmental review and permitting process gives affected stakeholders and underrepresented communities the chance to engage in the process. However, the process can be unnecessarily lengthy and costly. Rep. Graves’ bill achieves an important balance between continuing to protect our environment and ensuring projects that can help stimulate our economy are able to proceed.

“We look forward to working with the bill’s sponsors to ensure that impacts from climate change continue to be considered as part of the EIS process. Additionally, any effort to address regulatory reforms should not undermine existing provisions that provide underrepresented voices a meaningful opportunity to engage and share concerns about projects.”