Unlocking Rural America's Potential

Floor Speech

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Mr. CARTER of Georgia. I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, President Biden wants to build back better. What he doesn't realize is that first, we must be able to build. Many otherwise shovel-ready infrastructure projects get trapped in bureaucratic gridlock for years.

Developers routinely find themselves navigating environmental reviews that require up to over 60 authorizations from as many as 13 different Federal agencies.

Projects starting today with new funding from the infrastructure deal won't be realized for 5 to 7 years, if not longer. After years of project design, engineering, planning, and financing, the 2 to 4-year permitting process commences. This pushes orders for new windmills, solar panels, transmission lines, charging stations, construction equipment, steel, concrete, labor contracts, and whatever else a project may need years into the future. Only after all of that can the 2 to 3 years of construction begin.

The Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council analyzed 69 major projects and found that bureaucratic delays cost developers $100 billion.

New wind and solar projects take 2.3 years, on average, to receive Federal permits; 3.3 years for electricity transmission projects, and 4.7 years for major new road projects.

This contrast with the ambitious and radical climate goals Democrats have set, calling for a 50 percent reduction in emissions by 2030. In that case, a 7 to 10-year development timeline is entirely too long or realistic.

Permitting challenges have resulted in extended delays and creating a chilling effect on new infrastructure investment. This isn't just a sacrifice of time. Perhaps worse, it costs money, a lot of money.

Twenty to 30 percent of total project funding is wasted on unnecessary red tape. We are wasting millions of dollars a year by just waiting. Instead of fixing that well-known issue, Democrats chose to throw more money at the problem. Now we see how this has brought on record inflation.

Sadly, the cost of these unnecessary delays is ultimately passed down to taxpayers, either through taxes, tolls, or increased rates in usage fees. It is no wonder that the U.S.' infrastructure is falling behind other developed nations.

What is curious is, why did Biden's so-called infrastructure bill do nothing to speed up the process, and, instead, doubled down on delays and bureaucracy?

Republicans and Democrats alike are struggling to build around these roadblocks, and it is high time Congress did something about it.

I thank the gentleman again for yielding.

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