Young Americans don’t need another lecture about how to live more cheaply. They need an economy capable of producing more of what they need. Electricity bills are climbing.…
Young Americans don’t need another lecture about how to live more cheaply. They need an economy capable of producing more of what they need. Electricity bills are climbing. Buying a first home can seem impossibly distant. Even young professionals with decent salaries delay moving out, building savings, and starting families. Several forces drive those costs, but one is hiding in plain sight: America has made it extraordinarily difficult to build. As Congress returns following the midterms, lawmakers have an opening.
The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, introduced in September by senators from both parties, would speed federal reviews of energy and infrastructure projects. It is an early test of whether affordability is a governing principle or another political slogan. Environmental protection and indefinite delay are not the same thing. Permitting sounds like a distant, bureaucratic concern until a power plant or transmission line gets tied up for years.
Lengthy environmental reviews, overlapping requirements, and litigation can hold up projects long after developers have shown they are technically and economically viable. Those delays raise costs and discourage new investment in an economy that needs more power. The bill would revise environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act and parts of the Endangered Species Act and National Historic Preservation Act.
It would ease approvals for certain interstate transmission lines and narrow the grounds on which states could withhold water-quality certifications under the Clean Water Act. States have legitimate interests in protecting water and other natural resources. But a review process must reach a decision. Environmental protection and indefinite delay are not the same thing. Consider SunZia, a roughly 550-mile transmission line carrying electricity from New Mexico to Arizona. Development began in 2008.
Construction did not begin until 2023, after years of permitting disputes and challenges involving federal lands and historic sites, and requiring the approval of several federal and state agencies. The project finally entered service in June. Nearly two decades passed between its conception and its completion. That does not make every objection frivolous. It does show what happens when an essential piece of infrastructure must navigate layers of approval before anyone can benefit from the power it delivers.
This is a source-linked briefing. Read the original report from Blaze Media .