Senate Permitting Reform Stalled by Committee Turf Battles, Says New Republican Senator

Republican Sen. Alan Armstrong, appointed by Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and serving temporarily in the Senate, told Bloomberg Government reporters on Monday that the Senate’s attempt to overhaul permitting for energy projects is hampered by “committee turf battles and bureaucratic red tape.” Armstrong, a former CEO of Williams Companies, highlighted the difficulty of modifying the Clean Water Act to speed environmental reviews and the challenge of finding bipartisan agreement on transmission-line siting and costs.

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Energy projects typically require multiple federal permits, a process that can extend timelines and trigger litigation. The four senators leading the bipartisan effort—Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W. Va.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.)—have said they aim to release a permitting package before the Senate’s August recess. Armstrong, who is not on the Environment and Public Works or Energy and Natural Resources committees, has introduced legislation (S. 4944) that seeks to combine ideas from both parties and require concurrent agency reviews rather than sequential ones.

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Armstrong argued that “any day now back to the first part of the year before I was even in the Senate” reflects the delayed timeline for a bipartisan permitting bill. He noted that the Senate’s progress is constrained by a crowded agenda and few remaining legislative days. While familiar with a draft Republicans shared with Democrats before the July 4 recess, Armstrong described it as “not comprehensive” enough and urged that a “good bill gets dropped out of EPW by the end of this recess.” He emphasized that the legislation must streamline state water-quality reviews and federal Clean Water Act assessments for pipelines and transmission lines.

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Armstrong blamed internal Senate dynamics, stating, “You’re worried about your power as opposed to what’s best for our country, really?” and adding, “I think sometimes it’s not even the senators, it’s the staff a lot of times that’s the problem,” describing the staff-driven obstacles as “really irritating.” He contended that jurisdictional disputes between the Environment and Public Works Committee and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee create additional roadblocks.

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• “I’ve been hearing it’s going to be any day now back to the first part of the year before I was even in the Senate,” — Sen. Alan Armstrong

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• “You’re worried about your power as opposed to what’s best for our country, really?” — Sen. Alan Armstrong

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• “I think sometimes it’s not even the senators, it’s the staff a lot of times that’s the problem,” — Sen. Alan Armstrong

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• “I hope that a good bill gets dropped out of EPW by the end of this recess, and I would not at all be disappointed as long as we can fix some things in it,” — Sen. Alan Armstrong

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