Lummis Leads Legislation to Streamline Federal Permitting Process

January 24, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C.– U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Senator Ted Budd (R-NC) introduced theFull Responsibility and Expedited Enforcement (FREE) Actto address the current federal permitting system plagued with ambiguous, time-consuming, and costly policies. Permit by rule is proposed as a more efficient alternative, allowing for specific written standards and streamlined approval processes.
“Under four years of the Biden administration’s failed leadership, our permitting process is woefully backlogged and incredibly difficult to navigate,”said Lummis.“The federal permitting process has become years-long, which discourages investment and innovation all together. Implementing permit by rule processes will streamline approvals and help us address backlogs.”
“All too often, the federal permitting process is slow, expensive, and confusing,”said Budd.“That is why President Trump directed federal agencies to consider a ‘permit by rule’ system in his day one Unleashing American Energy Executive Order. Now Congress should make this policy permanent to reduce bureaucratic delays and compliance costs, and create a transparent and predictable regulatory environment. I’m proud to partner with Senator Lummis and Representative Maloy in this effort to implement a ‘permit by rule’ system to federal permitting.”
“Utah is growing rapidly,”said Maloy.“Unfortunately, executive agencies are often excruciatingly slow at granting permits, delaying critical projects that support rapid growth– especially in states like Utah where the majority of the land is federally controlled. The time is now to reform and streamline the permitting processes. I’m excited to see that President Trump, by executive order, has already directed his administration to begin that reformation– including through Permit by Rule– and I look forward to working with Senator Lummis and Senator Budd on advancing this bill.”
Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Rick Scott (R-FL) and Tim Sheehy (R-MT) also cosponsor this legislation.
Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT-02) has introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.
Full text can be foundhere.
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