Husted joins bill to expedite America’s permitting process

“Permitting reform is affordability. Cutting unnecessary red tape lowers costs, strengthens American competitiveness and helps make life more affordable for working families.” WASHINGTON – Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) joined Sen. Alan Armstrong’s (R-Okla.) American Energy and Mineral Infrastructure Act. This bill would reform federal permitting and accelerate construction of critical energy and mineral infrastructure. There is a growing divide between America’s surging energy demand and the infrastructure needed to meet it. The American Energy and Mineral Infrastructure Act directly addresses this by streamlining federal permitting, reducing opportunities for frivolous litigation that delays projects and preventing politically motivated vetoes of critical American energy and mineral infrastructure. “Permitting reform is affordability. Cutting unnecessary red tape lowers costs, strengthens American competitiveness and helps make life more affordable for working families. If we are going to continue to compete and win on the global stage, we need to make sure we can build the infrastructure needed to meet growing demand,” said Husted. “America has abundant energy resources and an ability to innovate, but these competitive advantages mean nothing if we can’t build. This isn’t about cutting corners—it’s about creating a permitting system that is faster, more predictable, and accountable. This bill replaces delay with accountability, uncertainty with predictability, and helps ensure America can meet growing energy demand, strengthen our economy, and stay ahead of our competitors,” said Armstrong. The American Energy and Mineral Infrastructure Act of 2026 would: Strengthen the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s role as the lead agency for interstate natural gas pipelines and LNG facilities, ensuring that no single state can unilaterally block federally authorized projects and reducing delays caused by duplicative or overlapping reviews. Ensure consistent evidence-based environmental decision-making and includes targeted reforms to the Clean Water Act 401 review process for all types of infrastructure. Provide certainty with the Environmental Protection Agency’s general permits and nationwide permits by eliminating duplicative review, extending permit terms, and incorporating meaningful judicial reforms to avoid baseless lawsuits. Provide statutory clarification necessary to re-enable essential mining activities on federal lands. Classify the National Environmental Policy Act by codifying a targeted scope of review, preventing overly expansive environmental analyses, reaffirming the statute’s procedural nature, and establishing meaningful judicial review standards to ensure NEPA cannot be misused to stall critical infrastructure projects. This support builds on Husted’s work on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to advance commonsense permitting reform and support American energy production and manufacturing. Husted is also leading the New Source Review Permitting Act , legislation that would clarify the Environmental Protection Agency’s interpretation of New Source Review requirements under the Clean Air Act. This would make it easier for manufacturers and energy producers to complete pollution control projects, improve energy efficiency and make necessary equipment reliability and safety upgrades. The full bill is available here .