A pair of lawmakers has introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at accelerating the permitting process for infrastructure projects.
Sens. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) unveiled a bill that would allow railroads and public utilities the permanent ability to fund permitting reviews for some projects in an effort to fast-track the process.
The legislation aims to make cost-sharing provisions permanent, as it is currently an option to legally contribute funds to help speed up the permitting process with the Army Corps of Engineers until 2024.
โThis legislation continues an available option for speeding up infrastructure permitting and provides the certainty that both private companies and the Army Corps of Engineers need to quickly review projects,โ Donnelly said of the bill he introduced with Portman. โIโm proud to work with Sen. Portman to keep red tape delays out of the way of these needed infrastructure projects.โ
The president has emphasized the need to streamline the permitting process in any infrastructure plan and the administrationโs framework seeks to reduce the process down to two years.
