Plans for energy projects and other infrastructure are now stuck in a “permitting paralysis” that threatens the U.S. economy and national security, according to Sen. Alan Armstrong.
The Oklahoma Republican said the federal permitting system has grown “so cumbersome that it is often easier to block a project than to build one.”
He called on lawmakers and voters to get behind an overhaul of the rules to break the permit bottleneck for building new power generation.
“A system well-intentioned to protect the environment and the public interest has, paradoxically, become a primary obstacle to the progress our nation urgently needs and the environmental benefits that progress enables,” the former oil executive wrote on 535.news. “The result is permitting paralysis — regulatory gridlock that affects nearly every sector of the economy and threatens economic competitiveness and national security.”
Large power consumers, such as major industrial plants and data centers, are increasingly bypassing the public grid entirely, he said, instead opting to build private “behind-the-meter” energy systems because public infrastructure cannot keep pace.
He warned that the American steel, aluminum and raw materials industries are in jeopardy due to stalled or untimely permits.
Environmental activists largely oppose GOP-proposed changes to the permitting process, saying it will weaken safeguards against pollution and climate change emissions. That puts pressure on Democratic leaders to block an overhaul of the permitting process, though some recent bills, such as the SPEED Act to rein in the National Environmental Policy Act, have garnered bipartisan support.
Mr. Armstrong argued that Congress must act quickly.
During a decade as CEO and executive board chair of Williams, a Tulsa-based energy company, Mr. Armstrong said he saw “firsthand how our broken permitting system chills project investment.”
“Now, as a U.S. Senator, I realize how widespread this problem is and the geopolitical harm it does to the country,” he said.
What’s more, he said global competitors such as China are building industrial capacity “at a speed we struggle to match.”
But economic growth is not the main concern, he said, adding that military strength depends on domestic production, resilient supply chains and the ability to build quickly.
Mr. Armstrong has introduced the American Energy and Mineral Infrastructure Act of 2026 that would begin a rewrite of the federal permitting rules, aiming to speed up the process and limit legal challenges.
The bill gives the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission more power as the lead manager for natural gas pipelines, preventing a single state from blocking an approved interstate project.
It also amends federal rules to allow essential hardrock mining activities to begin again on federal public lands
The legislation would impact several environmental reviews:
• Attempt to make Clean Water Act reviews simpler and more consistent.
• Extend and protect general permits from the Environmental Protection Agency to avoid overlapping reviews and lawsuits.
• Clarify the National Environmental Policy Act, the law requiring environmental studies, by limiting how broad those studies can be so they cannot be used to delay building.
A handful of bills would have to go through the wringer to implement permitting changes, including the SPEED Act, the RED Tape Act, the FENCES Act, the CERTAIN Act and the FREEDOM Act.
While the bipartisan SPEED Act has the most traction, it has not moved anywhere since December. Mr. Armstrong’s bill could be a vehicle to advance it.
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