Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan and straightforward amendment to help pass the backlog of permits that have slowed down the development of infrastructure and energy projects across this country. As the co-chair of the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus, I am very excited to be able to offer this amendment alongside my Republican co- chair, Andrew Garbarino, and caucus members David Valadao and Mike Lawler. Our caucus has heard from businesses, experts, and agency officials that have all expressed the very same message: Permitting in our country takes too long, and our Nation's climate and infrastructure goals are being diminished as a result. Ensuring timely review processes is also critical as our Nation hopes to maximize the potential of recent historic legislation, including the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. In other words, slow permitting means slower progress for our economy. In issuing permits, the Federal Government does their due diligence to ensure that these projects will not cause undue harm to our communities, waters, and environment. That said, under no circumstances should issues with agency staffing hamstring the permitting of projects, costing us good-paying jobs, time, and money for our businesses. Unfortunately, the EPA faces a significant backlog.…”