Chamber signs on letter to Congress re: permitting reform

The Bellevue Chamber joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and dozens of business organizations across the nation to urge Congress to take meaningful, bipartisan action to pass comprehensive permitting reform. Read the letter below.

To the Members of the United States Congress:

We write to urge you to take meaningful and bipartisan action to pass comprehensive permitting reform. The time has come to modernize our nation’s permitting systems so that our communities can build the infrastructure necessary to grow our economy, create good-paying jobs, and meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.  

Across the country, communities and businesses are ready to invest in projects that will strengthen our economy and improve quality of life—from expanding broadband access and upgrading transportation networks, to building innovative energy facilities that will provide new sources of power to meet growing demand, and modernizing drinking water systems. But too often, outdated and inefficient permitting processes stand in the way, delaying these investments and driving up costs.  

These delays not only increase the financial burden of construction due to inflation and rising material and labor costs but also postpone the critical benefits that new and improved infrastructure brings to communities. Families and businesses are left waiting for safer roads, better public transit, improved drinking water access, more affordable energy, and access to high-speed internet—essentials that drive economic growth, improve public health, and enhance quality of life. Improving permitting processes will empower businesses and communities to invest in and deliver the infrastructure needed to address today’s challenges.  

We continue to be united on the following principles: Predictability: Project developers and financers must have an appropriate level of certainty regarding the scope and timeline for project reviews, including any related judicial review; Efficiency: Interagency coordination must be improved to optimize public and private resources while driving better environmental and community outcomes; Transparency: Project sponsors and the public must have visibility into the project permitting milestones and schedule through an easily accessible public means; Stakeholder Input: All relevant stakeholders must be adequately informed and have the opportunity to provide input within a reasonable and consistent timeframe.  

A modernized permitting system will help us build smarter, faster, and more sustainably—we just need a system that keeps pace with our ambition. We urge Congress to work across the aisle to enact durable legislation this fall that reflects the urgency and opportunity before us. Our communities are ready to build.  

Sincerely,  

U.S. Chamber of Commerce 

National Signees:

Washington State Signees: