Speeding up transportation legislation

One of the major factors in our lack of infrastructure is the length of time it takes to go from development to shovel ready. The massive amount of permits, studies, money, and bureaucracy required in the development process is not only extremely unnecessary, but it also absurd. Many major infrastructure projects are not shovel ready for reasons including a lengthy environmental review process, litigation, and/or lack of funding. 

This affects not only the projects, but local economies, and employment. To say the process is inefficient is being generous; it is wasteful and putting us further and further in the hole.

Additionally, once all of the hoops have been jumped, the inevitable lawsuit filed by extremists is enough to make anybody throw their hands up in disgust. These groups are using environmental laws like the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act as tools to slow development. These frivolous lawsuits cost the state and federal governments more wasted dollars defending needed projects that will assist in the future economic stability of our states and country.

When TEA-LU passed the House, it had 145 Republican and Democrat cosponsors and passed with bipartisan support. I worked across the aisle to engage both parties in the legislating process and together we included language that was meant to streamline the environmental review for projects.

In September 2010, I introduced H.R. 6196 which will reduce transportation project delivery times by shortening the amount of time permits and approvals can be challenged through litigation, and I plan on reintroducing it this Congress. Reducing project delivery time is a bipartisan problem and requires bipartisan solutions. 

We can start by transferring certain federal environmental responsibilities to the states with respect to highway, transit, and airport projects and start transferring funding from the federal agencies to the states to accomplish this goal. We need to limit the red tape that prevents our country from developing and progressing.

Our country’s infrastructure system is its lifeblood. It’s how we move people and deliver goods, it’s how we employ people, and it’s how we can grow our economy. But right now, we are hemorrhaging. The bureaucracy is getting in the way of progress. If we are going to start getting this economy back on track, we need to move the power to the states, streamline the process, and invest in the future of the greatest country in the world.