Tom Magness: Reform Permitting and Unleash American Energy
In the GAIN Coalition’s new video, Tom Magness, former commander with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), discusses today’s state of American energy policies, and just how integral energy is to our economy. As a commander with USACE, Magness oversaw and completed numerous infrastructure projects, ranging from locks and dams domestically to larger projects abroad.
As the lifeblood of our economy, energy is the key to its growth. The U.S. is blessed with an abundance of natural resources beneath our feet, but we must be able to utilize them effectively. Magness notes that price volatility in the energy markets has, in part, led to the increase of inflation over the last year. Now, he notes that we are spending taxpayer dollars on infrastructure projects, as allocated by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, and yet, the choke point in those processes is permitting.
To unleash American energy, Magness says, we must reform the permitting process in the appropriate places. Every energy option—nuclear, renewables, and oil and gas—must be on the table. The issue currently, are the companies’ inability to efficiently start, construct and complete these types of projects because of the regulatory framework or permitting.
While Magness notes that there are efforts in Congress underway to address this issue, he urges bipartisan support for permitting reform bills because of how critical it is to our energy sector. House Republicans passing H.R. 1 was a significant step towards that, but more work across the aisle remains to be done before we can unleash American energy.
Watch the video here: Tom Magness