Input Stories

Former Biden, Trump Officials Call for Permitting Reform

By NAM NewsroomOctober 21, 2026

A bipartisan group of former administration officials, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and former Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran, urged policymakers to strengthen American competitiveness by passing permitting reform (The Wall Street Journal, subscription).

The message: In a letter organized by the Institute for Progress, the former officials stressed the need for greater infrastructure investment to help the U.S. compete with China.

  • “China’s abundant, affordable energy has enabled its strategic industries from critical minerals processing to automobile manufacturing. In 2024, China accounted for 31.5% of global knowledge- and technology-intensive manufacturing value added, compared with 20.7% for the United States,” the officials wrote.
  • “While the United States retains enormous advantages in technology, capital markets, attracting the world’s talent, entrepreneurship and natural resources, those advantages matter less if a company cannot build a factory quickly enough to reach market or if the infrastructure required to power it takes five, 10 or 15 years to plan and complete.”

The legislative fix: The officials highlighted how costly permitting delays have slowed construction of new transmission lines and contributed to power shortages affecting the data center industry.

  • The officials praised the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, the NAM-backed permitting reform legislation recently introduced in the Senate, calling it “the most significant bipartisan legislative effort that Congress has undertaken in decades to tackle these challenges.”
  • They highlighted provisions to accelerate transmission infrastructure construction, shorten litigation timelines and limit lawsuits that can delay projects for years or even decades.

The bottom line: “The ability to build the infrastructure necessary for American economic and technological leadership should transcend partisanship,” the officials concluded. “Republicans and Democrats have each recognized the imperative to rebuild domestic manufacturing, develop critical mineral supply chains, expand American energy production and maintain U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence.”

NAM in action: The NAM has long called for comprehensive, bipartisan permitting reform and has become one of the leading proponents of the new legislation.

  • Ahead of the bill’s introduction, NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons and four NAM board leaders urged Senate leadership to reach a bipartisan deal.
  • The NAM recently led more than 100 manufacturing and business organizations, including manufacturing representatives from all 50 states and Puerto Rico, in urging Congress to get this legislation passed, and is helping legislators take this message to constituencies across the country.
  • The NAM is also giving voice to manufacturers that will benefit from permitting reform through a national advertising campaign aimed at building momentum for the legislation.