Input Stories

At the recent “Super Bowl of the energy industry,” otherwise known as CERAWeek by S&P Global, the NAM was on the ground with manufacturing leaders, policymakers and the media—reinforcing the need for energy abundance and permitting reform to power American growth. NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons made the rounds with reporters and energy podcasts to make the case.

“Hello Houston” talk show: Timmons spoke with Houston Public Media’s “Hello Houston” program to highlight the challenges manufacturers face because of America’s broken permitting process.

• “Right now in the United States, it takes 80% longer to get a permit authorized for a project like a manufacturing facility than it does in any other free market economy,” said Timmons. “It doesn’t make sense for a country that frankly does a lot of good things and does it right.”
• “What we’re seeing are Democrats and Republicans and the White House rally around this effort to reform our permitting process to make it more predictable, take away the duplicity and the duplication, shorten the time that legal challenges can occur and just give more predictability to companies that are trying to do the right thing.”

POLITICO: Timmons put permitting reform front and center when talking to the media, telling POLITICO that “permitting reform will bring certainty to energy projects of all types, and help avoid the swinging of the political pendulum that occurs every two to four years in this country,” (POLITICO’s E&E News, subscription).

“Energy Trade Show” podcast: On the OGGN’s “Energy Trade Show”—the world’s leading oil, gas and energy podcast network—Timmons discussed workforce policy, AI’s upside for manufacturers and permitting reform.

• About energy abundance, he said, “[Manufacturers] use a third of the nation’s energy; it’s a major cost input for [NAM] members. They want to know that we’re here looking out for their interests and ensuring that the policies are being put in place to develop more energy product here in this country—and make sure that we’re focused on the things that will make that happen.”
• Timmons explained the connection between AI, energy policy and workforce efforts, saying that one challenge in the AI rollout “is the energy that’s necessary to power those data centers … [and] once we are able to produce the energy, we actually have to transmit that energy to where it needs to go.” Secondly, he added, “[W]e have an obligation to train our future workforce on how to utilize AI most effectively so that we can increase productivity and efficiency here in this country.”