America is at a crossroads — and the road forward is being smothered under a mountain of red tape. Backlogged permitting drags pipelines, transmission lines, and critical infrastructure to a standstill, undermining energy security, affordability, and national competitiveness. These aren’t abstract concerns; they're the backbone of American daily life. Delays cost jobs, drive up costs, and hamper our global standing. We must demand smart, efficient permitting now.
Let’s look at leaders who have been moving efforts in the right direction:
State leadership has made headway. In Utah, Republican Governor Spencer Cox issued an executive order directing environmental agencies to expand permit-by-rule processes and streamline permits for oil, gas, mining, and plantwide issuance limits. This is conservative pragmatism: remove obstacles, not weaken standards. Similarly, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, Vice Chair of the NGA, has championed permitting reform, bluntly stating, “It shouldn’t take longer to approve a project than it takes to build it.” His voice echoes like a rallying cry for efficiency without sacrificing environmental review.
In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott signed legislation establishing the Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office, modeled on Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency.” This office aims to cut red tape, modernize oversight, and inject accountability into regulatory processes without expanding government bureaucracy. That’s conservative action to streamline government and empower enterprise.
At the federal level, Republican lawmakers have led efforts to advance meaningful reform. In 2022, GOP senators introduced the START Act— the Simplify Timelines and Assure Regulatory Transparency Act — which would have streamlined permitting, boosted regulatory clarity, and fast‑tracked vital energy projects. This became a bipartisan effort rooted in conservative principles of certainty, accountability, and economic growth.
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These examples show a compelling conservative argument: smart permitting reform aligns with free‑market principles and good governance. When you speed up projects — without compromising oversight — you create jobs, lower energy costs, and reinforce national security.
Yet federal inertia persists.
Infrastructure waits on bureaucrats. Projects stall.
Ongoing efforts to streamline permitting, like the SPEED (Streamlining Procurement for Effective Execution and Delivery) Act, can lead to significant inroads: modernize agencies, impose clear deadlines, digitize systems, and hold regulators to account. These proposals aren’t radical — they reflect what effective Republican governors are already doing when left to govern.
Make no mistake: this isn’t partisan lip service. Whether you lean red or blue, if you demand sidewalks paved, homes built, and energy flowing … you’re stuck in permitting limbo.
We need reform that is fast, transparent, and responsible. Let’s deliver timelines, modernization, staffing incentives — not more paper stacks.
Conservatives have demonstrated it’s possible. Governor Abbott’s Texas office cuts delays. Governor Cox’s Utah order is efficiency in action. The START Act laid a foundation for federal reform — and the SPEED Act is a worthy and more powerful successor that deserves approval from our elected officials. These are roadmaps for conservative governance delivering tangible results.
Permitting reform is the fulcrum upon which climate progress, infrastructure growth, jobs, affordability, and economic vitality balance. Permitting reform now, on the basis of these conservative standards, can help mitigate the problems caused by outdated systems that are dragging America down. It’s time to fix them.
Tell your legislators: America Built. America Wins. Not just a slogan—a conservative blueprint for renewal.
Saulius "Saul" Anuzis is the president of the 60 Plus Association and a Republican Party politician from the U.S. State of Michigan. He was chairman of the Michigan Republican Party from 2005–2009 and was also a candidate for national chairman of the Republican National Committee in 2009 and 2011 as well as a Member of the RNC from 2005-2012.
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