Rep. Julie Fedorchak, R-N.D., on Tuesday called for permitting reform to accelerate infrastructure buildout, arguing that lengthy approval timelines are undermining U.S. competitiveness in energy, broadband, and spectrum.
Speaking at a Punchbowl News event, Fedorchak – who spent 12 years as a utility regulator in North Dakota – framed the issue as central to long-term competition with China.
“They are a country of builders, and we’ve become a country of lawyers, and we have to change that,” Fedorchak said, referring to China’s rapid infrastructure development.
“It’s not really a race. It’s just a long-term mission,” she added. “We’re always going to have to be ahead on the tech side with China, and so we have to get permitting reform in place.”
Without meaningful permitting reform, it could take 20 years to permit a new power line or underground cable, Fedorchak said.
“Fixing that is essential to allowing the industry to build the infrastructure needed to provide all of the services that Americans want and need and depend on,” she said.
Fedorchak also pointed to surging energy demand as a key driver behind her push for permitting reform, particularly as artificial intelligence workloads increase power consumption. She said policymakers must optimize existing infrastructure capacity while new projects move through lengthy approval timelines.
Fedorchak pointed to her bill, the High-Capacity Grid Act, as one effort aimed at improving efficiency across transmission systems. The bill would require the use of best-available conductors for new interstate transmission lines and rebuilds, allowing more energy to move across existing corridors.
The lawmaker called her proposal a “no-brainer,” saying that if the United States is building new power lines, it should “use the new lines that have the greatest capacity so we can push the most energy through those lines.”
Fedorchak also pointed to growing bipartisan alignment on permitting reform.
“What I’m encouraged by is, I think Republicans and Democrats understand that this is the chance [for permitting reform],” Fedorchak said. “I think now there’s a better understanding that we can’t wait any longer, and if we were to wait another Congress, and with the political dynamics changing … it’s not going to get better, but we have to do it now.”