RE: Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024

Dear [Official]:

I stand with Pipeliners Local 798, a trades union representing the nation’s most skilled and dedicated industry craftsmen, in supporting Chairman Joe Manchin and Ranking Member John Barrasso's sponsored Energy Permitting Reform Act (EPRA) of 2024. This legislation, which has already received strong bipartisan support, provides much-needed transparency and efficiency to a permitting system that has long been dogged with unnecessary and costly red tape.

As we have seen too many times, delays in infrastructure permitting increases costs, threatens jobs and halts critical economic activity in our communities. To be more specific, the current system's inefficiencies have costed billions of dollars in investments and tens of thousands of U.S. jobs - many of which belong to the men and women of the United Association who have played a central role in building America's infrastructure network.

I support the common-sense provisions outlined in the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 for the following specific reasons:

• Accelerates leasing and permitting decisions for energy projects on federal lands, helping to eliminate duplicative permit requirements and avoid long delays on critical project approvals;
• Requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to issue a rule on interregional transmission planning and cost allocation within 180 days of a bill's enactment, ensuring the review process remains focused on the details that move project approval forward;
• Helps to ensure that consistent domestic offshore energy development continues in the coming years by mandating lease sales for both traditional and renewable energy development;
• By making FERC the lead agency for conducting environmental reviews of transmission projects that are subject to the National Environmental Policy Act, this simplifies the backstop authority and streamlines otherwise stuttering approvals;
• Helps accelerate the benefits of nearly $2 trillion provided by Congress for investments in infrastructure and clean energy, ultimately supporting sustainable energy infrastructure development and maintenance.

On behalf of all industry craftsmen who have struggled to make a living while waiting for construction approvals for infrastructure projects, I am proud to support the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024. I understand there is much more work to be done to address the incredible constraints facing pipeline infrastructure, but this legislation is certainly a significant step in that direction. This is why I urge you and your colleagues to lend support to push this forward.

Signed,

[Names below]