U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, spoke on the Senate floor today to highlight what she sees as an urgent need for bipartisan reform of federal environmental review and permitting processes.

Capito argued that delays in permitting have held up key infrastructure, energy, and economic development projects nationwide. She cited examples from West Virginia, including a steel production facility in Mason County and highway improvements like Corridor H, which she said faced significant setbacks due to regulatory hurdles. The senator noted that these kinds of delays impact families by increasing costs for energy, housing, transportation, and other necessities.

“For too long, critical projects central to American energy development, infrastructure improvement, and economic development have been trapped in a cycle of redundant reviews, shifting goalposts, endless red tape, and regulatory uncertainty,” Capito said.

She explained that businesses require certainty for long-term investments but are instead caught in what she described as a “regulatory swamp.” Capito attributed this situation to years of changing federal guidance without Congressional intervention.

“These types of delays nearly stopped what will become one of the most environmentally friendly steel production facilities in the world that will employ over a thousand people in Mason County,” she said. She added that even water extensions and broadband deployments in her state have encountered similar obstacles.

Capito emphasized her experience with permitting reform legislation during her time in the Senate. While some reforms were included in recent bipartisan legislation such as the Fiscal Responsibility Act, she insisted more work is needed: “While we were able to include some reforms in the bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act, it is very clear that much more needs to be done.”

As chair of the EPW Committee—which has jurisdiction over environmental review laws—Capito stressed her commitment to working with Ranking Member Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) on crafting new bipartisan legislation. She described efforts within the committee to gather feedback from stakeholders through hearings and public submissions. According to Capito’s remarks, these efforts yielded 107 submissions representing 146 organizations and an additional 854 individual requests about improving federal review processes.

“Each branch of the federal government...are united in our dissatisfaction with the current permitting and environmental review processes,” Capito said. She referenced actions by both Congress and previous administrations—including steps taken under President Trump—to reduce bureaucratic obstacles for major projects.

The senator also mentioned a recent unanimous Supreme Court decision related to agency responsibilities under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which she argued supports calls for clarifying existing laws around project reviews.

Capito maintained that reform should not mean weakening environmental or public health protections: “Modernizing these processes does not mean cutting corners or weakening our environmental and public health protections...It means focusing the government on meeting the needs of the American people...and making processes more efficient.”

She expressed encouragement at parallel bipartisan efforts underway in the House led by Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) and Representative Jared Golden (D-Maine), while calling for continued cooperation across Congress: “As negotiations continue in the Senate, we must remember that it will take collaboration of both chambers [of Congress] and Administration to get impactful legislation across the finish line.”

Concluding her remarks Capito stated: “The opportunity is here...I can guarantee you that I will be at the forefront of these efforts...I encourage my colleagues to heed the importance of this moment.”