Sens. Portman, Hagerty, King introduce NDAA amendment

U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), and Angus King (I-ME) recently filed an FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) amendment that seeks to enhance the key technologies permitting process concerning national security.

The amendment focuses on the FAST-41 improved federal permitting program, which reformed the federal infrastructure permitting process while leaving environmental protections in place.

The senators said that the United States is currently losing opportunities to domestically develop national-security-critical industries ranging from semiconductors to electric vehicle batteries and renewable energy because of permitting process uncertainty and conflicts.

“Expanding the FAST-41 permitting process improvements to more projects—especially those affecting national security—is common sense,” Portman, ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said. “Over the past six years, the FAST-41 process has substantially reduced the permitting process timeline for covered projects by increasing agency communication and accountability. This amendment will leverage that process to make America more competitive and secure.”

Hagerty said developing and re-shoring key technologies impacting national security would create millions of jobs domestically while bolstering American supply chains and national security.

“By creating greater permitting process certainty and coordination and encouraging these industries of the future to invest in the United States, we will win the strategic competition with Communist China to develop the technologies of tomorrow,” he said.