Campaign for Common Good Hails Bipartisan Support for Streamlining Infrastructure Permitting

New York, NY – May 27, 2021 – The Campaign for Common Good today hailed the bipartisan support for streamlining infrastructure permitting reflected in the unanimous vote (20-0) yesterday in the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works for the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act. The bill includes a provision calling for streamlining the permitting process for infrastructure projects. Philip K. Howard, Chair of the Campaign for Common Good, issued the following statement:

The Campaign for Common Good applauds this bipartisan provision to streamline infrastructure permitting, which is vital to repairing America’s crumbling roads and bridges and to building essential green infrastructure. The provision includes the goal of no more than two years for permitting of major projects, the limitation to 200 pages for environmental impact statements, and the granting of presumptive authority to one lead agency to conduct necessary reviews. Ultimately, enforcing time limits requires executive decisions throughout the process, and Common Good still believes that there need to be clear lines of authority to resolve disagreements. But this provision crystallizes the urgent need for timely decisions and is a significant step forward.

The Campaign for Common Good is a nonpartisan initiative to overhaul legacy bureaucracies so that government can deliver results without stifling human initiative. The Campaign was launched in 2020 with a petition calling for “spring cleaning commissions” to recommend simplified codes to replace the bureaucratic tangle that has grown over the last 50 years and now paralyzes choices throughout society. The petition was signed by 100 prominent citizens, led by Mitch Daniels, Bill Bradley, Al Simpson, and leading experts in different fields.

More information on the Campaign – including the petition, the initial list of signers, and the first set of Campaign platforms – is available at www.commongood.org. The platform on infrastructure is available here. To speak with Philip Howard, contact Emma McKinstry at emckinstry@highimpactpartnering.com.

Common Good (www.commongood.org) is a nonpartisan reform coalition to simplify government and restore the ability of officials and citizens alike to use common sense in daily decisions. The Founder and Chair of Common Good is Philip K. Howard, a lawyer and author, most recently, of Try Common Sense (W. W. Norton, 2019).