Senator Cotton: America's Permitting System 'Broken'

0:00On April 27th, Senator Tom Cotton from Arkansas is sounding the alarm on America's federal permitting system, calling it straight up broken and saying, it's putting us behind rivals like China. He argues in a new opinion piece that national security now hinges on building stuff fast by power plants, mines, and defense sites, not just military gear. Take the Sun's Zia transmission line, it dragged on for nearly 17 years through federal red tape before breaking ground, or the mountain valley pipeline, stalled by lawsuits until Congress stepped in. Cotton says, these aren't one-offs, they're choking billions in investments. Experts and McKinsey estimate $1.5 trillion worth of projects are stuck waiting for approvals. That cash could supercharge our economy and energy security, especially when the world's unstable. Back in the day, we cranked out the Golden Gate Bridge and interstate highway system way quicker. Cotton wants big changes to laws like the National Environmental Policy Act and Endangered

1:02Species Act, with tight deadlines on reviews and caps on, endless court fights. He's been pushing hard on cutting ties to Chinese supply chains to build up our own industry. Without fixes, he warns America could regulate its way right into defeat against global threats. Time to rethink how we build to stay on top. That's the story for today, US News Today, driven by AI. I'm Corey with The Story.