Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), stated that the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 would create more American jobs while decreasing reliance on China for critical items such as semiconductors and rare earth metals. Timmons shared his statement in a July 31 press release.
"These developments are absolutely critical for us to be able to compete with China," said Timmons. "As this legislation progresses, many of the commonsense policies outlined in the Energy Permitting Reform Act will help unlock the full potential of our industry, bolster our nation's energy security and create American jobs. Streamlining permitting processes, cutting red tape, requiring that federal agencies make timely decisions and reducing the potential for baseless litigation will help prevent years-long delays for manufacturers—delays that give other countries a distinct advantage and put our own security at risk. America should never be content with a system that can take 10 or 15 years to approve urgently needed projects, when approval can take a fifth of that time in other countries that still adhere to high standards."
The Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 (EPRA) is a bipartisan bill that aims to reform the permit process for U.S. energy projects to make it faster and more affordable, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. EPRA contains provisions that lower the statute of limitations from six years to 150 days for filing against permitting decisions and sets a six-month maximum for agencies to file remand cases. One goal of the legislation is balancing affordable energy development and environmental concerns related to greenhouse gas emissions.
According to the American Enterprise Institute, mining permits are often difficult to obtain, which leads to an increased reliance on imports from China. It takes "an average of seven years and often stretches past a decade" to obtain mining permits. Strengthening the U.S. mining industry would help with mineral supply chain security, lead to an increase in jobs and tax revenue, and boost manufacturing. China currently "dominates the markets for both lithium and rare earths… [and] controls key mineral resources around the world."
The Observer Research Foundation reports that "China control[s] 58 percent of the global production of lithium compounds in 2022, 69 percent of nickel sulfate, 69 percent of synthetic graphite, 75 percent of cobalt, 95 percent of manganese and 100 percent of spherical graphite. China plays a similarly outsized role in the supply of materials used in solar panels and wind turbines."
According to the Department of Energy, critical minerals are "substances that the U.S. government identifies as essential to energy technologies, economic and national security, and the manufacture of key products." Many technologies need these critical minerals, and the materials are highly sought out due to their scarce supply.
Timmons has served as president and CEO of NAM since 2011 and is also chairman of the board of the Manufacturing Institute, which is NAM’s workforce development and education partner, according to NAM's website. NAM is the biggest manufacturing association in the U.S.
