Americans for Prosperity Foundation Opens Investigation into Biden Administration’s Onerous Energy Permitting Regulations

May 10, 2024 | Today Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFP Foundation) filed FOIA requests seeking records on the Council of Environmental Quality’s recent overreaching revisions to energy permitting regulations. Last May, Congress passed amendments to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) as part of the Fiscal Responsibility Act. The amendments were meant to streamline the energy project permitting process by shortening and simplifying the environmental review process. 

However, rather than streamline the permitting process, the new CEQ regulations appear to go beyond CEQ’s regulatory authority and further complicate the permitting process. AFP Foundation filed FOIA requests to bring transparency to the Biden Administration’s regulatory actions that betray Congress’s intent and erect new barriers to energy abundance for Americans. 

AFP Foundation filed FOIA requests with the Council on Environmental Quality, Bureau of Land Management, Department of Energy, Department of Interior, and the Army Corps of Engineers. 

AFP Foundation Analyst Thomas Kimbrell stated: 

Congress created the CEQ as an advisory council. These new NEPA regulations are outside of CEQ’s rulemaking authority. Congress made clear the Fiscal Responsibility Act amendments were meant to make the permitting process more efficient, but the Biden Administration’s new rule does the opposite. This is another example of Bidenomics policies that will increase prices for Americans.