WASHINGTON – Today, National Governors Association (NGA) Vice Chair Utah Governor Spencer Cox and Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards released the following statement as Co-Chairs of the Energy and Infrastructure Working Group after the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act.
“Governors call on Congress and the Administration to work together to find common ground to improve the energy and infrastructure delivery process.
“Governors appreciate Congress having a conversation on energy policy and encourage Congressional leaders and committees to work closely with states and territories in finding solutions that can pass both chambers and become law.
“Governors of both parties want to ensure energy is reliable, affordable and clean. It would be tragic if the historic investments that Congress has made in infrastructure languish because of federal red tape. Governors want to reduce the bottlenecks, including permitting bottlenecks, that could endanger these investments, including investments in clean energy.
“States and territories have differing energy sources and needs depending on their geography, economic mix and weather. But Governors prefer that federal policies be agnostic about energy source and flexible in funding, allowing states to customize and design the mix of energy generation, transmission and infrastructure that works best for their states and territories.
“Governors are working together across party lines and state lines on common sense solutions to safely speed up the process to deliver energy and infrastructure benefits nationwide, and we stand ready to support Congressional efforts to do the same at the federal level.”
The Energy and Infrastructure Working Group is focused on solutions to streamline the permitting process, address legal challenges and tackle procurement issues to speed delivery for projects across four categories: 1) energy transmission (pipeline and electric transmission lines); 2) utility-scale energy generation (including oil and gas, renewables and nuclear); 3) transportation; and 4) mining and materials.
The following Governors are participating in the Governors Energy and Infrastructure Working Group on behalf of all 55 states and territories:
- NGA Vice Chair Utah Governor Spencer Cox (Working Group co-chair)
- Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards (Working Group co-chair)
- Illinois Governor JB Pritzker
- Maine Governor Janet Mills
- Montana Governor Greg Gianforte
- New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu
- North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum
- Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt
- Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi
