US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday aimed at speeding up the permitting process for infrastructure projects.
The order looks streamline approvals by tasking the lead agency with completing the review process, working with other relevant agencies. Trump dubbed this the “One Federal Decision” mechanism. The order also undoes an Obama-era rule to require stricter building standards to prevent damage from flooding.
The president, who promised during his campaign to spur $1 trillion in infrastructure spending, has made expediting the permitting process a central tenet of his plan.
“This overregulated permitting process is a massive self-inflicted wound on our country. It is disgraceful,” Trump said at a press conference following a meeting at Trump Tower in New York to discuss the infrastructure package.
He added that he expected to succeed in passing an infrastructure bill despite setbacks in passing healthcare legislation.
“Infrastructure is something that I think we will have bipartisan support on,” he said. “I actually think Democrats will go along with the infrastructure.”
Trump has vowed to reduce permitting time for infrastructure projects from 10 years to two. In May, he released a six-page outline of his goals for the infrastructure bill, which would see $200 billion in federal spending with the remainder coming from state, local and private sector sources.
A more detailed proposal is expected later this year.
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