This spotlight is the fifth in Next American Era’s “Building the Era” series – which looks at governance that strengthens communities, fuels innovation, and expands economic opportunity for Americans across the country.
The Problem
American families are paying more than ever for the basics. Rent is higher, power bills have increased, and the projects that were meant to help have been stuck for years. Much of this comes back to one problem: we have made it too hard to build in America. Whether it's homes, energy projects, roads and water systems, or other critical infrastructure projects, the wait can feel indefinite.
Costly delays stem from overlapping reviews, slow approvals, and rules written for a different era. Individually, these processes may seem manageable, but together they drive up costs and wait times. At a time when our country needs more power than ever, a 50-year-old permitting system can’t keep pace.
The Facts:
Grid congestion cost $12 billion in 2024 alone, and electricity rates have jumped 33% in the last five years
Only 13 percent of capacity that requested a grid connection from 2000 to 2020 was ever built or reached operation by the end of 2025
Federal environmental impact statements take on average 4.5 years for approval
America is short five million homes, leaving one-third of young adults still living with their parents.
As Next American Era President Cheri Bustos put it: “American families are tired of housing and healthcare costing more than they can afford, paying more to power their homes, and watching much-needed energy and infrastructure projects stall for years.”
A Pragmatic Solution
On October 5, the Build America Caucus released the Build More Agenda, a bipartisan plan to tackle the obstacles that keep America from building, from homes, to new energy projects, to innovative infrastructure. Co-chaired by Representatives Josh Harder (D-CA) and Celeste Maloy (R-UT), the caucus brings together members of both parties around one goal: making it easier to build.
More than 60 bills span seven focuses, from housing and energy, to health care and scientific research. Three in particular speak directly to the costs families feel every day, and how such an agenda would address these issues:
Affordable homes: Close the five-million-home shortage by fully implementing the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, expanding where housing can be built, reducing costs and delays, and unlocking more financing for new projects.
Lower power costs: Make sure it doesn’t take longer to permit an energy project than to build it, get more out of existing infrastructure, and invest in the technologies that will power the future.
Fast tracking construction: Create dedicated fast tracks for new projects, reward coordination between agencies, make smarter spending decisions so construction can begin.
Everyday Americans can’t wait around for projects to move forward, and America can’t afford stalled innovation.
The Bottom Line
The Build America Caucus is making real progress by offering concrete solutions to the challenges that hold back growth. There’s no single problem, so the agenda takes on the processes that have a domino-effect on American building, slowing down homes, energy, and infrastructure alike. Put forward by members of both parties, this agenda makes an important point: Building isn’t a partisan issue, and the solution doesn’t have to be either.
Congress now has the roadmap to modernize old rules without giving up essential protections, and a chance to act on part of it right away. The Senate is expected to take its first vote when it’s back from Election recess on November 9. It is expected to be on the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act – a permitting reform bill that will set us on the right course.
As NAE’s research on the cost of delay shows, every month of waiting has a price. This is the pragmatic, solutions-oriented governing that Next American Era is working toward, and it's what American families have been waiting for. NAE looks forward to working with the Caucus and members of both parties to turn the best of these ideas – like permitting reform – into law.