A bipartisan group of House members is moving to dismantle regulatory hurdles for construction and energy projects through the Build America Caucus, which launched in May 2025 and now has 43 members—22 Democrats and 21 Republicans.
Rep. Josh Harder, a California Democrat, chairs the caucus. Rep. Scott Peters, also of California, is a founding member.
The group has endorsed federal legislation to speed permitting, including exempting housing construction from certain environmental reviews and reforming requirements to reduce wildfire risk. The push reflects growing frustration that the environmental review system has become a tool for blocking projects rather than building them.
"We got so good at stopping projects that we forgot how to build things in America," said John Podesta, a senior advisor to three Democratic presidents.
The impetus comes from the 2024 elections, when polling showed the cost of living as voters' top concern. Following their losses, Democrats became more open to deregulation—traditionally a Republican priority—creating an opening for permitting reform.
An earlier bipartisan push, the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024, failed to advance at the end of the 118th Congress. The Build America Caucus emerged from those efforts.
The problem is real. A study tracking NEPA challenges to clean energy projects between 2013 and 2022 found lawsuits delayed projects by nearly four years on average. More than 70 percent of those lawsuits ultimately failed, yet still imposed heavy costs and delays on developers.
Research from the think tank Resources for the Future on renewable energy projects found that nearly one-third of solar projects and about half of wind projects on federal land faced court challenges. The litigation caused or contributed to the termination of three projects and led to significant delays for six others while developers awaited appeal decisions.
Ted Nordhaus, president of the Breakthrough Institute, challenged environmental law professionals to shift focus from stopping projects to building them.
