US Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign on Sept. 25 released an economic plan that calls for spurring domestic production in strategic industries like artificial intelligence and low-emission steel and iron while accelerating projects through permitting reform.

The plan, outlined in an 82-page policy book, is centered on "America Forward" tax credits for industries seen as critical to the future. As proposed, the new tax credits would be tied to labor-friendly requirements like the right to organize, similar to how the Inflation Reduction Act's federal tax incentives for clean energy and manufacturing are structured.

Harris, during a Sept. 25 economic speech in Pittsburgh, promised to "recommit the nation to global leadership that will define the next century." The Democratic nominee pledged to "expand our lead in clean energy innovation and manufacturing, so the next generation of breakthroughs — from advanced batteries to geothermal to advanced nuclear — are not just invented, but built here in America by American workers."

In addition, the economic plan calls for a national reserve for critical minerals and leveraging the Defense Production Act and the US Energy Department's resources to establish a domestic stockpile and build out processing capacity in the US.

Acknowledging that large and complex projects often face yearslong permitting delays, Harris further promised in her speech to "work with Congress, workers and businesses, cities and states, community groups and local leaders, to reform permitting, cut red tape, and get things moving faster."

The Sept. 25 economic plan was relatively light on details. The plan did not include proposed tax rates for specific industries or detailed policy preferences on the thorny issue of permitting reform.

Ongoing permitting reform efforts

The plan did note that Harris was involved in a debt ceiling deal in 2023 that resulted in a bipartisan update to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). In April, the White House Council on Environmental Quality finalized a corresponding rule that sets a two-year deadline for environmental impact statements required under the statute, among other changes.

However, Sens. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), and Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) are leading a congressional effort to nullify the Biden administration's NEPA rule over objections to its approach to environmental justice and climate considerations.

Manchin, chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and Ranking Member John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) are separately pushing a bipartisan permitting reform package that aims to boost renewable energy deployment, electric transmission expansion, US oil and gas production, and LNG exports.

Meanwhile, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) has introduced a bill focused on judicial reforms for NEPA. Westerman's measure could become part of a bicameral permitting reform deal in the post-election lame-duck session.

Industry leaders urge compromise

Harris' permitting reform comments were welcomed by industry trade groups, although advocates during a Sept. 26 panel discussion at the National Clean Energy Week conference in Washington, DC, focused on the need to enact legislation.

"If you're going to get this type of bill across the finish line, it has to be a compromise bill, and it has to include the fossil provisions, married with the transmission and some of the clean energy development provisions, because that's the reality in the Capitol Hill these days" given tight margins in Congress, said Kyle Davis, senior director of federal affairs for the Clean Energy Buyers Association.

Davis called the Manchin-Barrasso package, which advanced out of committee by a 15-4 vote, a "really solid compromise." He urged others not to "let perfection be the enemy of the good."

Some energy industry trade groups, nonetheless, are eager to include other reforms that did not make it into the Senate bill, which was crafted to stay within the Energy and Natural Resources Committee's jurisdiction.

The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America has been keen on Clean Water Act changes that would limit the ability of states to slow or block gas pipeline projects through Section 401 water quality certifications.

Malcolm Woolf, president and CEO of the National Hydropower Association, said he left the Senate bill markup "incredibly encouraged" by commitments from the panel's leaders to add provisions to help hydropower development, even though those were excluded from the bill passed out of committee in July.

If either party wins trifecta control of government in the November election, that could force a reset, making permitting reform less likely in 2025 due to an expected focus on tax policy reform, Davis said. However, he added that a bipartisan opportunity on permitting reform could emerge if divided government persists into the next Congress.

"What we are seeing is that certain governors and especially state economic development offices are starting to realize that new transmission investment is going to be absolutely critical for landing those new projects," Davis said. Developers of projects such as datacenters may "move on to the next state" if the system is constrained and utilities are not proactively working to build out the grid and add capacity, he said.

Cheryl Lombard, a senior program director with ClearPath, said her group supports the Manchin-Barrasso bill.

"Would we like to see more certainty and more specificity on the judicial reform side? Yes, but this is probably what's going to get across the finish line," Lombard said of the legislation. She was unsure how House backers of judicial reform for NEPA would act this year, "but I think that's where we can move for next year," she added.