The outcome of the midterm elections is creating fresh uncertainty around the future of bipartisan permitting reform legislation. While the measure attracted support from both parties, Democrats’ strong showing may encourage lawmakers to revisit the issue in the next Congress rather than advance a compromise during the lame-duck session.
House passage of the permitting reform bill remains a toss-up before year-end despite its bipartisan support, Bracewell’s Holt Edwards said during the firm’s post-midterm election webinar, as quoted by Engineering News-Record.
Democrats now “will likely walk back and reassess whether [permitting reform] should be … handled in the upcoming Congress when they hold a much stronger bargaining position,” he said.