If Alan Armstrong, Oklahoma’s new U.S. Senator is to fulfill his goal of energy permitting reform in the seven months he will hold the office, he will, as the saying goes, “hit the ground running.”
On the day he was sworn in as a replacement for Markwayne Mullin who resigned to become the nation’s new Homeland Security Director, the 63-year old Armstrong vowed to work hard on permitting reform. Williams had to resign as Executive Chairman of the Board of the Williams Cos. in Tulsa in order to become a U.S. Senator.
He was also given direction by Gov. Kevin Stitt on the day of his appointment.
“Permitting reform is so important, is one of the reasons that I think Alan is the right person for this job,” Stitt said. “We need Congress to act this year, and Alan is the right man with the right perspective to bring his leadership to work across party lines and to help us get permitting reform done.”
Sen. Armstrong admits he will have limited time to accomplish a lofty goal.
“I look around and realize how important energy decisions are, and in general, infrastructure decisions are,” Armstrong said during the Tuesday morning news conference. “And when you travel around the world these days, you realize we are falling behind on being the leaders in infrastructure.”
He is also aware that oil and gas permitting reform, something that Republicans and the Trump administration have been urging since the Biden administration won’t be easy.
“I actually have been, from the private side, I’ve been working with both sides of the aisle for quite some time on making sure people hear that picking one or the other is not the way to get there,” he said. “We need to make sure that this works for all types of energy infrastructure.”
The topic of permitting reform is also a goal of the National Governors Association led by Gov. Stitt. He was joined by Democrats last October in releasing a package of reform priorities to improve federal permitting and regulatory processes for critical energy infrastructure projects.
“This isn’t a Republican or Democrat issue. Every American needs to heat their home and power their vehicle,” said Governor Stitt. “As the demand for energy rises as we bring new technologies and AI online, we need to complete energy infrastructure projects in a faster, more efficient way. I’m thankful to Governor Shapiro and our fellow Governors who participated in this task force for their innovative ideas to make American energy more accessible for everyone.”
The governors sent a letter to Congress and urged members to enact reforms to ensure federal permitting processes are streamlined and administered in a technology-neutral and apolitical manner that allows energy projects of all types to move forward.
“We write to you as representatives of a bipartisan group of Governors to share our key priorities related to your efforts to improve federal permitting and regulatory processes,” they wrote.
Who joined Gov. Stitt in the encouragement?
The following Governors are participating in the Governors Energy and Infrastructure Working Group on behalf of all 55 states and territories:
- Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt – NGA Chair, working group co-chair
- Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro – working group co-chair
- Maryland Governor Wes Moore – NGA Vice Chair
- Colorado Governor Jared Polis
- Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont
- Indiana Governor Mike Braun
- Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry
- Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey
- North Dakota Governor Kelly Armstrong
- Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee
- Tennessee Governor Bill Lee
- Utah Governor Spencer Cox
- Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon