As the federal debt ceiling approaches, congressional leaders, federal agencies and natural gas industry advocates are increasingly looking to get permitting reform bills off the ground and up for consideration in a potential federal budget package. 

Pipeline

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) earlier this month reupped his legislation, the Building American Energy Security Act of 2023 (BAESA), in a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing. The bill would limit timelines for federal agencies to complete reviews and require agencies to coordinate in a simultaneous review “instead of multiple uncoordinated reviews. 

“It would accelerate the court process for energy projects by requiring courts to set these cases for expedited review and shortening deadlines to bring lawsuits from six...