High electricity prices can be addressed by building more power from every source, but especially more cost-effective sources like wind and solar. On Wednesday, I spoke at Energy & Commerce’s Energy Subcommittee hearing on permitting  transmission for reliable and affordable power. Watch my full remarks and questions for the witnesses here. 

Energy demand is rising rapidly due to new AI data centers, increased manufacturing, and by greater demand for air conditioning all over the country. Over the next five years, demand is expected to grow by almost 16 percent, according to Grid Strategies. Comparatively, since 2005, power consumption has never increased by more than 1 percent each year. But our national power grid can’t keep up - it’s too old, slow, and insecure. It’s also costing us money. In 2023, adequate and efficient transmission investment would have saved consumers between 3.5 and 5 billion dollars. Right now, new energy projects have to pay expensive fees to connect numerous, smaller transmission lines to the existing grid. That’s like if we had to build new highways to crisscross the United States every time we want to connect two towns.  

If we want to strengthen American energy independence, prevent blackouts and brownouts, prevent cyberattacks, and lower electricity bills, we need to build more modern transmission lines to move power from where it’s generated to where it's needed. And we need to do it much faster than it currently takes, which is roughly seven years for the process and just three years for construction. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) found that we need to add 35 new gigawatts (GW) of power transfer capability to meet demand and withstand extreme weather events. Since 2014, North America has completed 7 new GW of interregional transmission. In the same timeframe, South America completed 22 GW and Europe completed 44 GW. China completed 260 GW. 

Our outdated permitting laws prevent us from building enough energy supply and getting it where it’s needed most. For years, I've pushed to reform these laws so we can meet today’s challenges and lower costs. We’re making progress to pass commonsense reforms, but we also need to ensure the Trump Administration upholds the law and faithfully implements any bipartisan energy legislation – not just the parts they like. 

President Trump and Republicans' "Big Beautiful Bill" wiped out many clean energy investments for wind and solar projects, as well as batteries for energy storage. That means many of the projects that were already in process thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act were cancelled – less energy supply when we need much more. A 2025 order gave Interior Secretary Doug Burgum sole authority to approve or reject all new wind and solar energy projects, even for the most routine activities and even after energy companies have cleared all the other regulatory red tape. The Trump Administration is making it nearly impossible to build the renewable energy we need to prevent blackouts and lower electricity bills. 

Last month, I formally introduced my bipartisan Create Expedited Reviews to Transform American Infrastructure Now (CERTAIN) Act. The bill would ensure fairness, certainty, and transparency in the permitting process through enforceable accountability measures, stronger coordination between agencies, and fully staffed agencies. Critically, the bill would protect lawfully issued permits from being taken away arbitrarily or through political interference, giving developers, investors, and workers the certainty they rely on to build the energy projects we desperately need.   

See what labor unions, building trades, energy builders, and other organizations that represent people who actually do the work to build these projects have to say about the bill here. I’ll keep working to get this bill across the finish line so we can stop straining our grid and our wallets.  

• To learn more about my work to reform our outdated permitting processes and get more clean energy, housing, and transportation built, listen to this episode of the Electric Perspectives podcast. 

• I talked to NBC7 San Diego about how delays to DACA renewal applications threaten the employment authorizations and legal immigration status Dreamers.