America has forgotten how to build, courtesy of a Byzantine permitting process that delays projects for years and often kills them altogether. A new bill could change that, though, and let the U.S. start building again, including badly needed energy infrastructure that would lower prices.

The current paralysis was made painfully evident this year when the Iran war disrupted tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, and oil jumped from about $70 a barrel to about $100 in a matter of weeks. Prices at the pump skyrocketed while costs for natural gas, fertilizer, electricity, and more all rose as well.

America has weathered the supply shock better than most countries because of our shale production, but the cushion is much thinner than it should be.  Every stalled well, pipeline, port, and power line is a shock absorber missing from U.S. infrastructure. Energy security is national security, and a country that cannot build cannot be secure.

The bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, unveiled September 30 by Senate committee leaders, aims to fix the permitting paralysis with purely commonsense reforms. It sets a one-year deadline for environmental assessments and two-year deadline for full impact statements. It gives opponents 150 days to sue, not six years.

It also narrows Section 401 of the Clean Water Act so states can no longer block pipelines on grounds that have nothing to do with........

© Townhall