Delivering America First Energy Policy — 5 Priorities for the 119th Congress

The 119th Congress and incoming Administration have a major opportunity: Make America the world innovation leader in clean energy and clean manufacturing. This opportunity builds on the foundation established under the first Trump Administration to unleash American energy projects and build a stronger America.

The incoming Trump administration has nominated leaders to key agencies who have the experience to deliver on these results – Lee Zeldin for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Chris Wright for the Department of Energy (DOE), and former Governor of North Dakota Doug Burgum for the Department of the Interior (DOI).

And Congress is poised to deliver on this too by focusing on innovation over regulation and markets over mandates to advance clean, reliable, and affordable American-made energy.

ClearPath has outlined five policy areas for the 119th Congress to unleash the power of American innovation:

• Modernize permitting: Today, it takes longer to get a permit to build an energy project than it does to earn a college degree. Congress has done a lot of work exploring options to expedite permitting and concepts like permit-by-rule could give a clear blueprint for projects to follow in order to receive a permit.  This will reduce regulatory burdens and still require compliance with all environmental and safety laws. Without additional critical infrastructure, our future energy independence could be at risk.
  
• Drive deployment of new reliable energy and innovation: America is experiencing massive energy demand growth related to advanced American manufacturing, datacenters, and AI needs. By supporting and streamlining the Department of Energy’s later-stage programs, American energy producers can deploy more new nuclear, carbon capture, geothermal, energy storage, and grid infrastructure to meet the demand. Deploying more energy is the simplest way to keep costs lower for consumers and businesses.

• Grow the nuclear order book: The first Trump administration made significant efforts to accelerate new nuclear investments and facilitate American nuclear leadership. Congress could continue to make progress on the nuclear front with policies such asThe Accelerating Reliable Capacity (ARC) Act of 2024, which seeks to reduce risk investment and drive strong project management on these innovative and capital-intensive new nuclear design projects. Addressing uncertainty and perceived risk will allow companies to deploy new American nuclear assets and compete globally.  

• Bring American manufacturing back: American manufacturing is the cleanest in the world with the highest environmental standards. We can restore American manufacturing leadership in industries like steel and concrete by strengthening our own supply chains and supporting new innovative practices to drive competitiveness. Legislation such as the Concrete and Asphalt Innovation Act (CAIA)  could support R&D for American-made cement, concrete, and asphalt, reduce red tape by shifting to performance specifications, and scale up domestic manufacturing through market signals such as advanced market commitments (AMCs).
  
• Expand U.S. exports, trade, and direct investment abroad: Expanding into global markets positions the U.S. as a key partner in the future of clean energy and innovation while seizing a valuable trade opportunity. Some estimates suggest that U.S. exports of clean energy technologies could generate approximately $330 billion annually by 2050. By enabling U.S. leadership in the global marketplace, promoting American products, and better utilizing tools like Development Finance Corporation and Export Import Bank, we can reduce global emissions while boosting American products and jobs.
   

ClearPath’s mission is to accelerate American innovation to reduce global energy emissions. ClearPath therefore supports all-of-the above energy and innovation policies that make America stronger and more secure. 

We look forward to advancing policies that will further strengthen America’s leadership role in clean energy and innovation.

Let’s get to work.