Chao Floats ‘Page Limit’ for Environmental Reviews

Politico covers CEI’s Annual Dinner and Reception.

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao tonight pitched the administration’s $1 trillion infrastructure vision to an audience of conservatives, presenting an overhaul of the air traffic control system as potentially one of the largest transfers of “government assents and services to a non-governmental, independent entity in our country’s history.”

At a Competitive Enterprise Institute event tonight, Chao ticked off many of the same talking points about the Trump administration’s support for stripping air traffic control operations from the FAA as she did during a Senate hearing earlier today.

She also reiterated that P3s will be a part of the administration’s infrastructure plan, noting that “a significant number of states in this country do not even allow public-private partnerships” and suggesting that “private are discriminated against when it comes to investing in public infrastructure.”

“Now, does that make sense? Doesn’t make sense to us,” Chao said.

Chao also told attendees that the administration may enforce a page limit on environmental reviews of infrastructure projects as an attempt to “cut red tape and reduce time delays and cost burdens.”

“So, for example, we are considering allowing the steps in the permitting process to occur — wait, just listen — simultaneously rather than sequentially. This actually saves a lot of time. Another example that we’re considering is to enforce the page limit restrictions on environmental and other reports, which now can number in the tens of thousands of pages.”

Read the full article at Politico.