The National Taxpayers Union urged a Senate committee to approve three energy-related bills while rejecting three water infrastructure programs that would authorize over $1.2 billion in new spending without budget offsets, according to a memo released July 29, 2026. The taxpayer advocacy organization addressed the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ahead of its markup hearing, praising measures to cut permitting delays for oil, gas, and geothermal projects while opposing water programs it says would worsen the nation's fiscal crisis.
The group endorsed the License to Drill Act, which would extend the Application for Permit to Drill fee program through 2037, allowing faster processing of drilling applications without requiring additional taxpayer resources. It also backed the Geothermal Energy Advancement Act, bipartisan legislation that would require the Department of the Interior to handle all geothermal authorizations within 60 days after finishing environmental reviews. The geothermal bill would also speed up National Environmental Policy Act reviews for qualifying projects, allow agencies to recover reasonable permitting costs, and establish both a geothermal ombudsman and an interagency task force to coordinate approvals and eliminate bottlenecks.
According to the National Taxpayers Union, the License to Drill Act would "help address some of the bureaucratic delays that make it nearly impossible to build anything in a timely and cost effective manner." The organization noted that investments requiring months for approval frequently stretch into years because of excessive red tape at federal and state levels. The report stated this problem hits the traditional energy sector especially hard, where power demand is projected to far exceed supply capacity unless the permitting system changes.
The group's opposition centered on fiscal concerns rather than policy goals. The MORE WATER Act would authorize over $1 billion across five years, the Cooperative Watershed Management Program Reauthorization Act would authorize more than $40 million annually for four years at levels higher than previous authorizations, and the Water Security and Drought Resilience Act would authorize over $200 million for several years with a new $75 million grant program. The National Taxpayers Union argued that with annual deficits approaching $2 trillion, interest payments becoming the fastest-growing budget category, and national debt nearing $40 trillion, even smaller authorizations must be matched with spending cuts elsewhere. The organization's stance reflects a broader push to address permitting obstacles for energy infrastructure while demanding fiscal discipline on new programs, even those targeting Western water shortages and rural watershed management.