John Boozman, a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, highlighted Arkansas’s growing national leadership in energy permitting reform during a hearing with industry experts Wednesday, urging Congress to modernize the federal environmental review process.
Boozman pointed to recent state actions, including passage of the SPEED Act by Congressman Bruce Westerman and energy regulatory reforms signed into law by Sarah Huckabee Sanders, as examples of commonsense policies attracting major investment to Arkansas.
“With Chairman Westerman’s passage of the SPEED Act and Governor Sanders signing energy regulatory reforms into state law, Arkansas is emerging as a national leader in commonsense permitting reform,” Boozman said. He noted that industries such as technology, lithium, steel, manufacturing, aerospace, defense, and forestry are increasingly choosing Arkansas for new or expanded operations.
During the hearing, Boozman asked witnesses whether state-level reforms like the SPEED Act could provide regulatory certainty and how federal permitting changes might complement those efforts.
David Terry, president of the National Association of State Energy Officials, said Arkansas’s approach has created strong investment momentum but emphasized the need for predictable federal permitting timelines.
“The missing component of federal permitting certainty is critical,” Terry said. “These are once-in-a-generation opportunities. If those businesses go overseas, we lose them forever.”
Boozman also highlighted recent major artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure investments in Arkansas, including a multi-billion-dollar data center project in West Memphis, crediting the state’s reliable and affordable energy supply.
Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, said large data centers nationwide are seeking fast, predictable access to energy and benefit from consistent environmental review timelines regardless of energy source.
The senator also addressed the recent winter weather event that impacted Arkansas and much of the country, praising utility workers and linemen for maintaining system reliability. He urged policymakers to consider whether comprehensive permitting reform could help utilities better prepare for future emergencies.
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