To highlight the importance of modernizing America’s outdated permitting processes, CRES Academy’s second session of 2026 brought together dozens of Congressional staffers, industry leaders and Trump Administration staff to discuss the need to update how our nation plans, develops and builds.
With CRES Forum’s Director of Government Affairs Ryan McManus providing opening remarks, the session was kicked off by laying the groundwork for a panel focused on bringing bipartisan attention to the need of getting permitting reform legislation across the finish line.
Following Ryan’s remarks, CRES Forum’s Senior Policy Fellow Marty Hall moderated the panel featuring:
- Taylor Playforth, Senior Director of NEPA and Permitting, Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)
- Erik Milito, President, National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA)
- Erin Duncan, Vice President, Congressional Affairs, Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)
- Chad Whiteman, Vice President for Environment & Regulatory Affairs, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Together, the panelists discussed how Congress enacts legislation to speed up permitting, while ensuring environmental concerns are met. Playforth discussed how the Trump Administration is prioritizing American energy dominance through executive orders and how more work is yet to come.
Erik, Erin and Chad went on to talk about how their industries were dealing with ongoing policy shifts from Washington, how they best prepare for them and informed staff how their bosses can do their part to support updating current legislation to remove red tape.
Together, these panelists emphasized what permitting reform could do to ultimately transform America’s infrastructure capabilities.
The event concluded with a common theme: In order to stay competitive on the world stage, we must build faster and smarter.
CRES Forum was grateful to host the dozens of staffers in attendance and the industry leaders who lent their voices to this ongoing discussion.