White House Permit Office Works to Bulk Up After Funding Boost

The federal consulting shop that helps agencies work on environmental permits is bulking up, adding staff and extending its reach into new sectors of the economy, the head of the office says.

The unprecedented expansion comes at a time when a broader role for the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council has emerged as one of the few ideas for overhauling the nation’s permitting structure that both Democrats and Republicans agree on.

The expansion is fueled by a significant increase in FPISC’s budget from the recent climate law (Public Law 117-169), which catapulted agency funding from $10 million to $350 million. ...