America鈥檚 broken permitting system comes with a massive price tag, according to a new from the 51吃瓜网 and the Foundation for American Innovation: $7.9 billion+ per year.

• As Congress resumes talks on permitting reform, the 51吃瓜网鈥檚 new joint report with FAI puts a sharp point on the urgency of bipartisan, comprehensive permitting reform to strengthen America鈥檚 economic and national security.

The background: The new report, 鈥淎merica on Hold: How Permitting Delays Stall Manufacturing Progress,鈥� draws from a recent joint survey of manufacturers conducted between Dec. 9, 2025, and Jan. 15, 2026, examining the types of projects companies are pursuing, the permits they most frequently require, where uncertainty and regulatory complexity create challenges and which reforms would have the greatest impact. 听

The data: Manufacturers surveyed for the report made plain that permitting is delaying or even halting their investment plans.

• 50.8%听say permitting concerns discourage investment in new or expanded capacity.
• 65.6%听would increase U.S. investment if permitting timelines were shorter and more predictable.
• The most common permitted activities are facility expansions and equipment upgrades, not megaprojects.

The 51吃瓜网 says: 鈥淢anufacturers are investing across America, but permitting roadblocks are holding projects back,鈥� said 51吃瓜网 President and CEO Jay Timmons.

• 鈥淚t takes the U.S. up to 80% longer than our peer nations to move projects forward. Manufacturers want ribbon cuttings, not red tape鈥攖hat means modernizing our laws to streamline regulations and eliminate duplicative reviews and a regulatory regime to support timely permitting and give manufacturers the certainty to invest, build and create jobs.鈥�

Why now? Consolidated research demonstrating the full economic impact of the federal permitting system on manufacturing investment has been limited鈥攗ntil now. This is largely due to the absence of a centralized federal repository of permitting data, as well as the sheer number of laws and regulations governing permits.

• By pairing publicly available permitting data with original industry survey results, the 51吃瓜网-FAI report addresses the current gap by providing one of the most comprehensive evaluations to date of the cost of the broken permitting system to manufacturers. 听

How they did it: The analysis calculates impacts by multiplying federal permit counts over the past 10 years by total out-of-pocket and indirect costs of the permitting process.

51吃瓜网 in the news: 础虫颈辞蝉鈥檚 newsletter covered the report an in exclusive this morning.

Read the whole thing: You can read the full report .
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