National association of benefactors. I am jay timmons, ceo here. Those of you who are not familiar, represent manufacturers of all sizes and all set or so the Worlds Largest multinationals to small and mediumsized manufacturers all up and down the street fell across america. Were the bracer 12 million men and women who make eggs in the United States. So today is day two of infrastructure week. It started off strongly yesterday with a full days worth of programs and our guest speaker was a speaker at the event i was out last night. So he has been. Ultimate infrastructure week. We have seen representatives of the Business Community from organized labor, think tanks and others in this very collaborative effort to demonstrate the urgency of Infrastructure Improvement and how the urgency is really uniting diverse interests. So for manufacturers, infrastructure is really a can headedness issue. It matters and every step of the production process from receiving inputs to shipping our products to customers not only here, but also to markets overseas. We are also vital supplies to the transit and construction industries. In other words, investments in infrastructure have a Multiplier Effect across our entire economy. Despite the proven benefits of Infrastructure Improvements, efforts to prove our nations infrastructure continue to meet with roadblocks, particularly from the regulatory and permitting framework. That is a topic of the conversation here today. So to watch this discussion, we are very commensurate honor to have with us a leader that that is grappled with these issues in both the public and the private tours. He is make Regulatory Reform a priority from his current Vantage Point in the United States senate. As governor of maine and in the private sector, angus king has developed alternative energy and conservation projects and today she is named first a United States senator. I once served as the chief of staff to the governor of the commonwealth of virginia, so i saw firsthand what governor space when they are trying to improve the infrastructure within the borders of our states. Senator king understands the challenges associated with infrastructure and best mens and i have to say we really could have asked for a better leader to offer his insights to us here today. Senator king, welcome to the nam. Clap not those of you delighted to be with you and those of you who have encountered me before and know that i never reach beaches. I always just talk. But ever since then in 1992 that i think you might enjoy. Its sort of sets the context for what we are talking about today. So bear with me for a minute. I know its a little boring when you are reading, but god cleared his throat nervously as he rose to address the board of Environmental Protection. His engineers had been working on the plans for the tides project for almost two and a half years and the Environmental Impact state and come in three volumes that can independent these was complete. But he did support staff is hostile in the neighbors in this case, everyone in the world who owned coastal real estate are violently opposed. They had organized a group called coastal residents against pollution. Audubon and Conservation Law Foundation had intervened in a well attended press conference had announced they were boycotting the process in tire leak and would sabotage the project, even if it was permitted. God felt he had to go forward however. Something had to be done with the oceans twice a day because of the gravitational effect of the bed. How did the water red pulp alum to cozy be a reasonable solution. Most people malate live by the way although there have been some opposition to the project at first. The opposition had been based on the grounds of visual pollution of the night sky. We cannot see the stars as well as before. Friends of the animals was subject to because of the unfair advantage than they gave to predators like fox is an after road. Fortunately, friends of the predators had intervened and help god out. Finally, got settled in the case that, say no more than one fulminate not and that it would be phased in at that. It had been a close call. The vote was 5ford and the board is getting tougher all the time. I also felt some financial pressure to go ahead, although he would never mention this to the board. You dirty spent 2 million on the application in figure the only way of recouping and if that was to complete at least some part of the project. We are aware that there might be some unavoidable environmental effects from this project costs at opening his prepared statement. The several hundred members of trip through the audience, most of them held signs that said things like type than, gods out and no bathtub ring for a world laugh derisively, some haste. Her attorney rolled his eyes, but god continued heres some such effect is inevitable if we are to maintain the mood in its present location. We try to mitigate the problem by exaggerating the rise in all in the extreme northern and southern latitudes and minimizing around the equator while the water is warmer and more hospitable. But what about the cost of building floating docks in places like maine someone shouted from the back of the room. And the smell of read ours about that but in fact is exposed. He was hoping this point what not, because it might generate air quality review. Another monitoring and more millions for consultants. Somebody else said what about a russian . Who is going to pay to short the foundation on the cottage . Sunday roast and at the edge of any water body is inevitable but pointed out trying to stay calm. But it was boston other questions to the audience. Had he done a study of the effects on aquatic organisms . What about wetlands . Out people who figured out who owns the inner tidal zone . Where is the noise study . Waves coming and would make it impossible to sleep. What about possible salt water effects on adjacent or impacts on seabird and nesting patterns. Quietly, god forbid a stylus and started to leave. Looking back at the board, you thought they were arguing about whether the public hearing schedule should be extended to put a few days in the Southern Hemisphere have a very solid waste review was necessary because of the driftwood problem. On his way out, god bent down and whispers something to his administrative assistant. Know what he said i think i have another idea. So thats from a little note book called the casco base grows. But i wrote those words in 1992 and at that time at night is served in public office, but i had a variety of backgrounds that are relevant so much of the discussion of this question. I had an environmental attorney. I was too obvious for of environmental groups in maine in the 1970s, hulk dropped her bottle bill, hulk after billboard bill that took billboard software highways. I can say that with pride because address and ship consisted of joining a young attorney general and it overbought allport said vermont and across about in wrote maine. I was drafting. I then went to work in the alternative injures you feel it, hydro, biomass, then did work in conservation and started my own business, did 48 major Energy Conservation projects, each one of which required local permits for the Building Permit to electrical permits. Then served as governor for eight years. Then did some work. Savings bank or any other Small Community banks in maine did not cause the crash in 2008. And yet they are getting a lot of the burden from the top franc bill. Every time i see maine bankers, thats all they want to talk about is the amount of new applications. Its now up to 39 forms at the barber has to sign in order to get a simple home mortgage. The burden is higher. The cost is high. Small banks are now hired compliance officers of laidoff loan officers. Because they have to do all this work on Regulatory Compliance is isnt necessarily contributing to this dilution of any discernible problem. Youve seen the studies im sure. Theyre a bunch of them out there were people have calculated the cost of the regulation per life saved, health and safety regulations. On that it didnt cost about 100,000 per life saved. Most of us would say thats a pretty good guy. Thats reasonable, straightforward hit saving lives. Asbestos, occupational exposure limits about 9. 9 million per life saved. That is a lot of money, but okay if it was your brother or your company with say thats a pretty good ride. But how about the ultra zein alkyl our Drinking Water regulation, which costs 109 billion per life saved . At some point, it is a cost benefit and i think we have to make those kinds of calculations and really ended aok, this sounds like an import regulation , but what is the cost, what is the burden and what are the unintended consequences . Principle number three, time is money. Did when they spent in permitting for 12 years now, 14. Ive lost track you spent about 65 million. Thats just unacceptable. For anything were talking earlier, where is my friend from sunday. I asked the question, could you build the Intercontinental Railroad today . Ask yourself that question. You all are laughing. That toasty sub being. If you could not build the Intercontinental Railroad today in less than 40 years, that is a problem for america. That is a competitiveness problem. The Intercontinental Railroad was a great infrastructure principle a great Infrastructure Project of the 19th century. If essentially our infrastructure that we have today is a snapshot that we cant modify and large to the, we are not going to be able to compete. The infrastructure as jay said at the beginning was one of the basic Building Blocks of competitiveness. And this has been true throughout our history. I ran across a young guy running for the legislature in illinois in 1832 and he wrote at this platform in this platform is about navigable streams, improve enough can canales and roadways. Abraham lincoln at the age of 23 and all his lies, infrastructure was one of the most of porton and basic principles that he followed. Remarkably, the Land Grant University system was invented in the middle of the civil war, 1864 during lincolns administration. So this is absolutely part of our competitiveness and time is money. It not only is a question of cost, but a question of how long does it take . A sort of corollary of time is money is that you have to have some certainty. You all know that if you are going to get a permit, and any cases it is roulette. And you dont know whether youre going to get your permits are not. And so, you essentially down to the project. And we all know we hear about great cases that take forever cost of this money. But we dont know is the project could never go forward, where people say im not going to put my arm into that degrade her. I mentioned i was in the Wind Development business. We did a project in maine that from the first meetings to the First Construction work was four years and 5 million of upfront high test unsubsidized dollars and ive often looked back and said if i know, you know, if we had known what we were in for, would we have done this . A major Energy Project there certainly is controversial, some people dont like it, but its producing a lot of energy and a lot of tax revenues for the town that it didnt wouldnt have been. So its hard to measure Major Projects that dont have been. But i think that is clearly part of this time is money principle. Principle number four is attitude is everything. Regulators and the break elation doesnt necessarily be timeconsuming and impossible. The problemsolving, they still have their strong regulation, but you dont have a lot of disadvantages. National semiconductors, instruments when i was looking for a place to build a 500 Million Manufacturing and one was permitting time. To submit a big big meeting in maine but the National Semiconductor from california and all my cabinet and political people they are. We didnt, you know, avoid any environmental requirements, but its a question of how, what is your attitude, what is the attitude of the regulator toward the regulated community . I used to say and i believe it and lived it, i wanted main to have the most stringent Environmental Standards in the country, and the most predictable timely and fair regulatory process, environmental process. You can have those two things together. A cumbersome regular process should not be considered Environmental Protection tool. The regulatory process should be lets see what the rules are and enforce them. Thats principle number five, abuse of the process as an inappropriate technique. The process itself should not be a regulatory technique. To problems and t the two solutions, a couple of solutions. Problem number one, permitting is too costly and the process is too lengthy. I dont have to give you examples. You know them, you have probably lived them. How do we, how do we solve this problem, this goal and a were in where we could build an Intercontinental Railroad . Part of it is that we want to the public involved. Very easy to say okay, give the power to the governor, he can wave a wand and have it happen. We need to the public involved but we need to find the right balance between the publics right to be involved and raise questions and have those questions answered and the right of the developer or the business entity to get a timely response. One thing we did, two things we did in maine that i committee us thoughts which i suspect youre part of it done in of the state. One is onestop shopping. I think one of the most Serious Problems and certainly a search problem of federal permitting is serial permitting where you have to get four or five different permits for the same project from different agencies sleek and spent millions getting a firsfirst for any futility the h youre out of luck. And we inaugurated a system of onestop shopping where we gave the jurisdiction to the department of Environmental Protection by the other agencies that had an interest had an opportunity, and engaged in the process but ultimately there was one decisionmaker. And i think thats something the federal government has to think about. Im interested in offshore energy developer, particularly wind power because i think its important potential asset for this country but right now you have multiple federal agencies that are engaged and they have to be and they are working together but i think thats something we have to work on is onestop shopping. The other thing we had Great Success with and i think the federal government ought to think about is permit by rule. In other words, instead of having an entirely new permitting process for each project, lets take certain typical projects, lets say a highway project or a bridge project, and say these are things we build all the time. We know the characteristics. You are the standards which the roads have to meet in terms of runoff, absorption, buffer, all of those, lets define the standards and then you build your road. You have a permit to build the road according to those standards but if you dont you were in trouble, subject to enforcement, fines, tearing it down. But you see what the difference is that you set the standards up front and let the people engineer to the standards rather than a whole fresh, oh, this is the first time weve ever built a highway before. Thats something that we did, for example, in maine we build lots of docs. Environment of protection at least when i was their editors and this is still true have a permit by rule on docks and the people nor the stands are they want to build a dock off the land into the water. How it has to be done in a me feet above and how many feet out and controlling for erosion but you dont have to go in, go through the whole process just to do something that is done on a somewhat common basis. Senator portman and senator mccaskill have a bill, the federal permitting improvement act that is an idea, onestop shopping establishes a lead agency to coordinate process for major capital projects. I am a cosponsor of the bill. And it would also reform litigation for needless suits. The current statute of limitation is six years. It lowers back to 150 days. People are involved in these cases know whether or not they want to appeal, so lets get it over with. I heard one case where a major applicant for huge project suited themselves after they got the permit just to get the process going on the lawsuit and get it over with. I dont know whether 150 days is right, or 200 days or something, but some reasonable period, because time can be a killer on projects like this. Problem number two is what i call regulatory accumulation. I really thought a lot about this and i know phil has, too. This is were i wait around my book. A friend of mine, a fellow i just met passionate where is my professor friend from yale . There he is. He bought it and he liked it. It was written and i think 1972 by washington lawyer called the institutional imperative, how to understand the United States to government and other bulky objects. Its the most brilliant description of institutional behavior that ive ever read and its hilarious. Is written, very wellwritten, but basically the premise of the book is that if you create a regulatory office, they will regulate. He articulates it has what he calls the iron law of the security office. If you create a security office, threats to security will be found. Thats a profound observation. And if you think about it, if you create a Regulatory Agency,