Transcripts For CSPAN2 Governors 20240704 : vimarsana.com

Welcome to the governors policy roundtable. Executive director of the National Governors association. Thank you, come on, everybody. Thank you, hope you all had a great lunch and we are going to move forward here. Oklahoma governor and North Carolina governor roy cooper. [applause] thank you so much and welcome, we are excited your joining us. Infrastructure is one of the most commonus topics asked about us governors. When will the new bridge be built, when will be pothole be fixed . When will we get highspeed internet . Why is this taking so long to finish . Take your pick, the grid upgrade, solar projects, you name it. Theres no sugarcoating it. The United States is among the slowest stations in the developed world approving Infrastructure Projects particularly when it comes to energy. Permitting reviews for Energy Projects in the u. S. Take six years longer than china, india or other european you nations. Ive had Energy Stakeholders in oklahoma told me it could take up to ten years to fully permit a pipeline project. It takes about six months to build them. The process is drawn out due to agency overlaps, bureaucracy as well as litigation. One company ill leave their name out, this is an existing pipeline trying to retrofit and it will take ten years to get the project approved. This makes no sense and thats why governors are working together across party and state lines on Common Sense Solutions to speed up the process to energy and infrastructure for all americans. So we are working with our neighbors, governor of louisiana and arkansas on a hydrogen hub, this is a cool project Publicprivate Partnership that will lead to deployment of hydrogen network. All of the above energy story and oklahoma is like greet them natural Gas Production but also number two in Energy Production and one of only four states 44 comes from renewables so we believe you need and all of the above approach to Health Affordable Reliable Energy grid and to prioritize project delivery, weve created for such a working group in february of 2023 that focused on solutions to streamline the process to address these procurement issues, congress and Biden Administration recognized the urgency of the problem and governors, or from their actions to include several permitting reforms so they are a great start but we believe much more is needing including judicial reviews. We got a great panel and we need to speed up Infrastructure Projects all across all states so im going to turn it over to Governor Cooper from North Carolina to get his perspective. Thank you for your work, we have an amazing panel to talk about infrastructure. We are the third Fastest Growing state in thewe country. Weve just been named top state by msnbc and would you look at rankings and why they choose what they choose is whats good for business. Number two is infrastructure. T we have well trained dedicated workforce but we know how important infrastructure is not only to businesses but everyday families as well. Right now we have generational opportunity to invest in infrastructure across this country. Weve had plans about things we needed to do to connect highspeed internet and fix roads and bridges. Now we have the funding to do it so what we will talk about is how to do it. Ua the first thing my entire Administration Knows his we are going to first compute for every federal dollar. When you do that, it is important to bring in everybody much like President Biden who pointed the mayor to try to coordinate things. I appointed recovery director helping coordinate applications for federal funding and we are working with local governments and universities, privatea businesses, regulators and federal partners and we have seen significant success as many states across the country. We know highspeed internet is a critical part of infrastructure and weve already started thehe process over doing it with money but we have it. As soon as we had American Rescue fund, we started to use that and now we are going to get a billion and a half from the money which will help us truly connect families and businesses to highspeed internet. Connecting people being able to afford it, Digital Equity and literacy and i know youre trying to get families signed up, almost 900,000 families, 30 a month. Weve competed for money for offshore wind and were found in with energy, weve got to get electricity back in. With bridges and purging infrastructure, the rejection act, there are so many opportunities in water and wastewater were already disturbing hundreds of millions of dollars to help our small towns and businesses connect with water and wastewater. We do have permitting issues and challenges, there is a way to protect our air and water and make sure it moves faster in one thing were doing is i have appointedr liaison and the new companies to make sure Everybody Knows what to do and it is important to make sure we Work Together to get this done. Panelists, first chauvin beutler is president and ceo of exelon. Scott warner is president of National Grid new england and they are working offshore and tony lewis, regional Vice President of state Public Policy and government affairs. Good afternoon, everyone. Let me begin by saying thank you to the governors, the fact that you have put this committee together to talk about this, that is showing the changes undergoing right now. When you talk about the infrastructure, think in terms of undergoing more change in the next ten years than in the last 100. I say that as you have both said, very exciting. Not only for the communities we serve, its exciting for 19000 imports and 10 million customers we have the privilege of serving and the great state of new jersey, Atlantic City and anthony s his team are here today and customers in delaware and miller england, philadelphia and chicago and district of columbia. Why those jurisdictions important . I met youcu because exelon is unique in that we serve the most diverse metropolitan areas in the city but also coastal areas. We serve rural areas where farmlandta is often and the same challenges of needs but how you address them are different. Governors talk about the portfolio approach and then we have to take that same approach. We are a combination in this utility meaning it represents 4 of our portfolio and we do believe it is important, and must be all of the above approach. It is also important for the affordability because my biggest job is ensuring transition is equitable of all communities we serve because if you leave customers behind, the transition will not be complete. The challenge is the permitting question, getting something done, when you are talking, i almost said amen because i could relate. So our ambitions of the country, the infrastructure and jobs act 1. 2 trillion set aside to go into the structure buildout, how can we getet that and make a difference . Whats happening is ambition is there but actions are counterintuitive. We are still operating off these 40 year rules for todays problems so looking at our own jurisdictions we find and i share this because its governors have economic element goals, a ficommittee around Economic Development. You set policy but when we go to implement those goals, there is conflict so the need to continue to partner and collaborate, break down silos in the process is critical to get the money to work and build up our community. The workforce, this trench permission cannot be done without a qualified workforce so Workforce Development program, infrastructures that up across the country has to be critical to ensure we move forward. Its also important because the community is as if youre doing it with them because when you go into this conversation and lay a pipeline conversation, the question i get is, where do i see myself in that . Reliability and resilience that no one lives in our communities working on that pipeline, no one is laying that so it must be equitable transition to get that done so thank you for the opportunity and i look forward to this. Steve warner and thank you again, i agree, i appreciate the governors pulling this together. Its very timely because we truly are at an inflection place. The work we are going to do for five, ten, 20 years, it far surpasses. Committee to deliver a fair, being an affordable transition for all customers and communities, we know we need to be smarter and building a smarter, stronger andnd cleaner system. We need to know what needs to be built and be clear how we Work Together to accomplish that and getting projects done which is the permitting process we follow in the industry. To givee a feel for the size and scale, new england and new york we serve 7 million customers with power and heat and massachusetts, two thirds of those times we have. Beautiful part of the u. S. But delivering energy, your experiencing more extreme weather where it requires us to take action to build a resilient system and trying to drive down Greenhouse Gas emissions and convert customers. This monumental volume and systems that need to be built to meet the goals of the region, need to build a great two to three times bigger. For any englandst alone, thats5 or more transmission lines to connect wind to bring more power to serve the region which we expect to double and the shift with the summer over to winter in regard to demand. We need to install thousands of miles of distribution lines, hundreds of upgraded substations and more robust secure networks to enable to identify issues and expand and avoid unnecessary disruptions to the economy. The good news is our region understand the need and the challenge very well and we along with other utilities in the states will submit was called a modernization plan and investments required to be made over the next five, ten, 25 years to meet these goals. In new york in support of the climate leadership and protection act, created by need to upgrade 1000 miles of our network and we have 150 large projects underway and another 150. All of these require engagement with communities and agencies to secure to accomplish this work. Aanother example is support broadband delivered to areas of the state that previously did not have. Its a massive investment in public andw private partnership in upstate new york. Working together to advance proposals the department of energy to help offset the cost of an excel ring investments in the infrastructure. The power think for bringing in offshore wind, they will create opportunities from offshore wind and other renewable sources to increase Energy Supplies and help energy costs. There is the northeast hub that involves seven states and recognizes the need for advanced fuels to leverage the networks that existst today. Initiatives like these have in common, this work is being done collaboratively with public and private sectors, communities coming together to get this work done. As we move from creating this ambition into this execution phase we get projects built, who recognize there are challenges around getting projects built, necessary supply chains for necessary people in workforce and acquiring Property Rights just to name a few. Foundation we have challenges, a lot of agreement and challenge around what it r means for clear and more Affordable Energy future but if we Work Together, the decisions will be much easier. We know we need to make decisions around changing the larger Infrastructure Projects removed from approvals from multiple agencies to process more streamlined transparent and accessible thanks to the nga and governors and working group on this challenge was brought on and we are pleased we are working to address these problems. A task force and advised gaps and improvements to accelerate the process while not compromising involvement. The good news is is in agreement across the board of what needs to bee done and a willingness to Work Together. We know that no Single Technology or project is going to meet all the needs, it will take all of us working together to make our decisions about investmented to make in the transition to a cleaner moreg resilient Energy Future fr all customers and communities and proposals all. Thank you to our fellow panelists. Ill try to to repeat but they could to all the governors today, thank you for the opportunity. You set the tone with one word, generational opportunity. Talk about some things we be doing rightht now to ensure generational change happens now. A couple of facts, 65 billion available for broadband. Fortytwoo. 5 billion is to buid network for those unserved and underserved. Lets make sure we are clear, it is the right thing to do. So it was set up as a shared responsibility and shared opportunity to take advantage and every state is involved, we believe they can be amplified so and is june we did using the broadband, they allocate all of thesi dollars and it goes from 0 billion in the Nations Capital toap 3. 3 billion so we have it across the state and now weve got six months to complete the plans which can be done. Dont take the whole six months, some of you have but right now they should be ready to go, i would suggest by the summer the pastor plans are in place, the faster allocation of funding will come to your states so what does it look like . One, think about this experience strong labor will benefit you. It is critical we rely on what works and we know the companies and workers that will work to not only build the network or maintain it but generations weird or not, im trying to mention acp, use it in the Program Needs to be reauthorized, 20 Million People are already involved, it satisfies the requirements of the plan so lets use that. It is critical all of us push for that funding. It is essential to get these networkssh moving so simple ter, we build the networks that move forward right now weve got people around the country and every state underground and Operation Centers for emergencies we know who seen this week and last month and last year will require the network that can sustain environment we are in today. I happen to report and i see my good friends out there, we have partnership with states. Governor hochul in pennsylvania and delaware, please work to get a honey years now and virginia. We got thousandsds of locations being built but what matters is one person gets broadband North Carolina so with the opportunity to get this done but i want to give an example and i dont think Governor Shapiro is here but you notice what happened with the tragedy and collapse of the infrastructure impacted every part of this country, he said a few things in his remarks, speed, innovation, a simple quick pass, experienced workers matter, all hands on and he said this is Good Government in action. Take for example and apply it to what were talking about now, great broadband for those who need it most. You have a generational plan in place because even Successful Children never leave your cell phone plan. [laughter] thank you so much. Were going to open up to you and i and want to start with the governor of utah and cochairs, energy and infrastructure working group. Thank you to the panel, we do agree this is a bipartisan issue and make you for your leadership as we work on this issue. Id love for us to take a little credit, there is certainly more to do. I would love for you to weigh in on the importancere of reform in this area. We got low in fruit, we have sequential decisionmaking to do this more quickly but in this litigation that happens is litigation so i would love to hear your thoughts. Thank you. I agree and you take these organizations and directly to your points, if a project of someone is not chosen, the first step they will do is to litigate so as the process unfolds, it continues to move on. Every step along the way, next thing you know your five or six years out. If the project is being litigated, the company doing does not have to have checks and balances of these projects. They are just bringing litigation based on not beingve chosen and unappealing because one thing important as a transmission owner is there is dietary information and the litigation possible is often used to reveal information that otherwise they would not have access to so you are correct, i know the leadership is looking at what reform will happen but it is not will be quick enough. With the opportunity or plans and what can be done in the process of litigation, it can slow this if were not cautious. There are always solutions and it is litigation and it cannot be moved forward to ensure the people look and. A lot of the broadband and that reform is important and wen have already these places. I think governor of massachusetts on a question. Thank you to my fellow governors on the working group around this important issue on the far east, i know energy is something we are commonly aligned on in the private industry. I am new to this but the work done this year looking at permitting and other forms, i want to raise respect to Community Engagement, filling up projects where the four accommodating electric grid or anything, additional clean National Governors<\/a> association. Thank you, come on, everybody. Thank you, hope you all had a great lunch and we are going to move forward here. Oklahoma governor and North Carolina<\/a> governor roy cooper. [applause] thank you so much and welcome, we are excited your joining us. Infrastructure is one of the most commonus topics asked about us governors. When will the new bridge be built, when will be pothole be fixed . When will we get highspeed internet . Why is this taking so long to finish . Take your pick, the grid upgrade, solar projects, you name it. Theres no sugarcoating it. The United States<\/a> is among the slowest stations in the developed world approving Infrastructure Projects<\/a> particularly when it comes to energy. Permitting reviews for Energy Projects<\/a> in the u. S. Take six years longer than china, india or other european you nations. Ive had Energy Stakeholders<\/a> in oklahoma told me it could take up to ten years to fully permit a pipeline project. It takes about six months to build them. The process is drawn out due to agency overlaps, bureaucracy as well as litigation. One company ill leave their name out, this is an existing pipeline trying to retrofit and it will take ten years to get the project approved. This makes no sense and thats why governors are working together across party and state lines on Common Sense Solutions<\/a> to speed up the process to energy and infrastructure for all americans. So we are working with our neighbors, governor of louisiana and arkansas on a hydrogen hub, this is a cool project Publicprivate Partnership<\/a> that will lead to deployment of hydrogen network. All of the above energy story and oklahoma is like greet them natural Gas Production<\/a> but also number two in Energy Production<\/a> and one of only four states 44 comes from renewables so we believe you need and all of the above approach to Health Affordable<\/a> Reliable Energy<\/a> grid and to prioritize project delivery, weve created for such a working group in february of 2023 that focused on solutions to streamline the process to address these procurement issues, congress and Biden Administration<\/a> recognized the urgency of the problem and governors, or from their actions to include several permitting reforms so they are a great start but we believe much more is needing including judicial reviews. We got a great panel and we need to speed up Infrastructure Projects<\/a> all across all states so im going to turn it over to Governor Cooper<\/a> from North Carolina<\/a> to get his perspective. Thank you for your work, we have an amazing panel to talk about infrastructure. We are the third Fastest Growing<\/a> state in thewe country. Weve just been named top state by msnbc and would you look at rankings and why they choose what they choose is whats good for business. Number two is infrastructure. T we have well trained dedicated workforce but we know how important infrastructure is not only to businesses but everyday families as well. Right now we have generational opportunity to invest in infrastructure across this country. Weve had plans about things we needed to do to connect highspeed internet and fix roads and bridges. Now we have the funding to do it so what we will talk about is how to do it. Ua the first thing my entire Administration Knows<\/a> his we are going to first compute for every federal dollar. When you do that, it is important to bring in everybody much like President Biden<\/a> who pointed the mayor to try to coordinate things. I appointed recovery director helping coordinate applications for federal funding and we are working with local governments and universities, privatea businesses, regulators and federal partners and we have seen significant success as many states across the country. We know highspeed internet is a critical part of infrastructure and weve already started thehe process over doing it with money but we have it. As soon as we had American Rescue<\/a> fund, we started to use that and now we are going to get a billion and a half from the money which will help us truly connect families and businesses to highspeed internet. Connecting people being able to afford it, Digital Equity<\/a> and literacy and i know youre trying to get families signed up, almost 900,000 families, 30 a month. Weve competed for money for offshore wind and were found in with energy, weve got to get electricity back in. With bridges and purging infrastructure, the rejection act, there are so many opportunities in water and wastewater were already disturbing hundreds of millions of dollars to help our small towns and businesses connect with water and wastewater. We do have permitting issues and challenges, there is a way to protect our air and water and make sure it moves faster in one thing were doing is i have appointedr liaison and the new companies to make sure Everybody Knows<\/a> what to do and it is important to make sure we Work Together<\/a> to get this done. Panelists, first chauvin beutler is president and ceo of exelon. Scott warner is president of National Grid<\/a> new england and they are working offshore and tony lewis, regional Vice President<\/a> of state Public Policy<\/a> and government affairs. Good afternoon, everyone. Let me begin by saying thank you to the governors, the fact that you have put this committee together to talk about this, that is showing the changes undergoing right now. When you talk about the infrastructure, think in terms of undergoing more change in the next ten years than in the last 100. I say that as you have both said, very exciting. Not only for the communities we serve, its exciting for 19000 imports and 10 million customers we have the privilege of serving and the great state of new jersey, Atlantic City<\/a> and anthony s his team are here today and customers in delaware and miller england, philadelphia and chicago and district of columbia. Why those jurisdictions important . I met youcu because exelon is unique in that we serve the most diverse metropolitan areas in the city but also coastal areas. We serve rural areas where farmlandta is often and the same challenges of needs but how you address them are different. Governors talk about the portfolio approach and then we have to take that same approach. We are a combination in this utility meaning it represents 4 of our portfolio and we do believe it is important, and must be all of the above approach. It is also important for the affordability because my biggest job is ensuring transition is equitable of all communities we serve because if you leave customers behind, the transition will not be complete. The challenge is the permitting question, getting something done, when you are talking, i almost said amen because i could relate. So our ambitions of the country, the infrastructure and jobs act 1. 2 trillion set aside to go into the structure buildout, how can we getet that and make a difference . Whats happening is ambition is there but actions are counterintuitive. We are still operating off these 40 year rules for todays problems so looking at our own jurisdictions we find and i share this because its governors have economic element goals, a ficommittee around Economic Development<\/a>. You set policy but when we go to implement those goals, there is conflict so the need to continue to partner and collaborate, break down silos in the process is critical to get the money to work and build up our community. The workforce, this trench permission cannot be done without a qualified workforce so Workforce Development<\/a> program, infrastructures that up across the country has to be critical to ensure we move forward. Its also important because the community is as if youre doing it with them because when you go into this conversation and lay a pipeline conversation, the question i get is, where do i see myself in that . Reliability and resilience that no one lives in our communities working on that pipeline, no one is laying that so it must be equitable transition to get that done so thank you for the opportunity and i look forward to this. Steve warner and thank you again, i agree, i appreciate the governors pulling this together. Its very timely because we truly are at an inflection place. The work we are going to do for five, ten, 20 years, it far surpasses. Committee to deliver a fair, being an affordable transition for all customers and communities, we know we need to be smarter and building a smarter, stronger andnd cleaner system. We need to know what needs to be built and be clear how we Work Together<\/a> to accomplish that and getting projects done which is the permitting process we follow in the industry. To givee a feel for the size and scale, new england and new york we serve 7 million customers with power and heat and massachusetts, two thirds of those times we have. Beautiful part of the u. S. But delivering energy, your experiencing more extreme weather where it requires us to take action to build a resilient system and trying to drive down Greenhouse Gas<\/a> emissions and convert customers. This monumental volume and systems that need to be built to meet the goals of the region, need to build a great two to three times bigger. For any englandst alone, thats5 or more transmission lines to connect wind to bring more power to serve the region which we expect to double and the shift with the summer over to winter in regard to demand. We need to install thousands of miles of distribution lines, hundreds of upgraded substations and more robust secure networks to enable to identify issues and expand and avoid unnecessary disruptions to the economy. The good news is our region understand the need and the challenge very well and we along with other utilities in the states will submit was called a modernization plan and investments required to be made over the next five, ten, 25 years to meet these goals. In new york in support of the climate leadership and protection act, created by need to upgrade 1000 miles of our network and we have 150 large projects underway and another 150. All of these require engagement with communities and agencies to secure to accomplish this work. Aanother example is support broadband delivered to areas of the state that previously did not have. Its a massive investment in public andw private partnership in upstate new york. Working together to advance proposals the department of energy to help offset the cost of an excel ring investments in the infrastructure. The power think for bringing in offshore wind, they will create opportunities from offshore wind and other renewable sources to increase Energy Supplies<\/a> and help energy costs. There is the northeast hub that involves seven states and recognizes the need for advanced fuels to leverage the networks that existst today. Initiatives like these have in common, this work is being done collaboratively with public and private sectors, communities coming together to get this work done. As we move from creating this ambition into this execution phase we get projects built, who recognize there are challenges around getting projects built, necessary supply chains for necessary people in workforce and acquiring Property Rights<\/a> just to name a few. Foundation we have challenges, a lot of agreement and challenge around what it r means for clear and more Affordable Energy<\/a> future but if we Work Together<\/a>, the decisions will be much easier. We know we need to make decisions around changing the larger Infrastructure Projects<\/a> removed from approvals from multiple agencies to process more streamlined transparent and accessible thanks to the nga and governors and working group on this challenge was brought on and we are pleased we are working to address these problems. A task force and advised gaps and improvements to accelerate the process while not compromising involvement. The good news is is in agreement across the board of what needs to bee done and a willingness to Work Together<\/a>. We know that no Single Technology<\/a> or project is going to meet all the needs, it will take all of us working together to make our decisions about investmented to make in the transition to a cleaner moreg resilient Energy Future<\/a> fr all customers and communities and proposals all. Thank you to our fellow panelists. Ill try to to repeat but they could to all the governors today, thank you for the opportunity. You set the tone with one word, generational opportunity. Talk about some things we be doing rightht now to ensure generational change happens now. A couple of facts, 65 billion available for broadband. Fortytwoo. 5 billion is to buid network for those unserved and underserved. Lets make sure we are clear, it is the right thing to do. So it was set up as a shared responsibility and shared opportunity to take advantage and every state is involved, we believe they can be amplified so and is june we did using the broadband, they allocate all of thesi dollars and it goes from 0 billion in the Nations Capital<\/a> toap 3. 3 billion so we have it across the state and now weve got six months to complete the plans which can be done. Dont take the whole six months, some of you have but right now they should be ready to go, i would suggest by the summer the pastor plans are in place, the faster allocation of funding will come to your states so what does it look like . One, think about this experience strong labor will benefit you. It is critical we rely on what works and we know the companies and workers that will work to not only build the network or maintain it but generations weird or not, im trying to mention acp, use it in the Program Needs<\/a> to be reauthorized, 20 Million People<\/a> are already involved, it satisfies the requirements of the plan so lets use that. It is critical all of us push for that funding. It is essential to get these networkssh moving so simple ter, we build the networks that move forward right now weve got people around the country and every state underground and Operation Centers<\/a> for emergencies we know who seen this week and last month and last year will require the network that can sustain environment we are in today. I happen to report and i see my good friends out there, we have partnership with states. Governor hochul in pennsylvania and delaware, please work to get a honey years now and virginia. We got thousandsds of locations being built but what matters is one person gets broadband North Carolina<\/a> so with the opportunity to get this done but i want to give an example and i dont think Governor Shapiro<\/a> is here but you notice what happened with the tragedy and collapse of the infrastructure impacted every part of this country, he said a few things in his remarks, speed, innovation, a simple quick pass, experienced workers matter, all hands on and he said this is Good Government<\/a> in action. Take for example and apply it to what were talking about now, great broadband for those who need it most. You have a generational plan in place because even Successful Children<\/a> never leave your cell phone plan. [laughter] thank you so much. Were going to open up to you and i and want to start with the governor of utah and cochairs, energy and infrastructure working group. Thank you to the panel, we do agree this is a bipartisan issue and make you for your leadership as we work on this issue. Id love for us to take a little credit, there is certainly more to do. I would love for you to weigh in on the importancere of reform in this area. We got low in fruit, we have sequential decisionmaking to do this more quickly but in this litigation that happens is litigation so i would love to hear your thoughts. Thank you. I agree and you take these organizations and directly to your points, if a project of someone is not chosen, the first step they will do is to litigate so as the process unfolds, it continues to move on. Every step along the way, next thing you know your five or six years out. If the project is being litigated, the company doing does not have to have checks and balances of these projects. They are just bringing litigation based on not beingve chosen and unappealing because one thing important as a transmission owner is there is dietary information and the litigation possible is often used to reveal information that otherwise they would not have access to so you are correct, i know the leadership is looking at what reform will happen but it is not will be quick enough. With the opportunity or plans and what can be done in the process of litigation, it can slow this if were not cautious. There are always solutions and it is litigation and it cannot be moved forward to ensure the people look and. A lot of the broadband and that reform is important and wen have already these places. I think governor of massachusetts on a question. Thank you to my fellow governors on the working group around this important issue on the far east, i know energy is something we are commonly aligned on in the private industry. I am new to this but the work done this year looking at permitting and other forms, i want to raise respect to Community Engagement<\/a>, filling up projects where the four accommodating electric grid or anything, additional clean Energy Required<\/a> community biden, none of us have time wasted on that but you have an approach on how you engage and think about building out equitably as we move forward . The other question is related whether pending applications and getting ready for construction, upgrade, transmission lines, how can we think about Community Engagement<\/a> . And it will move things along and all of this . Thank you for your leadership on these matters in university and the infrastructure, you and your team have been no clear in the clean energy we will be think about what projects need to be built, those who host infrastructure should benefit from simply stated but let me give you examples, and funding to this program, we the people benefit in the high voltage direct line, it will act as a stabilizing resource with renewable sources onto the grid in new england. That transmission line leverages existing right of ways which makes it simpler and through our partnership we went through dozens of communities around that and spoke with those communities about the project and as a result communities governors and legislatures and jurisdictions involved. Together 200 Public Officials<\/a> dozens of immunity groups and organizations are coming out to support the project we havent even secured funding but it is the approach we need to take in the bills have to be community by community and we were successful started early with that approach truly believing they benefit from it and ill leave that we talked to the community and partners and explain what the benefits were and put together a community of its package that works for that community and input from the community. I agree with everything he said about engagement power ticket further as utility transmissionss distribution, we looked at how came in because we were always coming in after the fact on an annual basis. We made a decision that we were going to do a multiyear plan will invest why is it important . In the your business resident will work using no process this will include you have a plan for the community for three to four years. That is alone engaged the unity and we approached it from Economic Development<\/a> and job creation. This is what it did so when you pass legislation, the carbonization were whatever the networks were, and it creates this result and as a result, you hold us accountable to do what you say we are going to do it if you dont, hold us accountable for that. We took that with the regulatory body and its made a huge difference. Now we are going through the process and we run our business and do what we do best. So ino think that is a key drivr and am so glad you brought up local engagement and communities. C reaching the right organizations your cosmos that its all about Partnership Spirit<\/a> we are able to do what we were able to do because we rely on everyone understand what were doing not. Leaving anyonee behind, listening to concerns and finding a collective solution here you do that when you engage your so happy to tell you we have departments that focus on local engagement and not that we set up an appointment to do that but they reach out talking akin to Community Spirit<\/a> the project in new york city where out there with those residents ensuring they understand why network is being built and how it can benefit them here the boys and girls clubs of america, brothers big sisters all these organizations around the country we tap into because they know whats happening in those local communities some of themm are employers, some friends and family but we want to use them to better engage our communities every step of the way. Thank you for the questions but i think with the next one from governor of puerto rico. Yes peer as you probably know in puerto rico where in e midst of an unprecedented reconstruction effort because of damage caused by hurricane maria. This was back in 2017 here right now we have over 5000 permanent Construction Projects<\/a> underway but the more critical ones relate to the energy system, electric infrastructure which still is too fragile and it is antiquated. And so just this sector we have an excess of 11 billion of fema funding to rebuild our grid, to improve it because at the same time we are moving away from burning oil to generate our energy, moving to renewables the sooner the better. Its a complex effort so secretary granholm and i were concerned about having duplicate regulatory processes going on here what i ended up doing was issuing an executive order basically telling in the context of this emergency which has been declared, i basically issued a directive to state agencies and puerto rico to do reciprocity to reviews by fema, environmental historical preservation, reviewed by fema vector epa reveals, corps of engineers permits. Just giving a list or fission live i reviews and approvals. Basically im saying, telling them if the federal authorities act first, just rely on those for permitting purposes. Selected that there probably its a creative way to expedite this Major Projects<\/a> that are on their way. Having said that, my question to you, coming from the privateex sector is, what can we do as governors to facilitate, expedite major Infrastructure Projects<\/a> . It could be in the broadband, telecommunications area, they could be energy, highway. Is there anything we can do to expedite this project, reduce the cost of these projects . Thats a question i have for you expert ill start. You think you should hold accountable to make sure were giving the input from the communities and the projects have considered those benefits but then work with us to say okay that everybody will be happy but we have to make a decision at that partner with us and show that leadership as necessary to move these projects forward. Thats right. I think part of the problem we all encounter as were trying to partner is the forces of uncertainty here weve got to find ways to step one and then step two and then step three and onward. So often we see the big problem and wring our hands and say were going to have to do these 50 things, when theres always a first step i would encourage us to always look for the first opportunity, and at first opportunity could create the momentum, the flywheel if i made the necessary to start to move the project forward. I say that recognizing that tht much harder step that i am articulating i know that but for me once you get started once people see that your dedicated together to this and then you have an opportunity. Governor, puerto rico is a wonderful example of howe our industry came together to support and assist. We talk about the energy, when you are in the need everybody got together, we will then pick its an, amazing example. The next stage, its the rebuild that i rebuilder i would give you two things i think would go a long way. Establish clear expectations of what you want. Be crystal cleard about what youre looking for from organizations that are going to come and invest and build there and put a timeline around it. Its amazing what happens when youre very clear and you provide a timeline how the engineering and the creativity debts to get it done. Those are the two biggest opportunities we have, and then those companies are able to step up to that challenge will. Thank you so much. This time has passed quickly but we are deeply grateful to calvin, steve and tony for their input and work for companies are doing governor stitt, appreciate helping you to leave this panel discussion. As we meet this challenge of infrastructure, there may not be a group more important in this country and the nations governors right now. Because we have the opportunity to bring in the local governments, private businesses, the federal government and the regulators to get this done. We have an unprecedented opportunity here and its going to be up to us to make sure that it gets done efficiently and effectively and as quickly as possible. I look forward to working with each of you to make sure that that happens in this great country. And thank you, guys very much. Thank you. [applause] thank you, everyone. We will see you at the reception this evening peer and for the governors they can head on over to the private event now. Thank you. , [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] this afternoon President Biden<\/a> is expected to outline his administrations efforts at managing the risks posed by Artificial Intelligence<\/a> to watch live coverage at 1 30 p. M. Eastern on our companion network cspan pic you can stream the president s remarks using the free cspan video out oracle i might add cspan. Org. Booktv every sunday on cspan2 features leading authors discussing their latest nonfiction books. At 6 30 p. M. Eastern investigative journalist Jim Thompkins<\/a> shares his book about the life and career of Defense Intelligence<\/a> agency analyst who was a spy for cuba for nearly 17 years. At 10 p. Eastern on after words pulitzer prizewinning journast wesley lowry argues moments of progress in race matters in the u. S. Are often met with acts of violence in his book. He is interviewed by Columbia University<\/a> jelani cobb. Watch tv every sunday on cspan2 and by writable schedule undr Program Guide<\/a> or watch online anytime at booktv. Org. Cspan now is a free mobile app future unfolding of whats happening in washington, live and ondemand to keep up with the dates biggest events with life streams of floor proceedings and hearings from the u. S. Congress, white house events, the courts, campaigns and more from the world of politics all at your fingertips. You can stay current with the latest episodes of washington journal and then Schedule Information<\/a> for cspans tv networks and cspan radio plus a variety of compelling podcasts. Cspan now is available at the apple store and google play. Downloaded for free today. Cspan now your front rosie to washington anytime anywhere. A healthy democracy doesnt just look like this. It looks like this. Where americans can see democracy at work, where citizens are truly informed, a republic thrives. Get informed straight from the source on cspan. Unfiltered, unbiased, word for word. From the Nations Capital<\/a> to wherever you are. Because the opinion that matters most is your own. This is what democracy looks like. Cspan powered by cable. Next test went on the entrance and housing sectors including the impact of the environmental social and governance mandates. Esg stanford investment framework for an organizations environmental social and Ethical Practices<\/a> for the discussion includes its effects on consumers and markets in the face of natural disasters and Climate Change<\/a> House Financial Services<\/a> subcommittee hearing is two","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"archive.org","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","width":"800","height":"600","url":"\/\/ia802701.us.archive.org\/6\/items\/CSPAN2_20230721_152200_Governors_Cooper_and_Stitt_Discuss_Infrastructure_Investment\/CSPAN2_20230721_152200_Governors_Cooper_and_Stitt_Discuss_Infrastructure_Investment.thumbs\/CSPAN2_20230721_152200_Governors_Cooper_and_Stitt_Discuss_Infrastructure_Investment_000001.jpg"}},"autauthor":{"@type":"Organization"},"author":{"sameAs":"archive.org","name":"archive.org"}}],"coverageEndTime":"20240707T12:35:10+00:00"}