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Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry President and CEO Danny Seiden Tuesday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee鈥檚 Subcommittee on the Environment at a hearing titled 鈥淔rom Gridlock to Growth: Permitting Reform Under the Clean Air Act.鈥�

Seiden joined a panel of witnesses that included regulators, business leaders, and environmental advocates.

Arizona鈥檚 growth and air quality progress

In his testimony, Seiden highlighted Arizona鈥檚 record of simultaneously growing its economy and reducing emissions.

鈥淪ince 1990, our state鈥檚 population has skyrocketed, our GDP has risen more than 550 percent, and vehicle miles traveled have soared. Yet overall emissions are down more than 70 percent,鈥� Seiden told the subcommittee. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 proof that economic growth and cleaner air can go hand-in-hand鈥�.

Seiden noted that despite these successes, Arizona is still penalized under federal air quality rules for ozone levels largely beyond the state鈥檚 control. 鈥淢ore than 80% of our ozone comes from other states, from Mexico and Asia, and natural events like wildfires. Even if we shut down every industrial source in the state and took every car off the road in Phoenix, we wouldn鈥檛 meet the standard,鈥� he said.

A regulatory dead end

Arizona鈥檚 lack of emissions reduction credits creates what Seiden called a 鈥渞egulatory dead end.鈥� The credits act as offsets that allow companies to expand facilities while maintaining compliance. Without offsets to purchase, projects that would otherwise reduce emissions long-term risk being blocked.

鈥淭his isn鈥檛 just a regulatory burden鈥攊t鈥檚 an economic and strategic threat that could result in projects vital to national security being delayed or stopped,鈥� Seiden said. 鈥淚f companies can鈥檛 build here, they鈥檒l build somewhere else鈥攍ikely in countries with weaker standards. That鈥檚 a lose-lose scenario鈥�.

Six recommendations

Seiden urged Congress to build on progress made by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, who earlier this year signaled more flexibility in how Arizona鈥檚 air quality is evaluated. He outlined six reforms to ensure permitting processes under the Clean Air Act remain fair and workable:

1. Protect competitiveness by keeping standards realistic.
2. Codify reforms to Section 179B to account for international emissions.
3. Incentivize upwind controls to reduce transported pollution.
4. Modernize permitting to streamline projects critical to national priorities.
5. Encourage innovation and collaboration with policies that reward investment in cleaner technologies.
6. Strengthen cooperative federalism by allowing states to approve projects if EPA fails to act within a reasonable timeframe.

Arizona at the forefront

Arizona has become a national hub for advanced manufacturing, including semiconductor investment and clean energy development. Seiden emphasized that the stakes are high for industries like TSMC, Intel, and others operating in the state.

鈥淥ur request is simple: give us the flexibility and tools to continue reducing emissions while ensuring that industries vital to Arizona鈥檚 economic future are not sanctioned out of existence,鈥� he said.

The subcommittee鈥檚 hearing is part of an ongoing congressional review of how permitting reform under the Clean Air Act can be updated to better balance environmental goals with economic competitiveness.