Draining the Swamp, Pennsylvania-Style

It’s rare these days to find a proposal out of Washington that checks every box: common sense, bipartisan, and pro-worker.

It’s a smart move – and long overdue.

Federal agencies have operated in the echo chambers of Washington, far removed from the communities they regulate.

When policymakers and regulators live hundreds of miles away from the energy workers, scientists, manufacturers, and tradesmen driving our nation’s energy security, the results can be predictable: rigid ideology, impractical rules, and bureaucratic sprawl that strangles innovation.

By bringing the fossil fuel regulators to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s Senators are proposing that our government work shoulder-to-shoulder with the people powering our economy instead of stopping progress.

What makes this relocation proposal particularly compelling is that OFECM’s 750-person workforce would be plugged directly into a region teeming with universities, technical colleges, and manufacturers who are already tackling the challenges of decarbonization from the ground up.

It puts regulators closer to the scientists, engineers, and skilled professionals driving world-class innovation.

Pennsylvania is, quite literally, powering our economy.

The Commonwealth is the second-largest producer of natural gas in America. The Marcellus Shale in western Pennsylvania is one of the most productive natural gas fields in the world. And underneath it, there’s even more yet to be tapped.

Thousands of working men and women operate rigs, maintain infrastructure, and deliver affordable energy to families across the country.

Pittsburgh, with its proud industrial roots and unmatched research institutions, is the natural home for the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management.

The Steel City is already home to the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), which performs the vast majority of OFECM’s research and development work.

OFECM’s mission includes cutting-edge innovation in carbon capture, power plant efficiency, and advanced fossil fuel technologies. That work is already happening in western Pennsylvania. Moving the office simply aligns the structure with reality.

Today, more than 60% of Pennsylvania’s electricity still comes from fossil fuels. In fact, Pennsylvania is keeping the lights on in neighboring states because of it.

Natural gas is a cleaner-burning fossil fuel that has helped drive U.S. carbon emissions to their lowest levels in decades. Call it what you will: bipartisan, post-partisan, or third way.

Sens. McCormick and Fetterman are tapping into something deeper about how Americans feel about the federal government. After all, one poll found that two-thirds of Americans agree that “It’s time to drain the swamp in Washington, D.C.”

What confounds policymakers is how to actually “drain the swamp.” Does it mean layoffs? Mass firings? Greater oversight? For most Americans, it means making government work efficiently and effectively.

With this energy proposal, Sens. McCormick and Fetterman are quite literally draining federal employees out of Washington. The act is not punitive. Rather, it is intended to help regulators and industry work as partners instead of adversaries, as so many Americans feel the federal government is working against them.

This same principle could be applied here in Pennsylvania, with a key difference.

Pennsylvania’s various state government agencies do have field offices throughout the Commonwealth that are focused on rubber-meets-the-road inspections or road maintenance.

Yet, the key policy staff responsible for setting the direction of an agency are typically headquartered in Harrisburg. Work-from-home for these state employees makes sense, so long as home is among those their agency regulates.    

The McCormick/Fetterman proposal does not dismantle government. It rebuilds trust in it.

If Washington is serious about restoring credibility, and Harrisburg wants to lead by example, then this is the model: get closer to the people.

That’s not just good politics. That’s how you build a government worth believing in.

Athan Koutsiouroumbas is a managing director at Long Nyquist and Associates and a former congressional chief of staff. Follow him on X at @Athan_K.