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House Natural Resources Committee advances SPEED Act after hours of contentious debate
Summary
The House Natural Resources Committee voted 25-18 to report HR 4776, the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act, after adopting a manager's amendment that incorporates changes on tribal trust lands, permit certainty and judicial review. Democrats criticized the bill for narrowing NEPA review, curtailing public participation and failing to address recent administration actions blocking clean-energy projects.
The House Committee on Natural Resources on Tuesday adopted an amendment in the nature of a substitute and voted to report HR 4776, the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development Act, sending the bill to the full House by a recorded vote of 25-18.
Committee Republicans said the SPEED Act restores certainty and timeliness to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process, which they argued has become a litigation-driven bottleneck that delays roads, energy projects and other infrastructure. Chair Westerman described the measure as "project neutral," and highlighted provisions in the manager's amendment to require agencies to certify application completeness within 60 days and to issue a final decision within 30 days after an environmental document is completed.
Democrats, led by Ranking Member Jared Huffman, sharply opposed several core provisions. Huffman and other Democrats said the bill…
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