The U.S. House of Representatives has approved H.R. 4776, known as the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act. The legislation was introduced by Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) and Representative Jared Golden (D-Maine).
Chairman Westerman commented on the passage of the bill, stating: “The passage of the SPEED Act is a win for America. For too long, America’s broken permitting process has stifled economic growth and innovation. To build the infrastructure needed to deliver affordable energy to American families and defend against 21st-century threats, we must fix this process. The SPEED Act will encourage investment, bring certainty to permitting, end abusive litigation, and allow America to build again. I thank my colleague, Representative Golden, for working with me on this bipartisan victory. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to act quickly and send the SPEED Act to President Trump’s desk. We cannot wait any longer.”
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires federal agencies to assess environmental impacts before approving major projects such as roads, bridges, energy facilities, broadband expansion, water systems, and more. While NEPA was designed as a procedural law intended to guide federal actions affecting the environment through careful review processes led by the Council on Environmental Quality, over time these reviews have become lengthy and costly.
According to supporters of H.R. 4776, NEPA reviews now often lead to significant delays due to complex procedures and frequent litigation initiated by special interest groups—making it one of the most litigated environmental laws in the United States.
The SPEED Act seeks to address these challenges by updating NEPA requirements in several ways: it aims to shorten permitting timelines; streamline required analyses; clarify when NEPA applies by defining “Major Federal Action”; limit judicial review periods for NEPA claims to 150 days; and prevent procedural delays from halting or stalling important projects.
The legislation has received backing from more than 375 organizations across all 50 states.
