SPEED Act Advances to Senate Following Contentious House Debate
The SPEED Act passed the House on Thursday by a vote of 221-196 and is now pending in the Senate. Passage followed a contentious debate on Tuesday, during which an anti-wind amendment was added to the final bill.
The legislation takes a three-pronged approach to reducing the most significant sources of delay and regulatory uncertainty in the current approval process.
1) Modernizing NEPA reviews through firm deadlines on environmental assessments and impact statements, reducing overly expansive scopes of review, and streamlining documentation requirements
2) Improving Agency Coordination: reducing duplicative reviews and establishing accountability for agency timelines
3) Limiting litigation delay: tightening legal standing requirements and placing limits on court challenges to prevent years-long project uncertainty.
The legislation has been a response to calls for a reduction in regulatory complexity that has extended project approval timelines beyond economically viable parameters. The bill’s scope encompasses pipeline infrastructure, electric transmission systems, critical mineral extraction operations, and cross-border energy facilities.
Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris (MD-01) and Rep. Jeff Van Drew (NJ-02) initially delayed consideration of the legislation for nearly 30 minutes over concerns related to offshore wind projects. In return for their votes, they secured the addition of an amendment specifically exempting agency action made since January 20th until the law’s enactment to reopen permits. The language provides the Trump administration greater flexibility to reopen or stop offshore wind permits.
The bill is expected to face greater scrutiny in the Senate, with some House Democrats and moderate Republicans signaling after Thursday’s vote that they will lean on the Senate to strengthen protections for clean energy.
Senate Environment and Public Works Chair Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) expressed support for providing certainty to energy projects that have cleared environmental reviews, emphasizing that developers should be able to rely on permits once they are lawfully issued.
“You shouldn’t have to look in the rearview mirror,” Capito told reporters Wednesday. While noting that the Senate will revisit the permit certainty language removed from the SPEED Act, she acknowledged it will be “a big debate on our side, too.” Because the legislation amends the National Environmental Policy Act, it falls within the jurisdiction of Capito’s committee.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), EPW’s top Democrat, has expressed confidence that the Senate will advance a bipartisan bill. Whitehouse pointed to ongoing negotiations among himself, Capito, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Ranking Member Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), saying talks are “moving along” and drawing from “all four corners.”
Whitehouse added that both Capito and Lee have spoken positively about ensuring investment certainty for projects operating under lawfully issued permits, suggesting negotiators are aligned on that issue as they work toward a bill capable of passing both chambers. Senate leaders have not yet set a timeline for committee markup.