Deluzio, Crank Introduce Bipartisan “Expanding the FAST Track Act”

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congressmen Chris Deluzio (D-PA-17) and Jeff Crank (R-CO-05) introduced the Expanding the FAST Track Act of 2026. The FAST-41 program is run by the Permitting Council, which is a unique federal agency responsible for coordinating federal environmental reviews and authorizations. The Permitting Council works with complex projects that involve multiple agencies to get everyone on the same page. Projects that opt into the FAST-41 program get permitting decisions nearly 18 months faster. This bipartisan legislation would lower the threshold at which projects can participate in the FAST-41 Program from $200 million to $50 million, meaning more projects can get permitting decisions in a timely manner.

"There's bipartisan agreement that the federal permitting and regulatory process is too often adding disruptive and costly delays to critical energy and infrastructure projects that would bring down energy costs and help power our communities," said Congressman Chris Deluzio. "As Congress works towards comprehensive permitting reform, we should also improve existing programs that are working well. The FAST-41 Program helps projects work toward permitting decisions faster and more efficiently. The bipartisan bill I'm introducing with Congressman Crank today would allow more projects to use this program and get on the fast track toward making their project a reality."

"Thanks to the leadership of the Permitting Council, FAST-41 has improved agency coordination and reduced federal permitting timelines for major infrastructure projects," said Congressman Jeff Crank. "However, the current $200 million threshold puts these efficiencies out of reach for many mid-sized and regionally significant projects that still face the same costly delays of our federal permitting system. Our current system delays too many critical projects, which in return drives up costs, stalls investment, and pushes jobs and industry overseas. I'm glad to partner with Rep. Deluzio to lower the threshold to $50 million so more projects can access FAST-41, so that we can build faster, more affordable projects here at home."

The FAST-41 Program currently allows projects estimated at over $200 million in investment to get help navigating the complex web of state and federal permits from the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council. Relevant agencies get together to decide who is the lead agency, create a public permitting timetable, and track all environmental reviews and authorizations through the Federal Permitting Dashboard. Projects covered under the program have 23% shorter permitting timelines than comparable projects as a result.

The Expanding the FAST Track Act of 2026 would lower the threshold of projects that are eligible to participate down to $50 million-allowing more types of infrastructure and energy projects to participate in the FAST-41 Program. If passed into law, this threshold adjustment would occur on January 1, 2027.

The Expanding the FAST Track Act of 2026is supported by organizations including the League of Conservation Voters (LCV), the United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipefitters (UA), the North America's Building Trades Unions (NABTU), the Laborers' International Union of North America (LiUNA!), and ClearPath Action.

"This legislation would help rein in skyrocketing energy costs and air pollution by helping speed up grid and transmission improvements and clean energy projects we all need. We appreciate Rep. Deluzio helping smaller projects navigate federal permitting requirements while providing both the public and project developers a more transparent and stable process," said LCV's Vice President of Federal Policy Matthew Davis. "Better coordinated and resourced agencies have proven to speed up permitting processes and Rep. Deluzio's bill will open the door for more projects to tap the Permitting Council's expert management."

Adjusting the threshold of the FAST-41 program was requested in a letter about permitting reformfrom the National Governors Association (NGA). Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is a Co-Chair of the NGA Bipartisan Working Group on permitting reform, energy resilience, and other issues.

The full text of the bill is available here.

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