Peters’ Statement on the SPEED Act

Washington, D.C. - Today, Representative Scott Peters (CA-50) released the following statement after voting against the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development or SPEED Act to update the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

"The environmental laws of the 1970s were designed to stop projects. The environmental imperative of today is to build. That's why I support permitting reform and why reforming NEPA is necessary if America is going to remain competitive.

"I was encouraged when Chairman Westerman introduced the SPEED Act. The bill reduces the statute of limitations and ensures that environmental reviews can satisfy federal requirements, saving both time and money. The bill also ensures federal dollars cannot solely trigger federal environmental reviews, streamlining the federal grant process, so that we can get grant money out of the bank and into the ground. These are exactly the types of reforms America needs to build energy infrastructure responsibly and efficiently.

"Earlier this month, I led a letter with 30 Democratic colleagues outlining our support for permitting reform and the specific changes needed to earn additional Democratic support for this bill. In the letter, we emphasized four key areas that must be addressed for broad bipartisan support.

"We emphasized that projects that comply with the law must be protected from political interference, that courts should have a targeted role to ensure decisions are based on accurate analysis, and that local stakeholders should continue to have meaningful input early in the process. We also highlighted the need to avoid provisions that could backfire, delay projects, or reduce the quality of environmental reviews. Our goal is simple: a permitting process that is efficient, predictable, and fair for investors, communities, and the environment alike."

"We urgently need to get permitting reform done this Congress. I remain committed to continuing to work with colleagues on both sides of the aisle and with the Senate to craft truly bipartisan solutions that can become law and help America build the clean, reliable energy infrastructure we need."

Background: Rep. Peters has been a longtime champion of permitting reform in Congress and was encouraged to see the SPEED Act brought up before the House Natural Resources Committee in November. After passing out of Committee, Rep. Peters sent a letter signed by 30 of his House Democratic colleagues, to the Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, Rep. Bruce Westerman, outlining what they'd like to see in the final bill. These concerns were not addressed before SPEED was brough to the House Floor. Read the text of the letter here.