House Passes the SPEED Act
Permitting reform effort “was never a serious solution."
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House of Representatives passed the SPEED Act today, a bill that slashes protections for the public in the name of “permitting reform.”
Following is reaction from NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) President & CEO Manish Bapna:
“There is no doubt that we need to have a conversation about permitting reform in the United States—we need to build a lot, and fast. But we cannot afford to build dumb. Unfortunately, the SPEED Act makes that more likely by putting a thumb on the scale for the costliest and most polluting sources of energy.
“The bill was never a serious solution to real permitting challenges. It does not create certainty—it creates confusion, risk, and higher costs. And late-breaking changes affected behind closed doors only made it worse, further penalizing the cheapest and fastest-to-deploy clean energy technologies that are desperately needed as power demand soars. It should be a nonstarter in the Senate.
“It is time for a real conversation about how to deliver the cheap, clean energy and infrastructure that Americans want and need.”
NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd).