Washington, D.C. - Recently, House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) and U.S. Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) introduced the bipartisan Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act. Organizations, officials, and a wide variety of industry leaders from across the country have voiced their support for the legislation that will create certainty in the permitting process and spur domestic investment in critical infrastructure, energy, and conservation projects. Here is what recent supporters are saying:
“If we want to get back to building things in this country, we must tackle inefficiencies and break the endless feedback loop that often plagues the permitting process. Environmental stewardship and future-looking growth can and must coexist to keep America moving forward. As an industry that invests more than $23 billion annually modernizing infrastructure, enhancing safety and improving reliability, these dollars could deliver greater benefits faster under common sense policies like Chairman Westerman’s SPEED Act.” – Ian Jefferies, president and CEO, Association of American Railroads
“There is widespread agreement that NEPA reviews must be completed more efficiently. For airports, protracted and complex federal reviews have delayed critical infrastructure projects and driven up costs—slowing efforts to build new runways, expand terminals, and meet record air travel demand. We look forward to working with Congress on meaningful reforms that provide clear direction to the federal agencies. ACI-NA applauds the leadership of Chair Westerman and Rep. Golden in advancing the SPEED Act. Their bipartisan legislation would remove many burdensome federal requirements and provide a clearer, more predictable framework for NEPA reviews. We strongly support this effort to streamline the NEPA process, accelerate federal determinations, and ensure that airports nationwide can move forward more quickly with responsible, much-needed capital development projects.” - Kevin M. Burke, president and CEO, Airports Council International - North America (ACI-NA)
“America’s ability to lead in emerging technologies, from artificial intelligence to advanced manufacturing, depends on a modern, reliable infrastructure. The bipartisan SPEED Act is a meaningful step toward streamlining and standardizing the federal permitting process, giving companies the certainty they need to invest, build, and innovate here in the United States. TechNet applauds Chairman Westerman and Representative Golden for advancing this legislation to improve permitting efficiency, accelerate energy and infrastructure projects, and strengthen America’s global competitiveness. By cutting red tape and modernizing environmental reviews, the SPEED Act will help power the innovation economy and create high-quality jobs across the country.” – Linda Moore, president and CEO, TechNet
“American AI and technological leadership depend on reliable energy and modern digital infrastructure. Updating federal reviews would allow companies to more quickly deploy infrastructure at scale, ensuring innovators have the resources necessary to complete globally. For these reasons, we applaud the SPEED Act, which would incorporate common sense reforms that allow the United States to build the infrastructure essential to winning the AI race.” – Brian McMillan, vice president, federal affairs, Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA)
“On behalf of the General Catalyst Institute, I am pleased to express our strong support for the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act (H.R. 4776). This bipartisan legislation represents exactly the kind of pragmatic, forward-thinking policy reform our nation needs to drive innovation, economic growth, and resilience.” - Teresa Carlson, president, General Catalyst Institute
“On behalf of The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) and our more than 250 member companies across the fertilizer supply chain who work every day to meet the plant nutrient needs of America’s farmers, I write in support H.R. 4776, the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act.” - Tom Lynch, senior vice president, government affairs, The Fertilizer Institute
“The Institute of Makers of Explosives (IME) applauds House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark) and U.S. Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) for introducing H.R. 4776, the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act. This bipartisan legislation brings balanced stewardship. The SPEED Act represents a decisive step towards rebuilding America’s critical supply chains, strengthening our economy, and ensuring the nation’s long-term industrial and defense readiness.” – The Institute of Makers of Explosives
“Smarter permitting system is essential for clean energy deployment. The SPEED Act offers a practical path forward by setting clear, enforceable timelines for new clean energy projects. By cutting through outdated red tape and providing certainty for communities, labor, and industry alike, the SPEED Act would help bring clean energy projects online faster, expanding grid capacity, lowering emissions, and creating well-paying jobs across the country. It’s a way to use the power of government to accelerate the clean energy future, not delay it.” – Bethany Abbate, director AI policy, Software & Information Industry Association
“I am writing on behalf of the Signatory Wall and Ceiling Contractors Alliance (SWACCA) to offer our strong support for H.R. 4776, the 'Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act.' We appreciate your leadership on this important legislation to ensure a more efficient and timely review process under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).” - Gregg Brady, president, Signatory Wall and Ceiling Contractors Alliance
“ITC Holdings proudly supports the bipartisan SPEED Act, introduced by Chairman Bruce Westerman and Rep. Jared Golden. This legislation streamlines NEPA and judicial review processes while safeguarding environmental and public input protections. As the nation’s largest independent electric transmission company, we’ve seen firsthand how permitting delays—like the 13-year timeline for one recent project—can hinder progress. With new initiatives underway to cut energy costs, boost reliability, and drive economic growth, reform is urgent. We look forward to working with Congress to advance this critical legislation.” - Krista Tanner, president, ITC Holdings Corporation
“On behalf of the State Asphalt Pavement Associations, Inc. (SAPA), a federation of 40 organizations representing asphalt producers, contractors and allied-services firms that build and maintain the asphalt pavement infrastructure vital to our economy, I write to express our support for H.R. 4776 – the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act.” – Russell W. Snyder, executive director, State Asphalt Pavement Association
“I write on behalf of Turn Forward, a national advocacy organization focused on offshore wind energy as a key contributor to grid reliability and energy affordability, to express support for the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act. Reforms to modernize our inconsistent and inefficient permitting regime are urgently needed to meet America’s growing electricity demand.” - Hillary N. Bright, executive director, Turn Forward
“For years, ASCE has championed the need to modernize and streamline America’s permitting processes. As the professionals who plan, design, construct, and maintain much of the nation’s infrastructure, civil engineers are acutely aware of and affected by regulations that either facilitate or impede the expeditious and environmentally sound development of infrastructure. ASCE supports a balanced approach to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process characterized by quality science, objective determinations of potential project impacts on the environment, and streamlining the permitting and approval process for infrastructure projects. The Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act would streamline evaluations of environmental impacts, expand the use of categorical exclusions, and establish reasonable deadlines for filing legal challenges to projects. ASCE would like to thank Reps. Westerman and Golden for introducing the SPEED Act. We look forward to serving as a resource and partner on this legislation.” - Marsha Anderson Bomar, Ph.D., AICP, ENV SP, F.ITE, NAE, F.ASCE, president, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
“Modernizing the outdated U.S. permitting process is essential to meeting the growing electricity demand, addressing energy costs, and securing America’s AI leadership. Chairman Westerman’s and Congressman Golden’s SPEED Act is a pragmatic and necessary solution that will help to deploy energy infrastructure projects faster by ensuring the projects can go through the NEPA process more efficiently. This will enable initiatives to be connected to the grid more quickly and power innovation faster, while maintaining important environmental safeguards. The tech industry is committed to partnering with the energy industry, policymakers, communities, and other stakeholders to tackle ongoing energy challenges and power the U.S. economy.” - Jason Oxman, president and CEO, Information Technology Industry Council (ITI)
"On behalf of the companies supplying the equipment essential to building and maintaining critical infrastructure, mining and energy projects, Associated Equipment Distributors (AED) strongly supports the SPEED Act and urges its passage. Permitting delays hinder investment and create enormous uncertainty, impacting the ability to complete projects in a timely manner. The SPEED Act provides much-needed NEPA reforms that will expedite project delivery and provide clarity without sacrificing environmental protections. We urge all lawmakers to support this vital piece of legislation.” - Daniel Fisher, senior vice president, Associated Equipment Distributors
