FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HOUSTON – Today, the Energy Workforce & Technology Council praised the House Natural Resources Committee for advancing Chairman Bruce Westerman’s bipartisan H.R. 4776, the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act. The legislation aims to provide a long-overdue fix to the federal permitting system, which has slowed American energy production, infrastructure investment, and economic growth.
The SPEED Act addressed permitting gridlock by restoring the original intent of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The bill clarifies that NEPA is a procedural statute, not a tool for stopping projects based on subjective policy preferences. It refocuses environmental reviews on impacts directly caused by a project, prevents agencies from injecting speculative or political considerations, and eliminates duplicative reviews at the federal, state, and tribal levels.
“The SPEED Act is a win for American energy and infrastructure,” said Tim Tarpley, President, Energy Workforce & Technology Council. “Chairman Westerman’s legislation is a necessary course correction for a permitting system that has been failing American energy workers for years. The SPEED Act finally cuts through the bureaucracy that slows projects, strangles investment, and pushes jobs overseas. By restoring common sense to NEPA and reining in endless lawsuits, permitting reform gives our industry the certainty it needs to build, hire, and keep America’s energy edge. Passage of the SPEED Act is vital for American energy dominance and our ability to meet the energy demand projections in the coming years.”
The SPEED Act is a practical, targeted reform that gives America’s energy workforce what it needs: predictable permitting, clear rules, and a process driven by facts instead of either party’s political ideology.
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About Energy Workforce & Technology Council
Energy Workforce & Technology Council is the national trade association for the global energy technology and services sector, representing more than 650,000 U.S. jobs in the technology-driven energy value chain. Energy Workforce works to advance member policy priorities and empower the energy workforce of the future.
