We have the resources, the expertise and the will to build for the future, but Washington’s bureaucracy stands in the way.
As a lawmaker for over a decade, I’ve noticed a troubling pattern in our country’s permitting policy. That is why I am proud to have worked in the House Committee on Natural Resources to help pass Chairman Westerman’s Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act. It delivers a long-overdue fix to one of the most persistent challenges facing our nation’s development. This bipartisan legislation is backed by a broad coalition of more than 375 organizations from all manner of industry, tribal leaders and local governments. Americans across the country agree that our permitting system is broken, and I’m proud to have passed a solution that reasserts American industry as a global leader.
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was enacted in 1969 with good intentions. Over the past half century, however, it has become an outdated and overly burdensome system that delays critical projects, drives up costs, and threatens our economic prosperity and national security. NEPA’s well-meaning permitting process has become a structural inefficiency that undermines our ability to invest in the development our country so critically needs.
Projects will get caught up in years of reviews and lawsuits before any progress is made. NEPA reviews alone now take an average of 4.5 years to complete. Additionally, litigation under NEPA adds 4.2 years on average. What do these lengthy battles accomplish? Federal agencies ultimately prevail in approximately 80% of these cases, indicating that most lawsuits are procedural roadblocks rather than useful oversight.
These delays also carry a staggering price tag. A six-year delay in public infrastructure projects costs the U.S. economy $3.7 trillion in lost opportunities and higher expenses. A clear example is our power sector. The average wait time to connect new projects to the power grid has reached five years, leaving thousands of energy initiatives stalled. At this pace, we cannot keep up with the demands driven by artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing and rapidly growing populations.
Developing a mining project in the United States now takes about 29 years on average. As global competition for critical minerals intensifies and supply chains face geopolitical strain, these delays weaken our ability to invest in American production. For American families, these aren’t abstract numbers; it means greater dependence on foreign adversaries, jobs not created, communities not connected, and families paying higher costs for energy and goods.
Utah is rich in energy resources and ready to lead in domestic energy production, but endless reviews and permitting delays prevent us from putting those assets to work.
The capacity and expertise exist, but without meaningful reform we risk falling behind at a time when investing in the future is more essential than ever.
The issue isn’t environmental review itself. Americans know responsible stewardship matters, and Utahns care deeply about our land. The issue is that the NEPA process has been stretched beyond its original intent. It has become overly burdensome, and projects are subject to litigation long after legitimate environmental concerns have been addressed.
The six-year window for filing lawsuits creates perverse incentives. Even when agencies complete thorough environmental reviews and address concerns, projects are vulnerable to legal challenges years later.
Chairman Westerman’s SPEED Act directly addresses the major failures of the current system.
It limits NEPA analyses to the project under consideration instead of dragging in speculative “indirect” effects beyond the project’s control. By clarifying what counts as a “major federal action,” agencies will concentrate on the actual proposal at hand. This prevents them from getting bogged down in tangents and “never-ending topics” so decisions can be reached faster without compromising environmental standards.
The bill allows agencies to reuse existing environmental studies and documents rather than starting from scratch each time. Officials can rely on prior work and speed up the next review without reducing environmental protection.
It sets reasonable limits on lawsuits. Currently, opponents can file NEPA lawsuits up to six years after a project’s approval. The SPEED Act instead sets a 150-day deadline for legal challenges.
The bill also requires federal agencies to engage local governments and tribes at the very start of a review. Therefore, by incorporating local knowledge and community input early in the process, potential conflicts can be resolved before construction begins. This approach produces better outcomes and greatly lowers the chance of lawsuits that derail projects.
Energy projects that power our homes and businesses can now move forward predictably, stabilizing costs and ensuring reliable electricity. Instead of five-year waits to connect to the grid, projects can be evaluated efficiently and built when needed.
The SPEED Act doesn’t pick winners or losers, which is why this reform has drawn bipartisan support. Both Republicans and Democrats agree that our permitting process needs a common sense update.
We can no longer accept a system in which it takes decades to deliver the infrastructure Americans need. The capacity to build for a better future is there. By passing the SPEED Act, we’ve removed the obstacles standing in the way.