Infrastructure: Speeding Up Environmental Reviews
The SPEED Act has been reported out of committee and is now waiting for a vote on the House floor. The bill has been stalled with no new actions taken since May 2025. House leadership must decide to schedule a vote for the bill to move forward.
221–196
No action since December 2025
While it passed the House, it faces a tough path in the Senate where environmental groups have strong influence and may use the filibuster to block it.
Scores run from -100 (strongly harmful) to +100 (strongly beneficial) for each group, combining impact, certainty, scope, and duration ratings of 1-5. How impact scoring works
For projects that a federally recognized Tribe itself requests on land the U.S. holds in trust for it, agencies must now assume that doing nothing causes harm, making approval of tribe-initiated projects more likely. But the bill also blocks most outside legal challenges to federal decisions affecting trust resources, so only the Tribe itself, not neighboring communities or conservation groups, can go to court over those actions.
“there shall be a presumption that the effects of taking no action will be negative for the federally recognized Indian Tribe.”
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 221 - 196 (Roll no. 356). (text of amendment in the nature of a substitute: CR H6037-6040)
Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 221 - 196 (Roll no. 356).
The House of Representatives voted to approve this bill. It now goes to the Senate.
On motion to recommit Failed by the Yeas and Nays: 206 - 211 (Roll no. 355).
On Agreeing to the Amendment
An amendment to elect officers of the House.
On Agreeing to the Amendment
An amendment numbered 1 printed in House Report 119-1 to strike carbon sequestration and ecosystem services prioritization from section 301 biochar demonstration projects.
On Agreeing to the Amendment
An amendment numbered 2 printed in House Report 119-1 to allow the U.S. Forest Service to approve the removal of hazardous trees near power lines on federal land without requiring a timber sale, easing a serious threat that has in the past been a major cause of destructive wildfires.
The House of Representatives passed the SPEED Act in a 221-196 vote, aiming to overhaul the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). While intended to streamline infrastructure permitting, late amendments favoring fossil fuels led some clean energy groups to withdraw their support.
The House Committee on Natural Resources advanced the SPEED Act, which proposes three core reforms: limiting NEPA reviews to proximately caused effects, clarifying federal funding triggers, and imposing a 150-day statute of limitation on legal challenges.
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
SPEED Act
Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.