Air Permitting Improvements to Protect National Security Act of 2025

Key Points

• This bill would change the Clean Air Act to give the President the power to waive certain air pollution requirements. These waivers would apply to factories making computer chips (semiconductors) or facilities that mine and process "critical minerals" used in high-tech products like batteries and electronics.
• Normally, when these large facilities are built or expanded, they must "offset" their new pollution by reducing pollution somewhere else in the same area. Under this bill, the President could decide to skip this requirement if they determine that doing so is in the best interest of national security.
• If a company cannot find enough ways to offset its pollution, state governments would be allowed to let them use "alternative or innovative" methods instead. This could include paying a fee to the state, which would then be used to fund other projects that reduce pollution in that same local area.
• The goal of the policy is to make it faster and easier to build important manufacturing and mining sites within the United States. Supporters argue this helps the country stay competitive and secure, while the main trade-off is the potential for increased air emissions in areas where these facilities are located.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.