{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://schweikert.house.gov/2021/07/01/congressman-schweikert-introduces-legislation-reform-nepa-and-reduce/", "Congressman Schweikert Introduces Legislation to Reform NEPA and Reduce Government Regulation", "2021-07-01", "2021", "2021-07", "Republican", "House", "AZ", "David Schweikert", "S001183", "schweikert.house.gov", "schweikert", "https://schweikert.house.gov/category/congress_press_release/", "scraper", "Press Release\n\nCongressman Schweikert Introduces Legislation to Reform NEPA and Reduce Government Regulation\n\nWASHINGTON, DC \u2013 Today, Congressman David Schweikert (AZ-06) introduced the NEPA State Assignment Expansion Act, and the NEPA Accountability and Enforcement Act, two pieces of legislation focused on reforming the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) processes.\n\n\u201cNow more then ever, it is important that we are streamlining our regulatory processes for each investment we are making,\u201d said Rep. Schweikert. \u201cToo often, our policy proposals create burdensome government processes, slowing down our ability to promote innovation and efficiently move clean energy technology forward. I am proud to introduce both of these important pieces of legislation to revolutionize what has evolved to become a burdensome and bureaucratic policy, and help quickly move important projects forward.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe best way to boost American infrastructure is to cut down on needless bureaucratic complexity. Implementing a reasonable time limit and empowering state officials to carry out NEPA will provide certainty and improve the process. I\u2019m proud to have Rep. Schweikert partner with me to advance these reforms,\u201d said Senator Mike Lee (R-UT).\n\n\u201cRight now, we can only build new clean energy projects and reduce carbon dioxide emissions as fast as we can permit new projects,\u201d said Rich Powell, Executive Director, ClearPath Action. \u201cBy establishing shorter permitting timelines, we can make the process more efficient, which will allow clean energy developers to more quickly deploy their technologies, and ensure all communities benefit from clean energy projects.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is important for both the environment and the economy that America can invest in infrastructure and expect reasonable approval and construction timelines. As NEPA approval timelines have only gotten longer, I am happy to see more Congressional focus on remedying this and improving the incentives to invest in the United States,\u201d said Philip Rossetti, Senior Fellow for Energy & Environment, R Street Institute.\n\n\u201cThe National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA) welcomes Congressman Schweikert\u2019s introduction of two key NEPA reform bills \u2013 the House companion to S. 719, the State Assignment Expansion Act, and S. 721, the NEPA Accountability and Enforcement Act. Both of these bills provide much needed reforms to the archaic and bureaucratic National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that would deliver federal public works projects on time. NSSGA supports pragmatic permitting reform that would eliminate duplicative environmental reviews and save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure investments. Americans from coast to coast have called for transformative infrastructure investment for years, and we are finally on the precipice of Congress passing historic levels of federal infrastructure investment through a multi-year surface transportation reauthorization. Rep. Schweikert\u2019s State Assignment Expansion Act and NEPA Accountability and Enforcement Act bills would ensure federal, state and local stakeholders can leverage these federal funds and deliver meaningful public works projects on time and on budget, without sacrificing environmental protections.\u201d\n\nBackground:\n\nThe NEPA State Assignment Expansion Act would:\n\nExpand the NEPA assignment program to let federal agencies delegate NEPA review authority to relevant state entities, which can carry out NEPA review on the agency\u2019s behalf, under the supervision of the agency.\n\nArizona is one of seven states that currently have a NEPA Assignment agreement in place with the Department of Transportation.\n\nThis legislation is cosponsored by Reps. Lesko (AZ-08) and Dan Newhouse (WA-04).\n\nThe NEPA Accountability and Enforcement Act would:\n\nRequire federal agencies to complete the NEPA process in two years for proposed projects that need an EIS\n\nImpose a one year deadline for agencies to issue a Categorical Exclusion (CE) and complete the NEPA process for projects with an EA, with an overall shot clock of three years for an agency to complete the NEPA process\n\nRequire agencies to approve or deny permits within 90 days of completion of the NEPA process\n\nThis legislation is cosponsored by Reps. Bill Posey (FL-08), Dan Newhouse (WA-04), David Valadao (CA-21), Ted Budd (NC-13), Ralph Norman (SC-05), and Lauren Boebert (CO-03).\n\nTo read the full text of the NEPA State Assignment Expansion Act, click HERE.\n\nTo read the full text of the NEPA Accountability and Enforcement Act, click HERE.\n\n###\n\nBack to News", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:03:51Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://schweikert.house.gov/2021/07/01/congressman-schweikert-introduces-legislation-reform-nepa-and-reduce/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7866811938583851, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}