{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://scottpeters.house.gov/press-releases/peters-evans-garbarino-vasquez-unveil-effort-to-accelerate-federal-permitting-processes", "Peters, Evans, Garbarino, Vasquez Unveil Effort to Accelerate Federal Permitting Processes", "2025-12-19", "2025", "2025-12", "Democrat", "House", "CA", "Scott H. Peters", "P000608", "scottpeters.house.gov", "scottpeters", "https://scottpeters.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Today, Representatives Scott Peters (CA-50), Gabe Evans (CO-08), Andrew Garbarino (NY-02), and Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) released a discussion draft for the Create Expedited Reviews to Transform American Infrastructure Now (CERTAIN) Act to transform the federal permitting process and meet America\u2019s energy and electricity needs. Reps. Juan Ciscomani (AZ-06) and Adam Gray (CA-13) have also signed on.\n\nThe CERTAIN Act would address permit certainty\u2014ensuring federal agencies handle project authorizations and environmental reviews fairly and efficiently, with clear timelines, notice requirements, and accountability. This would facilitate the build out of the energy we need to lower costs, create jobs, and protect our environment. It also emphasizes coordinating between different agencies involved in these processes to avoid unnecessary delays.\n\n\"It\u2019s no secret that our surging energy demand is straining our grid and our wallets,\u201d Congressman Peters said. \u201cAs we face the growing challenge of powering our nation\u2019s future, we must act quickly and effectively. Our CERTAIN Act is the comprehensive solution we need\u2014giving us the tools to tackle energy challenges head-on, without unnecessary delays, and ensuring we\u2019re meeting the moment with urgency and responsibility.\"\n\n\u201cAs the representative of a truly all-of-the-above energy district, I hear from oil and gas and renewable energy producers alike that overburdensome permitting processes and lack of permit certainty has plagued investment and delayed innovation. Across the U.S., modernizing how we permit our infrastructure is absolutely vital to meeting our growing energy demand and lowering costs for working families. I\u2019m proud to lead these bipartisan discussions to build upon the work already done in the House to strengthen American jobs, businesses and markets, reduce cost of living, and provide investors greater certainty when allocating capital to current and future energy projects,\u201d said Congressman Evans\n\n\u201cEndless permitting roadblocks hurt communities and drive up energy costs. I\u2019m proud to co-lead the bipartisan CERTAIN Act to bring transparency and accountability to the permitting process and ensure projects that meet their requirements can move forward on time,\u201d said Congressman Garbarino.\n\n\u201cOver the past decade, we\u2019ve seen how shifting policies from one administration to the next lead to stalled energy projects and make long-term planning impossible, and we cannot afford to leave our energy producers exposed to this political pendulum. That\u2019s why I\u2019m proud to be leading the CERTAIN Act, a bipartisan solution that protects the permitting process for all types of energy projects from undue political interference,\u201d said Congressman Vasquez.\n\n\u201cWe need to build more, fast, if we are going to address the nation's affordability and reliability setbacks,\u201d said Congressman Gray \u201cAchieving an all-of-the-above energy approach is critical for our communities. I am proud to co-lead this bipartisan reform to ensure all projects can move forward without threat once permitted.\u201d\n\n\u201cArizona families and businesses are counting on smart, reliable energy solutions that support growth and opportunity,\u201d said Congressman Ciscomani. \u201cThe CERTAIN Act brings clarity, coordination, and common sense to the federal permitting process so we can responsibly build the energy infrastructure our communities need. We can and should increase energy production while protecting our environment, and this bipartisan effort sets clear timelines and accountability to create jobs, strengthen our grid, and power America\u2019s future responsibly.\u201d\n\nKey provisions of the CERTAIN Act include:\n\nProtection from Political Interference: Provide certainty for infrastructure investment by ensuring that lawfully issued permits that remain in compliance are safeguarded from political interference.\n\nClear Timelines and Deadlines: Set specific deadlines, timelines, and milestones for federal agencies in the environmental review process. This would cover all reviews, under all environmental laws, for all projects.\n\nTransparency and Accountability: Promote transparency and accountability throughout the federal environmental review process, including by empowering decision-makers to resolve disputes.\n\nAddress Workforce Needs: Require agencies to analyze and respond to workforce and technical needs, ensuring they can meet statutory obligations for environmental reviews.\n\nAgency Accountability: Strengthen communication between agencies and project sponsors on any delays, with opportunities to hold agencies accountable in court for missing deadlines and review milestones.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "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://scottpeters.house.gov/press-releases/peters-evans-garbarino-vasquez-unveil-effort-to-accelerate-federal-permitting-processes"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3915030285716057, "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"}