{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://valadao.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=3407", "Congressman Valadao Advances Essential Permitting Reform Legislation", "2025-12-18", "2025", "2025-12", "Republican", "House", "CA", "David G. Valadao", "V000129", "valadao.house.gov", "valadao", "https://valadao.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Today, the House of Representatives passed the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act with Congressman David Valadao\u2019s (CA-22) support. This bipartisan bill streamlines the approval process to advance essential water, transportation, energy, infrastructure, forest management, and flood-control projects by allowing federal agencies to use previously conducted Environmental Assessments or Environmental Impact Statements under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the approval of projects with similar impacts.\n\nA portion of Congressman Valadao\u2019s Determination of NEPA Adequacy Streamlining Act (H.R. 6163) was included in the SPEED Act.\n\n\u201cThe Central Valley has no shortage of essential projects ready to move forward, but unfortunately, it\u2019s near impossible to put shovels in the ground due to our outdated, burdensome permitting process,\u201d said Congressman Valadao. \u201cBy allowing federal agencies to rely on previously conducted, scientifically sound environmental reviews, we can cut down on excessive paperwork, reduce delays, and get projects moving sooner. The bipartisan SPEED Act brings much-needed certainty to our permitting process and jumpstarts domestic investment, and I\u2019m proud to have portions of my bill, H.R. 6163, included.\u201d\n\nBackground:\n\nNEPA is a procedural statute that establishes parameters for assessing and disclosing the environmental impact of all major federal actions. Originally intended to ensure an appropriate balance between protecting the environment and economic development, the NEPA process has become increasingly complex, resulting in massive NEPA documents approaching thousands of pages, drawn-out project timelines, and excessive litigation.\n\nThe SPEED Act simplifies the analysis required in NEPA documents so that agencies aren\u2019t stuck studying never-ending topics without ever reaching a conclusion. The bill clarifies when NEPA is triggered by focusing the definition of \u201cMajor Federal Action\u201d and allows agencies to rely on previously completed NEPA documents for projects. Lastly, the bill establishes judicial review limitations for NEPA claims, including a 150-day deadline for filing claims, and eliminates vacatur and injunction as remedies available to courts.\n\nRead the full bill here.\n\n###", 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://valadao.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=3407"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4829537831246853, "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"}