House Passes Key Bill In Nod To Trump Admin…

The House of Representatives passed a bill last week that would make it easier to get federal permits to build infrastructure for AI projects. The bill, known as the SPEED Act, garners support from major tech companies such as OpenAI, Micron, and Microsoft. The bill passed the House by a vote of 218 – 213, despite a conservative revolt that almost killed it in a procedural vote. The Senate will now look at the bill, and it will probably be part of a bigger discussion about changing the rules for permits.

SPEED Act supporters say the U.S. must beat China and other global rivals to be the top AI leader. “The electricity we will need to power AI computing for civilian and military use is a national imperative,” said Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., the bill’s sponsor and chair of the House Natural Resources Committee. The SPEED Act would reform the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act, which requires federal reviews for projects that would affect the environment. The SPEED Act would shorten the current six-year statute of limitations for NEPA litigation to 150 days and tighten the deadlines for NEPA reviews.

Recent permitting delays for Democratic-backed clean energy projects have garnered bipartisan support for permitting reform. As AI has become a major industry and power-hungry data centers have put more strain on the electric grid, pressure has grown on Congress to take action. The SPEED Act would enable the United States to be “nimble enough to build what we need, when we need it,” according to Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, the bill’s Democratic cosponsor.

Democratic Opposition and Trump Administration Support