The US House of Representatives has passed H.R. 4776, the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act, bipartisan legislation designed to overhaul the federal permitting process and modernize requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act.
For Alaska, where large-scale infrastructure, energy, mining, and transportation projects routinely face some of the longest federal permitting timelines in the nation, the bill could mark a significant shift in how, and how quickly, projects move from proposal to construction.
The SPEED Act establishes firm deadlines for environmental reviews, narrows the scope of duplicative analyses, and limits repetitive litigation that can stall projects for years after permits are issued. Supporters say the changes are intended to preserve environmental safeguards while reducing uncertainty and cost overruns that disproportionately affect remote and capital-intensive projects like those common in Alaska.
Alaska’s Rep. Nick Begich, is a co-sponsor of the legislation and applauded its passage as a step toward restoring balance to a permitting system that he says has become a barrier to affordability and development.
“For years, America’s outdated permitting system has acted as a self-imposed handicap — driving up costs and delaying infrastructure projects,” Begich said following the vote. He argued that projects expected to take months often stretch into years, affecting everything from energy development to critical mineral production. Begich emphasized that the bill preserves environmental protections while establishing clearer timelines and standards so projects can move forward domestically rather than being pushed overseas.
Those delays have been especially consequential in Alaska, where federal land ownership is extensive and most major projects , including mines, pipelines, ports, roads, and energy facilities, require multiple federal approvals. Lengthy reviews can add hundreds of millions of dollars in carrying costs, discourage private investment, and in some cases cause projects to be abandoned altogether.
Supporters of the bill also point to Alaska’s strategic role in national energy security and critical mineral supply chains. With global competition intensifying, they argue that the U.S. cannot afford permitting processes that stretch beyond a decade, particularly for projects tied to domestic resource development and infrastructure resilience.
The SPEED Act was crafted as a bipartisan measure, with equal numbers of Republican and Democratic co-sponsors, reflecting growing consensus that the current permitting framework is not functioning as intended. The legislation now moves to the Senate, where its prospects remain uncertain but where similar calls for permitting reform have been gaining momentum.
