The House of Representatives on Tuesday announced that OpenAI, metaand microsoft Reform the process for obtaining federal permits for projects that build artificial intelligence infrastructure in the United States.
Supporters of the bill say it is key to helping the United States beat out China and other global competitors and gain leadership in AI.
The bill passed a key procedural vote in the House on Tuesday, 215-209. A final vote on the bill in the House could take place later this week.
“A more efficient and predictable permitting process is essential for companies like OpenAI that invest in data centers, networking, and support infrastructure across the country,” Chan Park, OpenAI’s director of U.S.-Canada policy and partnerships, said in a letter supporting the bill.
The SPEED Act would slow down the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, which requires federal review of projects that could impact the environment before permits are issued.
Years of efforts to reform NEPA have been blocked by Democratic lawmakers who have sided with environmentalists against Republicans aligned with business interests.
But recently, there has been growing support among Democrats for loosening the permitting process, as AI is seen as an increasingly important field.
Pressure on Congress is also mounting as China catches up with the U.S. in building out AI infrastructure and focuses energy-hungry AI data centers on aging power grids.
“We’ve made it very difficult to build anything big in this country, and if we don’t reform that, that’s going to be a powerful gift that we give to China,” Rep. Dusty Johnson, R.S., a member of the House Select Committee on the Communist Party of China, said in an interview with CNBC.
“Without meaningful reform of NEPA, we’re going to have a hard time getting where we need to go,” Johnson said.
In a show of bipartisan support for reform efforts, the SPEED Act was co-sponsored by House Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Arkansas) and Representative Jared Golden (D-Maine).
“Comprehensive permitting reform is essential to win the AI race, grow the U.S. economy, and ensure America’s continued global leadership,” said the Data Center Coalition, a group representing large tech companies building data centers.
“Unfortunately, national transmission and generation constraints are limiting economic growth, including the development of the U.S. data center industry,” said Cy McNeil, the group’s director of federal affairs.
McNeil said industry is “looking to continue to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in America every year to build America’s digital infrastructure.”
The SPEED Act would tighten the timelines for federal agencies to conduct reviews under NEPA and limit the law’s ability to restrict projects.
The bill would also shorten the current six-year statute of limitations to 150 days to challenge permitting decisions. Supporters say the reforms will reduce the number of lawsuits that can stall projects for years.
“Anyone who wants to stop something under NEPA has an advantage,” Westerman, a co-sponsor of the bill, said in an interview.
“Data centers use a lot of energy, so we need to build more energy infrastructure and more energy generation capacity, and the hurdle to that is getting these projects allowed,” Westerman said.
He warned that if a data center receives federal funding, such as CHIPS or Science Act funding for semiconductor manufacturing projects, it could be subject to NEPA litigation.
Semiconductor giant Micron said in the letter that the SPEED Act “accelerates the implementation of economic development investments like Micron’s and ensures that every federal dollar is used efficiently and effectively.”
Despite bipartisan agreement on the need for permit reform, the SPEED Act has hit hurdles on Capitol Hill.
The ultra-conservative House Republican Freedom Caucus opposes an amendment Golden added to the bill that would limit the president’s power to revoke permits for energy projects he doesn’t like.
President Donald Trump did just that this year when it came to permitting offshore wind power.
Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris (R-Md.) threatened to water down the bill before it reaches the House if Golden’s amendments remain in the bill.
“The Golden Amendment must be repealed. That’s the bare minimum,” Harris said. “If it is, the rule will not succeed.”
It is unclear whether enough Democrats will support the SPEED Act to override the impact of opposition to it by members of the Freedom Caucus.
Republicans hold a slim majority in the House, and party leaders can only lose at most three votes from the Republican caucus to pass the bill without Democratic support.
At the same time, some House Democrats want to make more concessions than the Golden Amendment to ensure the restart of clean energy projects halted by President Trump.
“I think there will be a few Democrats who will vote in favor of the current version, similar to what was said in committee, but it’s certainly not a critical mass,” said Rep. Seth Magaziner, D.R.I.
“Almost every Democrat who is willing to reform the permitting process will need some guarantee that clean energy will be a part of it,” said Magaziner, who has expressed interest in reforming the permitting process.
Other Democrats believe the bill goes too far in damaging the environment.
“This is standard fare, and it’s kind of like the fossil fuel industry’s wish list,” said Rep. Jared Huffman of California, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee.
Even if the House passes the bill, it would be just the first part of a larger package planned to reform additional parts of the complex federal permit system. Lawmakers are focused on removing hurdles to building interstate energy transmission projects.
The Senate has not yet introduced its own bill authorizing the reforms, but such measures are being discussed behind closed doors.
Democrats will have more influence in the Senate on such legislation, as they would need 60 votes to break the filibuster. There are only 53 Republican senators.
“I think both of our teams are figuring out what’s important to the two different caucuses on the committee, and I hope to do a paper deal with Chairman (Mike) Lee soon,” Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-New Mexico, said at a recent Semaphore event.
Lee (R-Utah) is chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Heinrich is the committee’s ranking member.
— CNBC’s Emily Wilkins contributed to this report.
