Jared Huffman: “Mr. Chair, a lot of numbers have been thrown around on how NEPA takes so very, very long. Much of this is looking deep…”

“Mr. Chair, a lot of numbers have been thrown around on how NEPA takes so very, very long. Much of this is looking deep into the past and extrapolating from that. I want to correct the Record because, as of January 2025, $1 billion in the Inflation Reduction Act for permitting was actually doing its job quite well. It had helped reduce the median time it takes to complete an Environmental Impact Statement, the most complex environmental review, by 28 percent. That is compared to times under the first Trump administration. The time was down a little over 2 years in 2024 compared to over 3 1/2 in 2019. That is 1 1/2 years of improvement. Unfortunately, these steps forward have been taken away by our friends across the aisle. We are going in the wrong direction. Mr. Chair, in closing, the majority had a great opportunity here. Democrats were ready to work with them on meaningful and bipartisan permitting reform. They chose to reject our efforts to engage in good faith. Instead, what we have here is another Christmas giveaway to the wealthiest, most powerful people and companies in the country. I guess this is the golden age. These are wonderful times. A person can throw Great Gatsby parties if they are a billionaire, if they are one of these very, very rich interest groups. We should be thinking about everyday Americans right now. Many overburdened communities are saddled with significant pollution.”