On the recordMarch 6, 2014
I thank the gentleman, and I rise in strong support of the gentleman's amendment. Mr. Chair, I support the amendment. The RAPID Act includes important reforms to assure that agencies wrap up their environmental reviews for construction permits within a generous four-and-one-half years. The current language of the bill applies these reforms to all ``environmental reviews'' and all ``environmental decisionmaking processes'' begun after the bill's enactment. The amendment takes the next step and applies the bill to environmental reviews and environmental decisionmaking processes begun before enactment. But it also generously provides that the time remaining for agencies to conclude a review or decisionmaking process will be calculated as if the review or process had begun on the date of enactment--just as with a new permit application. Other deadlines in the bill will likewise be calculated as if the relevant timeframe began on the date of enactment, not before enactment. The amendment thus represents a very reasonable balance between assuring that pending permit applications will at last be wrapped up and providing agencies with adequate time to wrap them up. I urge my colleagues to support the amendment.
