The House of Representatives approved legislation Wednesday that would accelerate federal permitting for artificial intelligence infrastructure projects, advancing a Trump administration priority despite fierce Democratic opposition.
The SPEED Act passed 218-213 after a contentious procedural vote where conservative Republicans initially threatened to block the measure. The bill would reform the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act, compressing environmental review timelines and limiting litigation challenges for infrastructure projects.
What the Bill Does
The legislation would reduce the statute of limitations for environmental lawsuits from six years to 150 days and streamline federal approval processes for energy and infrastructure development. “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.
Tech giants including OpenAI, Microsoft, and Micron backed the measure, citing competition with China in the artificial intelligence sector. The bill’s Democratic cosponsor, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, argued the changes would allow the United States to be “nimble enough to build what we need, when we need it.”
The Democratic Pushback
Most House Democrats opposed the SPEED Act, contending it protected Trump administration efforts to restrict offshore wind and renewable energy projects. Rep. Scott Peters, D-Calif., who supports permitting reform generally, said the language “codifies a broken permitting status quo” and pledged to work toward a different Senate version.
Conservative Republicans initially demanded amendments in exchange for their support, forcing GOP leadership to insert language that shields presidential decisions on renewable energy from the bill’s restrictions on arbitrary permit revocation.
Broader Administration Push
The House vote coincides with Trump administration efforts to build AI infrastructure capacity. The administration this month launched the “U.S. Tech Force,” a new initiative that will employ approximately 1,000 engineers and technology specialists to develop artificial intelligence infrastructure across federal agencies.
The two-year program will partner with major technology companies including Amazon Web Services, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, and OpenAI. “We’re trying to reshape the workforce to make sure we have the right talent on the right problems,” U.S. Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor told CNBC.
The Senate will now consider the SPEED Act as part of broader permitting reform discussions.
This story has been updated. CNN’s Technology and Politics teams contributed to this report.
