Date: 2014-03-06
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Let me restate again what is in this legislation. If a Federal agency fails to approve or disapprove the project or make the required finding of the determination within the applicable deadline. which is either 90 days or 180 days. depending on the situation. then the project is automatically deemed approveddeemed approvedby such agency. Mr. Chairman. do the American people want something deemed approved that might be a dangerous and unsuitable project in their community? And as it relates to the creation of jobs. I thank the gentleman for his explanation. but I will tell you that it is said by the Federal Highway Administration. the majority of the approved projects required limited documentation or analysis under NEPA. Further. when environmental requirements have caused project delays. requirements established under laws other than NEPA have generally been the fault. NEPA has not stopped the creation of jobs. But what I can tell my good friend is that. if we could pass the unemployment insurance extension. we can give opportunity to Americans to keep looking for jobs. and if we pass an infrastructure bill. we would have jobs. So my point is that my amendment is very simple. It is just to eliminate that provision that might dangerously put Americans in jeopardy by. in essence. allowing projects to be approved while there is a studious. conscientious review of that project that is to generate jobs but to provide for the safety. the security. the tranquility. and the peace of the American people. I cant imagine that we would want to throw into legislation on streamlining an absolute hatchet that says your neck is cut off if. in fact. you are not finished with your work. the heck with it. we are going on to produce this project. I know that the American people believe in the spirit of my good friend from Pennsylvanias intentions. We can work together. We can put legislation forward that can be constructive. But a shortened time of 4 years is nothing to celebrate if. in essence. the time is needed for review. I have cited some of the challenges that we face: oil spills. construction projects that have seen large numbers of deaths because of the way it was done. collapse of buildings. as we have seen in the tragedy of the building that was collapsed in Pennsylvania. and other terrible disasters that have occurred that require the rebuild of certain facilities in the United States. I cannot imagineagain. I might say that the general counsel that was general counsel for the CEQ to all of the last four Presidents has indicated NEPA is not a problem. I ask that my amendment. the Jackson Lee amendment. be supported and make this legislation a step better and a step in a direction to get it where it should be. I ask my colleagues to support my amendment. Mr. Chair. for this opportunity to explain my amendment to H.R. 2641. the "Responsible and Professionally Invigorating Development Act of 2013." If the RAPID Act were to become law in its present form. a permit or license for project would be "deemed" approved if the reviewing agency does not issue the requested permit or license within 90120 days. My amendment strikes the provision deeming approved any project for which agency does not meet deadlines contained in the bill. Mr. Chair. I share some of the frustrations expressed by many members of this committee with the NEPA process. There is something odd about a system in which it can take half a year or more to approve the siting plan for a wind farm but fracking operations regulations can be approved and conducted a few hundred feet from somebodys home with no community oversight process in just a few months. Something is wrong with this picture. But I strongly believe that this bill is a solution in search of a problem. Mr. Chair. why are we wasting time with this bill when we could be passing H.R. 3546. a bill introduced by my colleague Sandy Levin. the distinguished Ranking Member of the Ways and Means Committee. which amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act. 2008 to extend emergency unemployment compensation (EUC) payments for eligible individuals to weeks of employment ending on or before Or we could bring up and pass H.R. 3888. "The New Chance For a New Start in Life Act." a bill I introduced which provides grants for training to those out of workwho are merely seeking to pull themselves up by their bootstrapsthe American way. But here we are on the Floor of the House of Representatives voting and speaking on the "Regrettably Another Partisan Ideological Distraction Act." The bill in its current form is an example of a medicine that is worse than a disease. There is a major problem with the section that my amendment addresses. namely automatic approval of projects with the need for positive agency action. Under H.R. 2641. if a federal agency fails to approve or disapprove the project or make the required finding of the termination within the applicable deadline. which is either 90 days or 180 days. depending on the situation. then the project is automatically deemed approved. deemed approved by such agency. This creates a set of perverse incentives. First. as an agency is up against that deadline and legitimate work is yet to be completed. it is likely to disapprove the project simply because the issues have not been vetted. Second. frequently there are times when it is the case that the complexity of issues that need to be resolved necessitates a longer review period. rather than an arbitrary limit. So if H.R. 2641 were to become law the most likely outcome is that federal agencies would be required to make decisions based on incomplete information. or information that may not be available within the stringent deadlines. and to deny applications that otherwise would have been approved. but for lack of sufficient review time. In other words. fewer projects would be approved. not more. The Jackson Lee Amendment sets up a trigger after a period of time for a process. which is not automatic approval. but is rather a convening of the stakeholders around figuring out what is standing in the way of the NEPA decision. Mr. Chair. the new requirements contained in H.R. 2641 amend the environmental review process under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). even though the bill is drafted as an amendment to the APA. The bill ignores the fact that NEPA has for more than 40 years provided an effective framework for all types of projects (not just construction projects) that require federal approval pursuant to a federal law. such as the Clean Air Act. I urge my colleagues to support the Jackson Lee Amendment to H.R. 2641 and keep Americans working.