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

Mr. Chairman. I am from the region of the oil spill of 2010. and that oil spill. at that time voices that were Republican and Democrat from the gulf region were raising their voices about the process of review. What happened with BOMA? Why wasnt there some understanding that there were some cracks in the system? Even the industry recognized that we must work on best practices. not less regulationnot bad practices. but best practices. And what did we do? We have put in regulations that would enhance oversight of the issues of drilling. So. Mr. Chairman. let me say that I rise to oppose this legislation. We could do it more collaboratively. and we need to treat each other with the dignity and the respect that this particular institution deserves. both in committees and on the Floor of the House. Mr. Chair. I rise in opposition to H.R. 2641. the "Responsible and Professionally Invigorating Development Act of 2013. or as some have termed it. the "Regrettably Another Partisan Ideological Distraction Act." 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. Mr. Chair. I share some of the frustrations expressed by many members of the House Judiciary Committee. which marked up this bill last summer. with the NEPA process. 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." 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. 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. I expect to speak on my amendment shortly but suffice ittosay. this bill goes out of its way to ensure that some projects might be prematurely. approved. Thats because 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. 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 reject this flawed and jaded legislation.