Op-Ed: Saul Anuzis: Why Rep. Bruce Westerman’s SPEED Act is needed to cut through red tape and power America’s future
Saul Anuzis explains why Rep. Bruce Westerman's bill is essential for America's energy production.
In Washington, common sense is often in short supply. But occasionally, a bill comes along that reminds us what government can do when it gets out of the way and lets America build again. The Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act is one of those rare moments — a chance to jumpstart our economy, strengthen energy independence, and restore public faith in government competence.
Led by Rep. Bruce Westerman (R., Ark.) and advanced by the House Natural Resources Committee, the SPEED Act has begun its race through Congress with growing support from job creators, energy producers, and industry leaders. The Energy Workforce and Technology Council (EWTC), representing tens of thousands of skilled American energy workers, has praised the bill as a long-overdue fix to the bureaucratic gridlock strangling U.S. development. The legislation now awaits full consideration by the House of Representatives, where members on both sides should see it for what it is — a practical, bipartisan step toward restoring America’s capacity to build.
For decades, America’s permitting process for infrastructure, energy, and manufacturing has been buried in red tape. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), enacted with good intentions in 1970, has morphed into a tool for delay and obstruction. Instead of protecting the environment while allowing progress, NEPA reviews have turned into multi-year odysseys that drain capital, discourage innovation, and derail vital projects. It can take five, ten, even fifteen years to secure federal approval for a new energy facility or transmission line. Meanwhile, competitors in China and the Middle East move at lightning speed.
The SPEED Act modernizes this outdated process. It sets clear, enforceable deadlines for environmental reviews, reduces duplication across agencies, and limits the endless lawsuits that activists use to block projects long after they’ve met every legal requirement. Just as important, it ensures that not every routine infrastructure improvement is labeled a “major federal action” requiring years of study and review. That change alone would free up thousands of smaller, low-impact projects — pipelines, power lines, and manufacturing sites — that create jobs without harming the environment.
This is what smart reform looks like: balancing legitimate safeguards with efficiency and accountability. It doesn’t gut environmental protections; it restores integrity and predictability to a system hijacked by bureaucracy and special interests.
Energy is the backbone of America’s economy and national security. Yet our domestic energy producers face delays that make it nearly impossible to plan or invest confidently. The SPEED Act would fast-track responsible development of oil, gas, and renewables alike. It empowers local leaders, investors, and workers to build the infrastructure our nation desperately needs — pipelines that move fuel safely, transmission lines that carry clean power efficiently, and facilities that keep America competitive in the global marketplace.
Energy independence isn’t a partisan slogan. It’s an economic and strategic necessity. When the United States can produce, refine, and transport its own energy, we don’t have to rely on hostile nations or volatile global markets. The SPEED Act is a crucial step toward ensuring that our future isn’t held hostage by foreign powers or domestic bureaucracy.
The benefits extend well beyond energy. Streamlining permitting unleashes investment across manufacturing, construction, and technology. When companies can rely on predictable approval timelines, they build — factories, data centers, industrial parks, and infrastructure that create thousands of high-paying jobs. The ripple effect is enormous: stronger local economies, higher tax revenues for schools and services, and revitalized communities that have been left behind by globalization and Washington gridlock.
Infrastructure projects touch every American life. Roads, bridges, railways, hospitals, schools, broadband networks — all depend on a functioning permitting system. Delays don’t just cost money; they cost opportunity. The SPEED Act doesn’t just clear a path for pipelines — it clears a path for progress in every corner of the country. It means faster construction, safer roads, more reliable utilities, and expanded access to the digital economy for rural America.
Some critics claim that reforming NEPA endangers environmental oversight. That’s nonsense. The SPEED Act keeps environmental reviews in place but requires them to be reasonable, transparent, and timely. It holds agencies accountable for missed deadlines and reduces duplication between federal and state processes. In short, it restores balance — protecting the environment while allowing Americans to build the future.
At a time when public trust in government is near record lows, the SPEED Act offers something rare: proof that Washington can deliver results that matter. It’s a chance to replace paralysis with productivity, to show that efficiency and accountability aren’t partisan values but American ones.
The House should act swiftly to pass this legislation and send a clear message to the Senate: America is ready to build again. Conservatives have long argued that government should enable, not obstruct, economic growth. The SPEED Act embodies that principle. It’s pro-worker, pro-energy, and pro-American competitiveness.
Our nation’s prosperity depends on the ability to move, build, and innovate. For too long, bureaucracy has been the enemy of progress. The SPEED Act is a bold step toward restoring that spirit of action and achievement that defines America.
It’s time to stop talking about infrastructure and start building it.
It’s time to pass the SPEED Act — for our workers, our energy security, and our future.
Saul Anuzis is the president of the 60 Plus Association and a Republican Party politician from the U.S. State of Michigan. He was chairman of the Michigan Republican Party from 2005–2009 and was also a candidate for national chairman of the Republican National Committee in 2009 and 2011 as well as a Member of the RNC from 2005-2012.