[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 129 (Wednesday, July 26, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E726-E727]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  INTRODUCTION OF THE EXPEDITED FEDERAL PERMITTING FOR CALIFORNIA ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN GARAMENDI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 26, 2023

  Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, today I introduce the ``Expedited Federal 
Permitting for California Act.'' This new bill would make permanent the 
U.S. Department of Transportation's program for eliminating duplicative 
environmental reviews for federally funded infrastructure projects. It 
would also make federally funded airport and port development projects 
eligible for this expedited federal environmental review and 
permitting. Only federally funded highway, public transit, and 
multimodal projects are eligible under current law.
  Established by Congress in 2015 under the leadership of former U.S. 
Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), then-Chairwoman of the Senate Committee 
on Environment and Public

[[Page E727]]

Works, this federal pilot program allows states like California with 
more stringent environment laws than the federal National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) to substitute their state environmental 
reviews in lieu of completing a second, unnecessary federal 
environmental review at additional taxpayer expense. This cuts the 
permitting backlog in half for major transportation infrastructure 
projects statewide, which can proceed immediately to construction on 
time and budget. As a member of the House Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure, I helped to develop and pass the 2015 Highway Bill 
(Public Law 114-94), which established this pilot authority.
  Under the leadership of then-Speaker Pelosi and President Biden, 
Congressional Democrats made a generational investment under the 
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-58) and 
the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-169) to modernize 
our nation's infrastructure and build the clean energy economy of 
tomorrow. As one of five cosponsors of the 2021 Bipartisan 
Infrastructure Law and having voted with every other Democratic member 
of California's Congressional delegation to enact the 2022 Inflation 
Reduction Act, I am committed to getting California our fair of this 
historic federal investment.
  However, I am increasingly concerned that California will miss out on 
this federal funding only available for the next 3 years to fix our 
roads and public transit if we remain bogged down in a state and 
federal permitting morass that is unnecessarily cumbersome and 
litigious. My bill would simply make permanent the pilot authority 
established under the 2015 Highway Bill for substituting by California 
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for NEPA reviews for federally funded 
transportation projects. Under current law, this pilot authority will 
expire on December 4, 2027.
  In January 2021, the U.S. Department of Transportation finalized the 
necessary regulations to finally implement this pilot authority. To 
date, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has never 
made use of this federal pilot authority and continues to insist on 
completing less stringent federal environmental reviews on behalf of 
the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit 
Administration at additional taxpayer expense.
  I take a backseat to no one when it comes to upholding California's 
high environmental standards, of which I am immensely proud. Mr. 
Speaker, I call on Governor Newsom and all members of California's 
Congressional delegation to join me in supporting my commonsense bill. 
We cannot watch the $1.2 trillion in available federal funding to 
rebuild our state's roads, public transit, airports, and ports pass us 
by. It's now or never.

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