House Natural Resources Chair Bruce Westerman says more people are excited about his signature permitting legislation than “anything” he’s “seen in a long time.”
And yet the Arkansas Republican on Tuesday was not exactly sure about the fate of the “Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act,” H.R. 4776, scheduled to hit the floor next week.
Last week some hard-right conservatives voiced concern about whether the bill would unduly favor renewable energy projects. The proposal may have enough Democratic support to cancel out a handful of conservative “nos,” but that may not be true on the procedural vote to take up the bill. Votes on “rules” are usually along party lines.
“I’m not confident any rule would ever pass at this point,” Westerman said during an interview in his Cannon office. “But we’re going to work as hard as we can to get the rule passed.”
