In a bipartisan vote, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the ABC-supported Responsibility and Professionally Invigorating Development (RAPID) Act of 2015 (H.R. 348). The bill was sponsored by Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law Chairman Rep. Tom Marino (R-Pa.) and had 21 co-sponsors.

The RAPID Act would streamline the process for developers trying to obtain environmental permits and approvals for their projects in a timely and efficient manner, fostering job creation and economic growth in the process. Additionally, this legislation adopts established concepts, definitions and best practices to ensure that the federal review and permitting process is efficient and transparent.

ABC sent a letter to each member of the House expressing support for the legislation ahead of the vote. In its letter, ABC pointed out that many major federal projects “have been unnecessarily delayed or abandoned, resulting in millions of jobs being deferred or never created, because of a dysfunctional permitting system.” 

The bill passed the House (233-170, Roll no. 518) on Sept. 25 and awaits action by the U.S. Senate.