Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, Energy and Commerce, Transportation and Infrastructure, Science, Space, and Technology, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
H.R. 7329, the FREEDOM Act, aims to accelerate federal permitting for energy and mineral development projects by imposing strict decision deadlines on federal agencies and creating financial consequences for delays. The bill establishes a 90-day deadline for routine permits and up to two years for complex projects requiring environmental reviews, allows private contractors to complete stalled environmental analyses under court supervision, and creates a compensation program where project sponsors can sue the federal government for losses caused by agency inaction or permit revocation. To address delays, the bill authorizes daily financial penalties ($1,000–$100,000) against agencies that miss court-ordered schedules and establishes a Permitting Performance Fund financed by these penalties and $50 million in initial appropriations. Project sponsors can participate in a de-risking program by paying annual premiums (1.5–3% of capital contributions) to recover losses, and the bill protects fully permitted projects from agency orders halting construction unless there is demonstrable immediate harm or legal violation. Additionally, the bill streamlines geothermal and oil and gas permitting on non-federal lands and creates exemptions from federal permits for certain operators.
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