NOT SO FAST! TELL THE SENATE TO OPPOSE THE SPEED ACT

rabinelliott
2 days ago
3 min read

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The Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act (S.3224) is a permitting reform bill that would change the laws and procedures that govern how new energy infrastructure is approved. But it would prioritize the interests of the fossil fuel industries at the expense of renewable energy projects and essential protections for clean air, water, public health, and access to justice. It is too flawed to fix in the current Senate. Tell your Senators to oppose the SPEED Act and work in the next Congress to ensure climate protections and environmental justice are fully incorporated.

Background

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) says that before federal agencies make decisions, whether promulgating rules or approving permits, they must assess the environmental impacts of those decisions and disclose them to the public. These reviews are crucial because they provide the government and the public the chance to examine the consequences of implementing major projects and take measures to prevent environmental harm. The SPEED Act attempts to streamline the NEPA review process, but it potentially benefits fossil fuel interests while renewables see few tangible benefits. Instead, real progress would come from boosting agencies’ resources, improving agency coordination, and giving communities a voice in the process. The SPEED Act does not have these needed reforms.

Why Now?

The House of Representatives passed its version of the SPEED Act (H.R.4776) last December. Now the Senate is negotiating its version of the SPEED Act (S.3224). The outcome likely will alter how America fights climate change and builds clean energy—and whether it further embraces fossil fuels. Use your voice to oppose the SPEED Act. Press your senators to wait for a new Congress that is more conducive to renewable energy, government accountability, and meaningful public input in NEPA’s permit process.

Jewish Perspectives

We are entrusted with the sacred gift of free will, the power to choose between actions that sustain life and those that invite destruction. This fundamental choice is framed in Deuteronomy 30:19: "I set before you life and death, blessing and curse," and we are immediately commanded to "choose life, so that you and your offspring may live," an ethical mandate that extends to the very air and water that sustain us. Our tradition further instructs us in Deuteronomy 22:8 to "make a guardrail (ma’akeh) for your roof," establishing a legal obligation to proactively remove any hazard that could cause preventable harm.

Today, the continued expansion of fossil fuels represents a missing guardrail, allowing pollution to threaten the health of our communities and the future of our children. When we have the technology to harness the sun’s energy, choosing dirty fuels over renewables is a failure to heed the Divine call to prioritize safety and justice over speed and greed. Therefore, guided by the values of yetzer hatov (the good impulse), we urge Congress to vote against the SPEED Act and instead incentivize the clean energy that protects our global home.

Learn More

What’s in the SPEED Act?, Bipartisan Policy Center

House approves, Senate must reject fossil fuel giveaway, Western Environmental Law Center

House Passes the SPEED Act: Permitting reform effort “was never a serious solution," Natural Resources Defense Council

Environmental Groups Speak Out Against Deregulatory SPEED Act, We Act for Environmental Justice

Over 100 Organizations Oppose SPEED Act final letter, Earthjustice

Permitting “Reform” Package is a Holiday Gift to Big Oil and Gas, Lump of Coal for the Public, The Union of Concerned Scientists

Sample Message to Your Senators

Subject: Oppose the SPEED Act (S.3224)

Dear Senator,

I am alarmed at the reforms to the NEPA permitting system posed by the SPEED Act (S.3224). It prioritizes private profit over the public interest, reduces government accountability, and disregards the voices and welfare of communities affected by federal decisions.

The worsening climate crisis and increasing loss of biodiversity demand that we strengthen NEPA’s environmental and community protections. [Insert your own personal story here].

My Jewish faith calls on me to…[insert your own words here]

The Senate must reject this legislation. Instead, I encourage you to collaborate in the next Congress for NEPA reforms that provide public participation and crucial environmental and health protections for present and future generations.

Please let me know how you intend to proceed. Thank you.

How to Contact Your Members of Congress

Find your Members of Congress at https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials.

Call the Capitol switchboard (202) 224-3121 to reach your Congressmember's office.

Online: Find your members’ websites and look for the “Contact” page to submit a message. For a senator’s website, search lastname.senate.gov.