House passes bill to ease permits for building out AI infrastructure

The House of Representatives connected Thursday passed a measure aimed astatine making it easier to get national permits to physique infrastructure for artificial intelligence projects.

The bill, known arsenic the SPEED Act, is backed Big Tech giants specified arsenic OpenAI, Micron and Microsoft

The bipartisan measure cleared the House successful a 221-196 vote, overcoming a conservative rebellion that astir sank the authorities successful a procedural ballot earlier this week.

The measure present heads to the Senate, wherever it is apt to beryllium portion of a larger speech astir permitting reform. 

The SPEED Act's proponents reason it is captious to assistance the U.S. outpace China and different planetary competitors successful the contention for AI dominance. 

"The energy we volition request to powerfulness AI computing for civilian and subject usage is simply a nationalist imperative," said Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., the bill's sponsor and seat of the House Natural Resources Committee. 

The SPEED Act would betterment the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act, which mandates national reviews for projects that would interaction the environment.

It would tighten the timelines for NEPA reviews and shrink the statute of limitations for NEPA litigation to 150 days from the existent six years. 

Permitting betterment has drawn bipartisan enactment precocious arsenic cleanable vigor projects supported by Democrats became ensnared successful permitting delays.

Pressure has built connected Congress to enactment arsenic AI has emerged arsenic a cardinal assemblage and power-hungry information centers person placed an accrued strain connected the electrical grid. 

The Democratic cosponsor of the bill, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, said the SPEED Act would let the U.S. to beryllium "nimble capable to physique what we need, erstwhile we request it."

Most Democrats opposed the SPEED Act, however, demanding that immoderate permitting measure overturn President Donald Trump's moves to choke renewable vigor sources similar offshore wind. 

Democratic absorption was lone compounded aft GOP enactment inserted connection to exempt Trump's efforts to artifact renewables from provisions successful the SPEED Act that would bounds the White House's quality to arbitrarily yank permits it does not like.

The amendment was added aft a standoff connected the House level during a procedural vote, wherever conservatives opposed to renewable vigor demanded concessions for their votes.

"That proviso codifies a breached permitting presumption quo," said Rep. Scott Peters, D-Calif., who supports permitting betterment but opposed the SPEED Act.

"I look guardant to moving with my colleagues crossed the aisle successful the Senate to trade a bipartisan merchandise that tin go law."