Dr. Joyce’s RED Tape Act Passes the House, Advances to the Senate

Washington, D.C. – Last week, H.R.6398, the RED Tape Act, led by Congressman John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13), passed the U.S. House with bipartisan support and will now move to the Senate for consideration. The legislation would eliminate a duplicative environmental review process that imposes costly and unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles.  

Under current law, when a federal agency prepares an environmental impact statement (EIS), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to review and publicly comment on the environmental impacts of other agencies’ projects—even when the EPA has already participated in the initial review and development of the EIS. 

The RED Tape Act would eliminate this duplicative requirement under Section 309 of the Clean Air Act, streamlining the permitting process while preserving environmental standards. By removing the need for the EPA to conduct multiple overlapping reviews of the same project, the legislation will help accelerate approvals for critical manufacturing and energy projects. 

“The passage of the RED Tape Act is a critical step toward restoring efficiency and predictability in the federal permitting process. Unnecessary and duplicative regulations drive up costs, delay projects, and prevent necessary development that would benefit our workforce, businesses, and constituents,” said Congressman Joyce. “As energy demands rise, an efficient permitting process will become even more essential to meeting our energy needs, unleashing American energy dominance, and strengthening our position in the global race for critical minerals and advanced manufacturing.” 

“Duplicative reviews don’t improve outcomes—they delay projects, increase costs, and put American jobs at risk. The RED Tape Act eliminates redundant and outdated review requirements for the EPA, strengthening job creation and economic growth while preserving the role of lead agencies to carry out environmental impact analysis. I thank Congressman Joyce for his leadership on this commonsense reform,” said House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY). 

“House Republicans are cutting through the bureaucratic nonsense that is driving up costs for hardworking Americans,” House GOP Conference Chairwoman McClain (R-MI) said. “Democrats have buried job creators under mountains of red tape, and families are paying the price through higher energy bills, higher prices, and fewer good-paying jobs. Americans shouldn’t pay to jump through the same hoop twice because some bureaucrat wants more paperwork.” 

“As a Western Pennsylvania-based union electrical contractor, we support H.R. 6398, the Red Tape Act. Congress desperately needs to modernize the construction permitting process. Too often, unnecessary duplication and inefficiencies delay our projects and increase cost uncertainty. This makes it harder for us to keep our skilled electricians productively employed doing the work to power critical infrastructure and economic development and to meet our growing energy demands. Streamlining duplicative requirements while also maintaining strong safety and environmental standards is a commonsense step,” said Todd Mikec, Owner/Executive Chairman, Lighthouse Electric Company. 

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