FREEDOM Act

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Introduced 2026-02-03Topic: energy · environment · governance ethics

Summary

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This bill sets deadlines for federal agencies to decide on permits for energy, carbon dioxide, and mineral projects: 90 days for routine permits and 1 year for complex ones, with up to 2 years when a full environmental impact statement is needed. It creates a Department of Energy program in which project sponsors pay an annual premium of 1.5 percent of their investment and can seek compensation from the Court of Federal Claims if permits are revoked or agencies miss deadlines. It lets project sponsors sue over missed deadlines, requires courts to decide such cases within 120 days, and allows daily penalties against agencies that do not follow court orders. It limits when agencies can stop or revoke permits for projects that already have most of their approvals, and it sets a 150-day deadline for other people to challenge complex permits in court.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Action history

Date	Chamber	Action	Status effect
2026-03-20	House	Referred to the Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development.	refer
2026-02-04	House	Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.	refer
2026-02-03	House	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.	refer
2026-02-03	House	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.	refer
2026-02-03	House	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.	refer
2026-02-03	House	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.	refer
2026-02-03	House	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.	refer
2026-02-03	House	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.	refer
2026-02-03		Introduced in House	introduce
2026-02-03		Introduced in House	introduce

Summary

Sponsors

Action history