FREEDOM Act
Sponsored By: Representative Rep. Harder, Josh [D-CA-9]
Introduced
Summary
Speeds and de‑risks federal permits for energy and mineral projects. This bill would create a unified, time‑bound federal framework to shorten reviews, set firm decision deadlines, and provide monetary de‑risking and new legal tools to enforce those timelines.
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- Project sponsors and developers: They would get firm review clocks of 90 days for routine authorizations and 1 year for complex authorizations. Sponsors could seek court approval to hire contractors to finish administrative records and force agency action.
- Federal agencies and permitting: Agencies would face new deadlines, possible court‑ordered directives, and penalties that feed a Permitting Performance Fund initially capitalized at $50.0 million to pay approved contractor work and some court awards.
- Geothermal developers and non‑Federal surface operators: The bill would require annual geothermal lease sales and a replacement sale within 180 days if one is canceled. It would also require a federal permitting process within one year and create a Geothermal Ombudsman to resolve delays and coordinate reviews.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
8 provisions identified: 7 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
Compensation for energy project sponsors
This bill would create a De‑Risking Compensation Program to pay sponsors for unrecoverable losses on covered energy projects, subject to Court of Federal Claims review. Sponsors would need to document at least $5,000,000 in capital contribution to be eligible. Enrolled sponsors would pay an annual premium equal to 1.5% of their capital contribution by default (the Secretary could raise the rate by up to 1.5 percentage points). Any award could not exceed the sponsor's total capital contribution and would be reduced by other recoveries for the same loss.
Contractors and fund to enforce permits
If a court finds an agency missed a deadline, this bill would let a sponsor hire a court‑approved contractor to finish studies and paperwork. The court must act on the proposed contractor in 30 days and contractors must meet insurance and experience rules (including at least $1,000,000 liability insurance). Contractor costs could be paid from a new Permitting Performance Fund, which the bill would capitalize (initial $50 million authorized) and which would also hold civil penalties collected from agencies ($1,000 to $100,000 per day). The bill would also require cost recovery agreements for certain rights‑of‑way to be issued within 30 days of a complete application.
Faster court review for permits
This bill would speed up judicial review of permitting disputes for covered projects. Courts would set expedited schedules and, absent extraordinary circumstances, must decide within 120 days of a petition. Petitioners could file in several courts (including the D.C. Circuit or the appeals court where the project is located) and the chosen court would have exclusive jurisdiction. The bill would also limit how to challenge an agency 'complex' designation by requiring proof the agency failed to list project‑specific reasons.
Faster federal reviews for energy projects
This bill would set clearer, faster review steps for covered energy projects. Agencies would have statutory deadlines: routine approvals within 90 days, complex approvals within 1 year, and an EIS finished within 2 years if started after the completed notice date. The bill would require project sponsors to send a Notice of Initiation and the lead agency would have 30 days to say if it is complete and publish a project schedule. The Interior and Agriculture secretaries would also adopt NEPA categorical exclusions within 180 days for small, low‑disturbance activities, with an extraordinary‑circumstances exception.
Protections for fully permitted projects
This bill would protect 'fully permitted projects' that have received a substantial majority of required approvals from agency orders to stop construction or operations. Agencies generally could not revoke permits, halt activity, or seek voluntary remand of an authorization for such projects without the sponsor's consent. Exceptions would allow agency action only for clear, immediate, substantiated harm with no viable alternative, or when an authorization is illegal and the federal action is the only remedy.
Geothermal permitting rules and ombudsman
This bill would require the Interior Department to appoint a Geothermal Ombudsman within 60 days to help coordinate and speed geothermal permits. Within one year, the Secretary would write rules to allow concurrent review of multiple geothermal project phases (exploration, drilling, production, and plant construction). Cost‑recovery rules for applicants would be issued within 180 days so applicants can reimburse inspection and monitoring costs. The bill would also change lease sale timing to yearly and add rules about operator definitions and cross‑references for geothermal law.
Limits on federal surface authority
If enacted, this bill would limit some federal actions on non‑Federal surface land when the United States owns less than 50% of the subsurface mineral or geothermal estate and does not own the surface. The Secretary generally could not require bonds, enter the land without consent, or require mitigation or approval for surface reclamation in those cases. For certain geothermal and oil and gas work, a State permit could substitute for a Federal drilling permit if the operator notifies the Secretary (copy within 5 days) and the Secretary is told of State approval within 45 days. These rules would not apply to Indian trust or restricted lands, and royalties remain unchanged.
Annual GAO survey on permitting
This bill would require the Comptroller General to survey industry satisfaction with federal permitting within 180 days and at least once a year after that. The survey would ask about staffing, permitting costs, and needed improvements, and allow anonymous comments. The Comptroller General would report survey results and assess whether agencies met deadlines and treated energy sources fairly to the relevant congressional committees.
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Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Rep. Harder, Josh [D-CA-9]
CA • D
Cosponsors
Rep. Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17]
NY • R
Sponsored 2/3/2026
Rep. Bacon, Don [R-NE-2]
NE • R
Sponsored 2/3/2026
Gray
CA • D
Sponsored 2/3/2026
Edwards
NC • R
Sponsored 2/3/2026
Rep. McDonald Rivet, Kristen [D-MI-8]
MI • D
Sponsored 2/3/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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