REPAIR Act of 2025
Sponsored By: Senator Cassidy, Bill [R-LA]
Introduced
Summary
This bill would create a consolidated, time‑bound judicial review system for federal project authorizations. It would limit judicial standing and require Council‑led mediation with strict remediation and reauthorization deadlines to resolve challenges more quickly.
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- Project sponsors must enter a Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council‑led mediation after a remand, vacatur, or injunction and produce a final remediation plan capped at 50 pages. A 60‑day acceptance window lets an accepted proposal convert into reauthorization.
- Courts and agencies face a default remedy of remand rather than vacatur or injunction unless there is imminent and substantial danger. Additional analyses are capped at 90 days and the Council or a sponsor plan can carry reauthorization if agencies miss deadlines.
- Individuals may sue only if they show "direct and tangible harm" and must file initial claims within 120 days. Venue is tied to the project site, judges should be randomly assigned, and the Council must maintain a daily‑updated public database and an annual report flagging late cases and judges with repeated delays.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
Faster mediation to restart projects
If enacted, this bill would force a Council‑run mediation when a court blocks a project. The project sponsor and the agency must each send remediation proposals within 60 days. A sponsor may ask for up to a 120‑day extension and the Council must approve it. The Council would finish a final plan within 60 days and keep it to 50 pages. The agency would have 15 days to reauthorize the project after the plan. If extra study is needed, one agency must finish it in 90 days or the court order is treated as fulfilled. Only the project sponsor could seek more judicial review of the final plan.
New limits on permit lawsuits
If enacted, most legal challenges to project authorizations would face strict timing and standing rules. Initial challenges generally must be filed within 120 days of final agency action, and related actions (like asking for a preliminary injunction) must be filed within 120 days after the initial claim. Only people who show a "direct and tangible harm" — physical illness or bodily injury, or uncompensated economic loss caused by the project — could sue. The default court remedy would be to remand the authorization back to the agency. A court could only vacate or block an authorization if it posed an imminent and substantial danger to health or the environment with no other remedy. The Council would keep a public database of claims not decided within 90 days and publish an annual report on late cases.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Cassidy, Bill [R-LA]
LA • R
Cosponsors
Sen. Risch, James E. [R-ID]
ID • R
Sponsored 4/8/2025
Sen. Crapo, Mike [R-ID]
ID • R
Sponsored 4/8/2025
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov