Tech-sector’s ITI backs permitting reform bill to speed AI buildout

The Information Technology Industry Council has endorsed a bipartisan proposal by House Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-AR) and Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) that would streamline federal permitting for energy projects related to artificial intelligence infrastructure, with a markup expected soon.

The House Natural Resources Committee held a hearing in September on H.R. 4776, the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development Act, or SPEED Act, but legislative efforts were interrupted by the government shutdown that ran from Oct. 1...