H.R. 9188, Environmental Review Acceleration via Regulatory Capture. Quorum's AI analysis reads it as a net cost — and names who bears it.
H.R. 9188 · Net cost
What it does
This bill allows the Department of Defense to pay the National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service directly to speed up environmental reviews of military projects under three federal wildlife laws (Marine Mammal Protection Act, Endangered Species Act, Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Act). The military can fund extra staff at these agencies to complete reviews faster when the military deems it necessary for national defense.
The analysis names defense contractors — and 2 more groups — among the beneficiaries.
The cost
The bill creates a financial dependency: agencies reviewing military projects become reliant on military funding, weakening their independence and incentivizing faster (not necessarily more thorough) reviews.
The analysis put a high warning level on this bill. Transparency scores 45%, and the analysis found no provisions unrelated to the bill's subject.
Who is behind it
Filed by Sarah Elfreth. Cosponsored by Jack Bergman.