Regulatory Affairs news highlights: January 2026

 

Recent regulatory headlines we’re tracking include:

 

House Passes SPEED Act focusing on permitting reform

In mid-December, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development Act (SPEED Act) in a vote of 221 to 196.

The infrastructure permitting reform legislation seeks to speed up reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), setting firm decision deadlines and limiting the time and opportunities for litigation.

The bill would also streamline the analysis required in NEPA documents, reducing the burden on developers, and would clarify when a NEPA review is triggered by defining “major federal action.” The bill now goes to the Senate.

 

House hearing focuses on licensing, deployment, and implementation of recently enacted federal laws and administration policies in nuclear energy

The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Energy Subcommittee held a hearing titled “American Energy Dominance: Dawn of the New Nuclear Era” on Jan. 7.

The hearing focused on the licensing, deployment, and implementation of recently enacted federal laws and administration policies in nuclear energy. The witnesses at the hearing were Maria Korsnick, President and CEO, Nuclear Energy Institute; John Williams, Senior V.P., Technical Services & External Affairs, Southern Nuclear Operating Company; John Wagner, PhD, Director, Idaho National Laboratory; and Judi Greenwald, President and CEO, Nuclear Innovation Alliance.

Ms. Korsnick discussed how the Nuclear Energy Institute encourages Congress to focus on a modernized NRC regulatory framework; government tools to manage early-project cost and schedule risk; work on a secure domestic nuclear fuel supply chain and strategy for used fuel management; and continued coordination to ensure a robust nuclear workforce.

Mr. Williams discussed actions that could further encourage nuclear development, such as a federal program that provides cost sharing over a certain threshold for additional, unanticipated construction costs, and amending the tax code to provide early nuclear developers with more cash flow during construction.

Dr. Wagner discussed recent nuclear-related legislation and how four executive orders have set an ambitious timeline to scale up nuclear across the country. He also discussed recent experiments and demonstrations, including how AI can accelerate nuclear development and manufacturing.

Finally, Ms. Greenwald discussed the importance of bipartisan support to ensure stable policy and predictable investment environments; sufficient government staffing and resources to support recent legislation and executive orders; and maintaining the NRC’s regulatory integrity and transparency.

The full webcast of the hearing is available here.

 

NERC commends Natural Petroleum Council study on gas-electric coordination, recommendations

NERC shared and commended the National Petroleum Council’s (NPC) recent study, Reliable Energy: Delivering on the Promise of Gas-Electric Coordination. The NPC is a group of oil and gas industry members (as well as other non-industry members) who advise the federal government as requested.

In June, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright requested that the NPC conduct a study to provide advice on ensuring the availability of affordable, reliable, and secure energy, with one of the topics to include misalignment between the electric power and natural gas markets. The study: 1) assesses how rising natural gas and electricity demand and shifting load patterns are straining U.S. pipeline infrastructure, 2) evaluates the reliability risks these strains pose, and 3) recommends strategies to reduce misalignment between the gas and electric industries.

 

CISA issues Cross-Sector Cybersecurity Performance Goals

The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) updated a list of goals it recommends for critical infrastructure operators to use to protect their systems from hackers.

Version 2.0 of CISA’s Cross-Sector Cybersecurity Performance Goals (CPGs) updates the goals that were initially issued in 2022 to address emerging threats through data-driven and actionable guidance.

The changes include the addition of a new “Govern” category of goals, meant to reinforce the importance of business leaders’ involvement in overseeing cybersecurity; the consolidation of information technology and operational technology goals; new goals focused on supply-chain risks, zero-trust architecture and incident-response communications; and clearer language about how organizations can implement the CPGs.