The House has approved legislation that seeks to accelerate approval of new runways at U.S. airports. The measure, passed without objection on July 9, would require that environmental reviews done by various federal agencies be carried out concurrently, rather than sequentially. It also mandates that the U.S. Dept. of Transportation set deadlines for completing those reviews, where practicable, but the legislation doesn't say how long the deadlines should be.
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approved a broader aviation bill last August that includes runway project review provisions that are similar to the House's.