H.R. 6862 would add mining projects to the list of projects that are eligible for a program operated by the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council, which facilitates environmental reviews and permit approvals. The bill also would disapprove a proposed rule published by the council in September 2023 that would restrict eligibility for the program to the mining of critical minerals as defined by the U.S. Geological Survey.

The council received $1 million annually from 2022 through 2026 from advance appropriations in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to operate the program. Those amounts were designated as an emergency requirement. Additionally, Public Law 117-169, an act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of S. Con Res. 14, provided $350 million for those purposes in 2022. CBO projects that $25 million of that $350 million will remain unspent under current law.