House Passes the Lower Energy Costs Act; Heads to Senate Chamber
House Republicans passed a sprawling energy bill (H.R. 1) on Thursday, March 10th, delivering their biggest legislative win since they took control of the chamber in January. The legislation passed by a 225-204 vote with Representatives Cuellar (D-TX), Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA), Golden (D-ME), and Gonzalez (D-TX) joining their Republican colleagues and enabling House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to tout the bill as bipartisan.
H.R. 1, dubbed the Lower Energy Costs Act, would repeal parts of Democrats’ marquee climate law and boost US oil and gas production. The bill also represents a part of the House Republicans’ initial offer on permitting reform as House leadership floats a plan which would combine an increase in the US debt limit with spending cuts, energy deregulation, and other Republican priorities, according to Speaker Kevin McCarthy. He also added that the House would be willing to pass the bill should the President not wish to negotiate.
The House version of the Lower Energy Costs Act seeks to address some core Republican energy priorities from the past decade, from disapproving of Biden’s block on the Keystone XL pipeline to mandating more oil and gas lease sales and making it harder for states to block the construction of interstate pipelines that cross their borders.
Specifically, the legislation would codify changes to the National Environmental Policy Act that were initially proposed by the Trump Administration. GOP lawmakers intend to set a two-year deadline for major reviews and make it more difficult for environmentalists to sue to stop projects. Additionally, the Lower Energy Costs Act, which would mandate more oil and gas lease sales, would make it harder for states to block the construction of interstate pipelines that cross their borders and would make it easier to permit mining, drilling, and other energy projects.
The bill would also repeal a first-time fee on methane emissions as well as $27 billion in funding to the EPA to establish a green bank and would roll back fees and increase royalty rates for the oil and gas industries included in Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act.
If advanced through the Senate by some miracle, President Biden has vowed to veto the Lower Energy Costs Act. However, elements of the bill, aimed at streamlining permitting rules for energy projects, could serve as the starting point for negotiations with the Senate, where centrist West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin last year pushed his own plan to ease those regulations.
While Republicans hold a narrow majority in the House, the bill in its current form is opposed by Senate Democrats. It is apparent that bipartisanship and compromises will be necessary for a Senate companion to be feasible.
At least three separate bills that could comprise an energy permitting package are being worked on by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Manchin (D-WV), Ranking Member Senator Barrasso (R-WY), and Environment and Public Works Committee Ranking Member Senator Moore-Capito (R-WV). Even if an agreement is reached, we do not expect to see a bipartisan, bicameral package until this summer before the August recess.
Links
View the full text of the Lower Energy Costs Act here
View Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s speech in favor of the bill here
See House Majority Leader Steve Scalise’s press release here