BILL: Should We Expand American Domestic Energy Production? - Lower Energy Costs Act - H.R.1

The Bill

H.R.1 - Lower Energy Costs Act

Bill Status

• Introduced by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) on March 14, 2023
• Committees: House; Natural Resources; Energy & Commerce; Agriculture; Transportation & Infrastructure; Budget
• House and Senate: Passed House | Not Yet Passed Senate
• President: Not yet signed

Bill Overview

• The goal of this GOP-backed Act is to restore American energy independence by increasing domestic energy production, reforming permitting processes, and creating infrastructure and protocols to process critical minerals.

What's in the Bill?

Increase and prioritize domestic energy production

• Reverses policies that put domestic energy production and exports on the back burner.
• Streamlines energy infrastructure and export procedures to boost trade and the earning potential of American industry.
• Will take full commercial advantage of American minerals and energy deposits.
• The Act will repeal all restrictions on the import and export of natural gas.

Reforms the permitting process for critical industries

• Ushers in permitting reforms that will speed construction for major projects and infrastructure across the country.
• The aim of the legislation is to prevent federal regulations from being weaponized to block, stall, or politicize energy projects, according to Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo)
• Energy and Commerce Committee Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) said it will lift "regulatory burdens for the construction of more energy infrastructure" and what many Republican lawmakers feel is excessive bureaucratic red tape.
• Repeals both the natural gas tax in Section 136 of the Clean Air Act and the greenhouse gas reduction fund in Section 134 of the Clean Air Act.
• Requires the Interior Department to make the permitting process for drilling both more transparent and accessible online.

Promotes the expansion of pipelines and coal projects

• Explicitly promotes the construction and expansion of energy infrastructure and pipelines across international borders.
• The sponsors disapprove of President Biden’s revocation of the Keystone XL pipeline and will counter it with the content of the Act.
• The Act will end the existing moratorium on leasing for new coal projects.

Reduces American reliance on foreign energy

• Bolsters the resilience of American supply chains and energy security by reducing reliance on foreign supply chains, such as those controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.
• Offers an alternative to reliance on Russian oil.
• Enables energy and mineral production to adhere to American environmental assessment standards

What Supporters are Saying

• Majority Leader Steve Scalise said:

“For the last two years, President Biden and his extremist friends in Washington have waged a war on American energy, and hard-working families across the country are paying the price. Gas and utility costs have skyrocketed to record highs, with the average American paying over 40 percent more for gas at the pump since President Biden took office."

• House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman said:

"Energy security is national security. Republicans are delivering on our promises to the American people by unleashing the full power of our energy and minerals, cutting permitting delays, creating jobs, growing our economy, and dealing a blow to China and Russia."

What Opponents are Saying

• The National Parks Conservation Association said:

"A proposed new energy bill expands mining and fossil fuel production at the expense of our public lands, hurting our national parks and some of the most irreplaceable resources they protect. Let’s not let it become law – the long-term price is too great."

• And:

"The Lower Energy Costs Act is anti-conservation at its core, prioritizing drilling and mining on public lands above all other recreation and natural and cultural resource protection by fast-tracking these extraction activities. It makes extraction the dominant use of public lands and all but ends long-standing policy of multiple-use of our public lands."

• The Office of Management and Budget said:

“This Administration is making unprecedented progress in protecting America’s energy security and reducing energy costs for Americans – in their homes and at the pump. H.R. 1 would do just the opposite, replacing pro-consumer policies with a thinly veiled license to pollute. It would raise costs for American families by repealing household energy rebates and rolling back historic investments to increase access to cost-lowering clean energy technologies.”

• And:

“Instead of protecting American consumers, it would pad oil and gas company profits—already at record levels—and undercut our public health and environment.”

• Biden has stated that he will veto legislation passed by the GOP-controlled House that he disagrees with.

Do you support expanding American energy infrastructure and oil development?

—Emma Kansiz