The U.S. House passed legislation on Thursday that would limit President Joe Biden’s ability to stop liquefied natural gas export permits. The bill, H.R. 7176, passed 224-200.
Nine Democrats, including Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola, joined all Republicans in approving “Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act, whose key sponsor is Texas Republican Rep. August Pfluger. The bill would give the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission the exclusive authority to approve LNG projects.
The bill is likely to die in the Senate, which is controlled by Democrats, and where Vice President Kamala Harris can break a tie vote.
Since his first day in office, “President Biden has targeted our domestic energy producers and actively undermined America’s efforts to be energy independent,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement on Thursday.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce came out solidly in support of the bill: “In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and ongoing weaponization of natural gas for geopolitical influence, U.S. LNG is playing a critical role in providing energy security for allies in both Europe and Asia. With Europe still relying on Russia for nearly 15 percent of its natural gas consumption, and global demand expected to increase for several decades, continued expansion of U.S. export capacity is essential to American interests. H.R. 7176 would enable this expansion while still allowing for appropriate federal reviews of potential new export facilities through the longstanding Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) process.”
