House Passes Protecting American Energy Production Act
This article was first published on Rigzone here
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protecting American Energy Production Act, also known as H.R.1121, the Congress website showed.
According to the site, H.R.1121 passed on March 20 with 229 Yeas to 188 Nays after being introduced on February 21, 2023, by Republican Jeff Duncan. H.R.1121 was received in the Senate, read twice, and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on March 21, the Congress site revealed. It still needs to pass the Senate and go to the president to become law, the site points out.
“This bill prohibits the president from declaring a moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracturing unless Congress authorizes the moratorium,” a summary of the bill on the Congress site states.
“The bill also expresses the sense of Congress that states should maintain primacy for the regulation of hydraulic fracturing for oil and natural gas production on state and private lands,” it adds.
The summary section notes that “hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a process to extract underground resources such as oil or gas from a geologic formation by injecting water, a propping agent (e.g., sand), and chemical additives into a well under enough pressure to fracture the formation”.
In a statement posted on his X page on March 20, Duncan highlighted that his bill had passed the House.
“I’m proud to have protected America’s ability to harvest our vast natural resources and convert them to power from Joe Biden’s hopes of ‘no more drilling’,” Duncan said in the X post.
“H.R.1121 is a commonsense measure that ensures no president has the unilateral power to shut down fracking. This legislation also makes it clear that no president should have the power to stop any of our domestic energy production - that power should reside with Congress and the states,” he added.
“Since day one, Biden has waged war on energy and pushed America to the precipice of an energy crisis. I’m proud of my work in Congress on behalf of all Americans to stop Biden’s work to make us reliant on adversaries for energy and to close reliable energy generation,” he continued.
“I’m proud to lead House Republicans in unleashing an all the above energy policy that ensures America becomes energy independent,” Duncan went on to state.
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In a previous post on his X page on March 19, Duncan said, “I introduced H.R.1121 to protect our ability to harvest America’s vast natural resources to convert them to power for everyday life”.
“America must unleash an all the above energy policy, not allow a president to unilaterally shut down domestic energy production or fracking,” he added in that post.
Referencing Duncan’s March 20 post in a separate post on its X page, the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) said, “thank you @RepJeffDuncan for your leadership on this important legislation”.
In the comments section of Duncan’s March 20 post, the Energy Workforce and Technology Council (EWTC) said, “thank you for your leadership and supporting #AmericanEnergy”.
In an analysis published on the EWTC website last week, EWTC President Tim Tarpley noted that he testified in front of the House Natural Resources Committee in September 2023 in support of H.R.1121 on behalf of the EWTC.
“The bill is expected to pass, and while its future is uncertain in the Senate, it is important to get a strong bipartisan vote this week,” he said in the analysis.
“While there is currently no pending proposal from the administration to prohibit fracking, it is important to get a strong vote in opposition to the prospect to protect against any future efforts down the road, especially in a future Congress or administration,” he added.
Rigzone has asked the White House (WH) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for comment on the passing of H.R.1121 and Duncan and Tarpley’s statements. At the time of writing, the WH and DOE have not yet responded to Rigzone’s request.
The U.S. House of Representatives Press Gallery website shows that the House comprises 218 Republicans and 213 Democrats. The Senate website shows the Democrats as the majority party with 48 seats and Republicans as the minority party with 49 seats. There are three independents in the Senate, the site points out.
To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com
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