Legislation was passed 226 to 188 by the Republican-controlled House to prevent future administrations from prohibiting oil and gas drilling without the consent of Congress.
The “Protecting American Energy Production Act” was passed by lawmakers in a vote on Friday, which forbids the president from “declaring a moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracturing unless Congress authorizes the moratorium.”
Republican House members unanimously voted in favor of the legislation’s passage, while 118 Democrats voted against it.
Just weeks before he left office, former President Joe Biden banned future oil and gas drilling along 625 million acres of coastal and offshore waters, among other oil and gas-related regulations. The bill follows his actions.
The Republican who introduced the bill, Rep. August Pfluger of Texas, stated that the legislation was prompted by worries about possible fracking bans during the Biden administration.
“When President Biden took office, his administration took a ‘whole of government’ approach to wage war on American energy production, pandering to woke environmental extremists and crippling this thriving industry,” Pfluger said in a statement following the bill’s passage.
“My legislation that passed today is a necessary first step in reversing Biden’s war on energy by preventing the federal government from banning the use of hydraulic fracturing,” he said.
As part of his “drill, baby, drill” strategy, President Donald Trump has pledged to unleash energy produced in the United States since the campaign trail.
If the president signs the bill into law, it would stop the drilling method from being banned by subsequent administrations.
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum launched internal investigations into agency actions that “burden” energy development on Monday, stripping the energy sector of “coercive” climate policies and oil lease bans implemented during the Biden administration.