This bill requires energy-related federal agencies to set expiration dates for their regulations. It applies to agencies like the Department of Energy, Bureau of Land Management, and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. All current regulations must expire within one year of the bill's passage, while new regulations must expire within five years unless the agency gets a waiver by proving the rule has a "net deregulatory effect." Agencies can extend expirations only after public comment and by demonstrating the rule's benefits, but each extension is limited to five years.
Supporting Made in America Energy Act This bill requires oil and natural gas lease sales that include certain public land and waters, prohibits lease sales in other areas, and establishes related requirements. Beginning in FY2025, the Department of the Interior must conduct a minimum of four onshore lease sales annually in each state that has federal land available for oil and natural gas leasing. If a lease sale is canceled, delayed, or deferred, Interior must conduct a replacement sale during the same year. Beginning in FY2026, Interior must conduct a minimum of two offshore, region-wide lease sales annually in the Gulf of Mexico Region of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) by specified dates. The sales must include the Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area and the Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Area. Interior must also conduct a minimum of six offshore lease sales of at least 1 million acres each over a 10-year period in the Cook Inlet Planning Area. The bill sets a 12.5% royalty rate for such leases. Interior must plan and approve the subsequent OCS oil and gas leasing programs by specified deadlines. The bill extends through 2035 a moratorium on oil and gas leasing in certain eastern and central portions of the Gulf of Mexico and expands the moratorium to include the South Atlantic Planning Area and the Straits of Florida Planning Area. The bill also requires the President to obtain congressional approval before impeding or circumventing certain federal energy mineral leasing processes.
HR 1341, the DRILL Now Act, prevents three regional river basin commissions (Susquehanna, Delaware, and Potomac) from creating or enforcing their own regulations on hydraulic fracturing. The bill amends existing law to require these commissions to rely solely on state-level regulations for fracking, overriding their previous authority under basin compacts. This directly affects the commissions and states within the Susquehanna, Delaware, and Potomac River basins by shifting regulatory control from regional bodies to individual states. The key provision prohibits the commissions from finalizing, implementing, or enforcing any fracking-related rules issued under their own authority.
The EO 14285 Act of 2025 codifies Executive Order 14285 into law, making its provisions about seabed mineral resource development legally enforceable as statute rather than an executive directive. This bill directly affects federal agencies managing ocean resources, seabed mining operations, and companies seeking permits for seabed mineral extraction. The key mechanism is the formal conversion of the executive order (90 Fed. Reg. 17735) into binding law, ensuring consistent regulatory authority. It does not alter the order's content but elevates its legal standing, streamlining oversight of seabed mineral activities under statutory authority.
The Protecting American Energy Production Act (HR 26) states that Congress believes states should have primary authority to regulate hydraulic fracturing (fracking) for oil and natural gas on state and private lands. It prohibits the President from imposing a moratorium on fracking without a new law passed by Congress. This bill directly affects federal executive authority by preventing unilateral federal bans and reinforces state regulatory roles. The key provision ensures any federal restriction on fracking would require a specific act of Congress, rather than executive action.
The Freedom to Frack Act would amend the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to make states banning hydraulic fracturing (fracking) ineligible for certain federal energy grants. Specifically, states that establish or maintain a fracking prohibition would lose eligibility for grants under Section 545(c) of that law. This directly affects states with existing fracking bans, potentially reducing their access to federal funding for energy programs. The key mechanism ties grant eligibility to the absence of state-level fracking restrictions, without directly altering state laws.
S 480, the Timber Harvesting Restoration Act of 2025, requires forest supervisors managing National Forest System units where timber sales are below two-thirds of the maximum allowable volume to create plans to increase sales. Within 180 days of enactment, supervisors must submit reports identifying actionable steps, after consulting with industry, tribes, states, and other stakeholders. The Secretary of Agriculture will review progress one year later; if sales reach 75% of the allowable volume, no further reports are needed, but if not, supervisors must submit new plans and may receive additional resources like staff or expedited environmental reviews. This directly affects National Forest units with low timber sales volumes, aiming to boost timber harvests through structured reporting and performance tracking.
This bill prohibits federal funding for ground-mounted solar projects that convert prime farmland (defined as the most productive agricultural land under existing law) and excludes such projects from key tax credits like the residential clean energy credit (Section 25D), production tax credits (Sections 45, 45Y), and investment tax credits (Sections 48, 48E). It directly affects solar developers and property owners seeking to install solar facilities on prime farmland, blocking both federal financial support and tax incentives for these projects. The bill uses the existing definition of "prime farmland" from the Farmland Protection Policy Act to prevent agricultural land from being repurposed for solar energy generation. Its core mechanism is a dual restriction: no federal funds for covered projects and exclusion from tax credits for solar installations on protected farmland.
Homeowner Energy Freedom Act This bill repeals the Department of Energy's (1) high-efficiency electric home rebate program for certain electrification projects in low- or moderate-income households, (2) state-based home energy efficiency contractor training grants, and (3) assistance for states and local governments to adopt specified building energy codes. It also rescinds any unobligated balances available for the rebates or adopting the building energy codes. (The unobligated balances for the contractor training grants were previously rescinded by the 2025 reconciliation act.)
HR 841 amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) provisions in U.S. law to prohibit states from using LWCF funds to purchase land, water, or related interests directly from private landowners. This restriction applies specifically to states receiving financial assistance under the LWCF program. The bill adds a new section (l) to 54 U.S.C. § 200305 and amends § 200306 to explicitly state that LWCF appropriations cannot fund acquisitions from private owners. The policy change directly affects state governments that administer LWCF funds for conservation projects.
