US oil and gas producers pressure House to pass pivotal permitting bill and get America ‘back on track’

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A group of U.S. oil and gas producers is upping the pressure on House Speaker Mike Johnson to push through a major permitting reform bill, stressing in a letter Wednesday the urgency for the chamber to move swiftly on approving the legislation, which they see as crucial for attracting new investments in domestic oil and gas projects, bolstering national energy security and breathing new life into other long-stalled energy infrastructure projects.

The letter, authored by a coalition of U.S. oil and gas groups who represent a combined 80% of domestic fossil fuel production, stressed the need for House Republicans to swiftly and "immediately" pass the Energy Permitting Reform Act, or the 2024 bill authored by Sens. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., and John Barrasso, R-Wyo. They described that legislation as crucial to helping expedite actions for producers under the second Trump administration. 

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Pump jacks operate in front of a drilling rig in an oil field in Midland, Texas. (Reuters/Nick Oxford)

"While this bill is merely the first step towards comprehensive permitting reform in this country, we believe that passing the package now, at the end of the 118th, and then earnestly advancing additional National Environmental Policy Act reforms such as those being drafted by Chairman Westerman in the Natural Resources Committee, will ensure that America can get back on track as quickly as possible," the letter said.

Pressure on Johnson and House Republicans has mounted in recent days as lawmakers prepare for a final sprint before the end of the 118th session of Congress. Some have suggested the bill's best chances of passage are by paring it with NEPA reform — likely efforts championed by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., which could earn the permitting reform bill more buy-in from House Republicans.

Its signatories included more than half a dozen major oil and gas industry groups, including the Gulf Energy Alliance, the U.S. Oil & Gas Association, and the Independent Petroleum Association, among others.

In the letter, the groups pointed to an analysis from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory that found that in 2000, it took an average of just two years for new U.S. energy infrastructure projects to go from being issued their first permit to becoming fully operational — a timeline, they noted, that has now extended to an average of more than five years for new projects.   

"Such delays discourage investment in these projects and threatens our energy security," they said. "Many projects take even longer or are ultimately canceled as funding is lost or companies simply give up."

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"The Energy Permitting Reform Act must be treated as an urgent priority," National Ocean Industries Association President Erik Milito told Fox News Digital in a statement. "With the transition to a new Congress and administration looming, this legislation is crucial for establishing a strong national energy and permitting policy framework that will propel federal support for American offshore energy well into the future."

"By simplifying the permitting process, we can boost our domestic energy production while maintaining environmental safeguards," Milito said, adding, "These reforms reaffirm America's commitment to leading the world in energy production, economic prosperity, and environmental stewardship."In campaigning for president, Trump has vowed to "unleash" U.S. energy production, including oil and gas production, and to "frack, frack, frack."

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., center, joined by, from left, Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., talks with reporters. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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President-elect Donald Trump blamed the Biden administration for what he views as recent failures in U.S. oil and gas production and used many of his campaign trail stump speeches to take aim at the administration for its outsize focus on electric vehicle manufacturing and production, as well as the shuttering of aging power plants and the spike in energy prices, which increased by as much as 50% in the Keystone State.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Speaker Johnson's office for comment on the letter.