The US House of Representatives will vote on overturning the Biden administration’s freeze on liquefied natural gas export approvals, a top Republican said.
The vote will take place the week after next, Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said during an interview.
The White House announced last week it was halting approval of new licenses to export LNG while it scrutinizes how the shipments affect climate change, the economy and national security — a moratorium likely to disrupt plans for billions of dollars in planned developments.
The announcement drew the ire of industry as well as top Republicans — including House Speaker Mike Johnson, who called the move “as outrageous as it is subversive” while empowering adversaries like Russia.
While a stand-alone measure would likely be dead on arrival in the Democrat-controlled Senate, it’s possible the issue could emerge as a Republican rider on a emergency-aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan sought by Democrats.
“We do have legislation to lift the ban on LNG,” Rodgers said. “It addresses barriers to exports right now.”
Among the bills under discussion for consideration is a measure that would strip the Energy Department of a role in granting LNG-export licenses and delegate that authority to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The legislation, known as the Unlocking Our Domestic LNG Potential Act, was approved by the committee last year. It would require the FERC to deem the export or import of gas to be consistent with the public interest.
