House Passes Bill Blocking Future Presidents From Banning Oil Drilling Without Congress’ Approval

The Republican-led House approved legislation by a vote of 226 to 188 to restrict future administrations from halting oil and gas drilling without congressional approval.

Known as the “Protecting American Energy Production Act,” the bill, passed on Friday, prohibits the president from “declaring a moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracturing unless Congress authorizes the moratorium.”

Every Republican in the House supported the bill, while 118 Democrats opposed it.

This legislation comes in response to actions taken by former President Joe Biden, who, shortly before leaving office, imposed a ban on future oil and gas drilling across 625 million acres of offshore and coastal waters, along with other regulatory measures targeting the industry.

Rep. August Pfluger of Texas, the Republican sponsor of the bill, introduced it due to concerns about potential fracking restrictions under 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 stated after the bill’s approval.

“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 added.

Since his campaign, President Donald Trump has championed his “drill, baby, drill” initiative, advocating for domestic energy production.

If signed into law, this bill would prevent future administrations from outlawing this drilling technique.

Meanwhile, on Monday, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum initiated internal reviews of agency policies that “burden” energy development, rolling back “coercive” climate policies and oil lease bans implemented under Biden.