The Republican-led House passed legislation on Friday that would prevent future administrations from banning oil and gas drilling without congressional approval.
The Protecting American Energy Production Act explicitly prohibits any president from imposing a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) unless authorized by Congress.
The bill passed with unanimous support from House Republicans, while 118 Democrats voted against it.
This legislative push follows former President Joe Biden’s aggressive regulations on oil and gas, including his last-minute move to block future drilling across 625 million acres of coastal and offshore waters just before leaving office.
Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas), who introduced the bill, argued that Biden’s policies have hindered domestic energy production and catered to environmental activists at the expense of American jobs.
“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.
“My legislation is a necessary first step in reversing Biden’s war on energy by preventing the federal government from banning the use of hydraulic fracturing.”
Since his campaign, President Donald Trump has pledged to reinvigorate domestic energy production under his “drill, baby, drill” strategy.
If signed into law, this bill would cement those policies by ensuring future presidents cannot enact sweeping fracking bans without congressional approval.
Meanwhile, Trump’s administration has already taken steps to dismantle Biden-era climate policies. On Monday, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum rolled back restrictions on the energy sector, launching internal investigations into federal actions that “burden” oil and gas development.