CV NEWS FEED // The U.S. House passed a bill Friday to prevent future presidents from circumventing Congress to ban hydraulic fracturing (widely known as “fracking”), a common technique for obtaining oil and natural gas.
H.R. 26, also known as the “Protecting American Energy Production Act,” passed the lower chamber by a bipartisan vote of 226-188.
Sixteen Democrats joined all voting Republicans in support of the bill. Meanwhile, 188 Democrats and no Republicans voted against H.R. 26.
A number of the Democrats who backed the bill are from states where gas contributes significantly to the local economy. Six Democrats who voted in favor represent Texas, one represents New Mexico, and one represents Pennsylvania.
According to its official summary, the legislation “prohibits the President from declaring a moratorium on the use of [fracking] unless Congress authorizes the moratorium.” The summary defined fracking as “a process to extract underground resources such as oil or gas from a geologic formation.”
After the bill passed the House, its sponsor, Rep. August Pfluger, R-TX, wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “House Republicans are working to END the war on American energy!”
“I am blessed to represent America’s most prolific oil and gas producing region and am committed to unleashing energy in the Permian Basin this Congress,” added the Texas lawmaker.
Also in his X post, Pfluger noted that when former President Joe Biden began his single term four years ago, “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.”
“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,” the congressman added.
FOX News reported that Biden “enacted several regulations on oil and gas … including banning future oil and gas drilling along 625 million acres of coastal and offshore waters just weeks before he left office.”
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-LA, also took to X to weigh in on the bill’s passage, writing that the bill will “prevent future presidents from implementing fracking bans like we saw President Obama and President Biden push to crush our ability to produce our own energy in America.”
“Drill baby drill!” added Scalise, a Catholic – repeating a common pro-oil phrase that was frequently used by President Donald Trump during his successful campaign for a second term last year. Observers widely held that Trump’s pro-fracking platform especially contributed to his win in the critical battleground state of Pennsylvania.
Seventeen House lawmakers, all Republicans, co-sponsored Pfluger’s bill.
One of the act’s co-sponsors, Rep. Julie Fedorchak, R-ND, wrote in a statement: “By passing this bill, we’ve taken a stand to protect the energy production that powers our economy, lowers costs for families, and helps North Dakota remain a leader in energy innovation.”
“Our state has proven that we can unleash American energy production while continuing to protect our natural resources and environment for future generations,” added Fedorchak, a Catholic first-term member of Congress who serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Fedorchak’s home state of North Dakota was recently listed in the top three with the largest fracking industries.
H.B. 26 now heads to the Senate where Republicans enjoy a majority with 53 seats. However, even with the support of all Republican senators, seven members of the Senate Democratic Caucus will have to back the bill in order for it to avoid a filibuster and head to Trump’s desk.
