Today, House Republicans will bring to the floor H.R. 7176, Unlocking Our Domestic LNG Potential Act. This bill lifts the Biden Administration’s pause on all pending approvals of liquified natural gas (LNG) export terminals and includes strong protections to prohibit trade with a person or foreign country under sanction or listed as a state sponsor of terrorism.
 
MAKE NO MISTAKE: Since Joe Biden’s first day in office, he has waged an unprecedented war on American energy producers, which has caused energy prices to skyrocket and jeopardized our national security, all in a desperate attempt by Biden to appease Extreme Democrats and their radical Green New Deal Agenda. House Republicans are determined to protect American jobs, unleash American energy dominance, help our allies, and reduce emissions. 
 
FACTS ON H.R. 7176, THE UNLOCKING OUR DOMESTIC LNG POTENTIAL ACT (Courtesy of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce):
 
STRENGTHENING THE ECONOMY:
Removing restrictions on LNG will allow the U.S. to export more and encourage domestic production, which will reduce American energy supply vulnerabilities.

• According to the American Petroleum Institute, increasing LNG exports could add as much as $73 billion to the U.S. economy and upwards of 453,000 American jobs by 2040.
• Restricting LNG exports will mean higher prices at home for Americans—it reduces the amount in the global market and puts upward pressure on prices.
• Increasing LNG exports will also encourage investments in other industries, like manufacturing, which will help ensure we beat China.
• The Biden administration is kowtowing to environmentalists by having his Department of Energy undertake a review of LNG export terminals and the climate considerations for their approval. The review would create uncertainty about whether U.S. allies can rely on U.S. LNG for their energy and could shock the global energy market that relies on U.S. energy dominance and supply. 

FURTHERING U.S. LEADERSHIP IN REDUCING EMISSIONS:
If President Biden were serious about his rush-to-green agenda, he would embrace the production and export of clean, affordable, and reliable American LNG.

• American LNG has roughly 40% lower lifecycle emissions than Russian LNG.
• American natural gas has helped us reduce emissions more than any other nation, both domestically and abroad. We have the capacity to continue helping our allies reduce their emissions by exporting clean, reliable LNG. 

INCREASING THE ENERGY SECURITY OF THE U.S. AND ITS ALLIES:
Our European allies are desperately seeking American energy to counter Russia’s weaponization of its natural gas exports.

• In December 2023, more than 87% of U.S. LNG exports went to the European Union, United Kingdom, or Asian markets.
• U.S. LNG helped reduce natural gas prices in Europe by over 83% from 2022 levels following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
• President Biden’s LNG export ban weakens global energy security and undercuts our efforts to help Europe reduce its reliance on Russian energy.
• H.R. 7176 includes strong protections to prohibit trade with a person or foreign country under sanction or listed as a state sponsor of terrorism. 

BIDEN’S ENERGY CRISIS BY THE NUMBERS:

• In January 2024, the Biden Administration announced they paused all pending non-FTA export permit applications for liquified natural gas (LNG) export projects, empowering countries like Russia and Iran and hurting our allies who depend on U.S. energy. 
• The Biden administration is kowtowing to environmentalists by having his Department of Energy undertake a review of LNG export terminals and the climate considerations for their approval.
• By cutting off exports from the United States, Biden is pushing our allies, including the European Union and other countries, to dirtier sources.
• American-produced LNG has 41% lower lifecycle emissions than compressed natural gas from Russia, when exported to the same destination.
• Since 2012, the Energy Department commissioned three studies on the impact of gas exports focusing on the economics of the trade. Those previous reviews had consistently found gas exports benefited the public.
• The Biden Administration has continually passed the buck by blaming domestic energy producers:
  • Biden’s regulatory assault destroys ANY incentive for domestic energy producers to invest, and it worsens energy market volatility. 
  • Most recently, Biden announced that his Administration would no longer hold court-ordered offshore oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska.
• On day one of Joe Biden’s presidency, he launched his war on American energy when he killed the Keystone XL pipeline, which could be supplying 830,000 thousand barrels of oil from Canada to U.S. refineries.
• In March 2020, President Trump directed the Department of Energy to purchase 30 million barrels to begin filling the SPR.
• Biden is responsible for the largest-ever loan from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) of 180 million barrels of oil over six months.
  •  The SPR is meant for weather or national security emergencies, not political expediency. 
• Biden has depleted our Strategic Petroleum Reserve by over 40%, bringing it to its lowest levels since the early 1980s.  
• Since Biden took office, his administration and Congressional Democrats have taken over 175 actions deliberately designed to make it harder to produce energy here in America.