HR1949-119

Passed House

To repeal restrictions on the export and import of natural gas.

119th Congress Introduced Mar 6, 2025

Legislative Progress

Passed House
Introduced Committee Passed
Dec 8, 2025

Read the first time

Dec 8, 2025 (inferred)

Passed House (inferred from eh version)

Sep 11, 2025

Additional sponsors: Mr. Evans of Colorado, Mr. Hudson, Mr. Mann, …

Sep 11, 2025

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the …

Mar 6, 2025

Mr. Pfluger (for himself, Mr. Joyce of Pennsylvania, Ms. Letlow, …

House Roll #304

On Passage

Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act

Passed
217 Yea 188 Nay 28 Not Voting
Nov 20, 2025

Summary

What This Bill Does

This bill fundamentally changes how natural gas exports and imports are regulated by removing the Department of Energy's authority to determine whether exports are in the public interest. Under this bill, FERC becomes the sole authority for approving LNG terminals and export/import facilities, and all exports/imports are automatically deemed in the public interest.

Who Benefits and How

LNG export companies benefit from removal of the public interest review that has delayed or blocked some export projects. Natural gas producers benefit from expanded export capacity increasing demand and prices. LNG terminal developers face faster, more certain permitting with FERC as sole authority. Foreign countries seeking U.S. natural gas benefit from increased supply availability.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The Department of Energy loses its authority over public interest determinations for natural gas exports. Domestic natural gas consumers may face higher prices as exports increase demand. Environmental and consumer groups lose the public interest review as a venue to challenge export approvals. FERC gains expanded workload and authority.

Key Provisions

  • Removes DOE public interest review requirement for LNG exports
  • Makes FERC the exclusive authority for LNG facility approvals
  • Deems all natural gas exports/imports to be in the public interest
  • Preserves presidential sanction authority for national security
  • Does not affect other federal environmental review requirements
Model: claude-opus-4
Generated: Jan 7, 2026 05:36

Evidence Chain:

This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.

Primary Purpose

Repeals the Natural Gas Act public interest requirement for LNG export/import approvals, deeming all natural gas exports/imports to be in the public interest by default

Policy Domains

Energy Natural Gas International Trade Regulatory Policy

Legislative Strategy

"Remove regulatory barriers to LNG exports by eliminating DOE public interest review and centralizing authority in FERC"

Bill Structure & Actor Mappings

Who is "The Secretary" in each section?

Domains
Energy Natural Gas
Actor Mappings
"the_president"
→ President of the United States (sanctions authority)
"the_commission"
→ Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)

We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.

Learn more about our methodology