WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, issued the following statement following the House passage of H.R. 3109, the REFINER Act, led by Congressman Bob Latta (OH-05) and H.R.1949, the Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act, led by Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11). Both pieces of legislation passed the House with bipartisan support: the REFINER Act, passed by a vote of 230 Yeas to 176 Nays, and the Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act by a vote of 217 Yeas to 188 Nays.

“By unleashing American energy, House Republicans are leading the way to support our nation’s energy security, strengthen our grid, and lower prices for hard-working families,” said Chairman Guthrie. “The REFINER Act will help to ensure our refineries are being used effectively to produce the oil, gas, and other critical feedstocks we rely upon while the Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act expands American energy production and infrastructure by removing U.S. LNG export restrictions, which the Biden-Harris Administration politicized and abused.”

“Today, House Republicans secured another commonsense solution to continue our success in bringing down energy costs and fuel our economy. The House passed the Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act and the REFINER Act to deregulate, evaluate, and expand our capabilities so we can harness the full potential of American energy,” said Speaker Johnson. “These measures advance more of President Trump’s executive orders and energy dominance agenda to increase American energy production, create jobs, strengthen national security, and secure reliable, affordable energy to power America’s homes, businesses, and economy.”

“As energy demand grows, we have to ensure our refining capacity grows with it to maintain America’s energy dominance,” said Chairman Latta. “The REFINER Act will provide the data and insight needed to guide decisions that reinforce our energy infrastructure and help keep fuel costs low for American families. I thank my House colleagues for supporting and passing my bill and urge my colleagues in the Senate to pass this legislation as soon as possible,”

“Today's House passage of my Unlocking Our Domestic LNG Potential Act is another major victory in achieving American energy dominance. My legislation reforms the broken, politically weaponized approval process so we can streamline permitting for exporting LNG once and for all,” said Congressman Pfluger. “It's simple: Exporting American LNG strengthens our economy, stabilizes prices, drives much-needed investment in energy infrastructure, and bolsters the energy security of our global partners. I thank my colleagues for supporting this critical legislation, and I urge its swift passage in the Senate under Senator Scott's strong leadership.”

Background on H.R. 3109:

• Over the last several years, our nation’s refining capacity has shrunk due to onerous Federal and State policies that make it prohibitively difficult to operate. From 2020 to 2022, refining capacity in the United States decreased by more than one million barrels of fuel per day, and the number of refineries dropped from 135 to 128.
• The REFINER Act would require the National Petroleum Council to collect and examine critical information regarding the role of petrochemical refineries in the U.S., and their contributions to energy security, reliability, and affordability. The report must analyze opportunities to expand capacity, as well as current risks to refineries, including negative policy impacts.

Background on H.R. 1949:

• In January 2024, President Biden announced an indefinite ban on the issuance of export permits to non-FTA countries while it conducted a review to consider the “climate impacts” of natural gas exports. This politically motivated ban threatened the American economy, discouraged investment in natural gas production and processing, and harmed our allies in Europe working to lower their consumption of Russian gas.
• The Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act amends the Natural Gas Act to repeal all restrictions on the import and export of natural gas, effectively overturning the Biden-Harris Administration’s attempt to undermine U.S. domestic energy production. Under this legislation, FERC would have the exclusive authority to approve or deny any application for the siting, construction, expansion, or operation of a facility to export natural gas from the U.S. to a foreign country or import natural gas from a foreign country.

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