The Republican-led House passed legislation to bar future administrations from enacting bans on oil and gas drilling without congressional approval.
During the Friday vote, lawmakers passed the “Protecting American Energy Production Act” to prohibit the president from “declaring a moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracturing unless Congress authorizes the moratorium.”
There were 118 Democrats who voted against the legislation, while Republican House members unanimously voted in favor of its passage, Fox News reports.
The bill comes after former President Joe Biden enacted several regulations on oil and gas during his term, including banning future oil and gas drilling along 625 million acres of coastal and offshore waters.
Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas) the Republican who introduced the bill, said concerns over potential fracking bans during the Biden administration was what prompted the legislation.
“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 following the bill’s passage.
“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,” he said.
President Donald Trump has vowed to unleash American-made energy as part of his “drill, baby, drill” agenda.
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