The House GOP on Wednesday took the first step in its plan to dismantle a plethora of energy policies from the Biden administration, part of a broader push by congressional Republicans to roll back swathes of energy-related regulations.
Republicans in the House and Senate are slashing Biden-era regulations through the Congressional Review Act, which gives lawmakers power to repeal rules they oppose if they act within a limited time window.
GOP lawmakers can use the CRA to advance joint resolutions of disapproval repealing Biden administration rules finalized since last August — if they move in the next few months.
The House’s first crack at rolling back energy rules would repeal an Environmental Protection Agency regulation implementing a methane emission fee on oil and natural gas facilities, as required under the Inflation Reduction Act, that Republicans say has stymied domestic energy production.
Rep. August Pfluger’s bill passed the House on a 220-206 vote, with six Democratic lawmakers joining almost all Republicans in favor of nixing the fee. Just one Republican, Rep. Bryan Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, voted against it.
Mr. Pfluger, Texas Republican, accused the Biden administration of taking “radical steps” against the usage of fossil fuels, and considered his bill, which was tailored to eliminate the Waste Emissions Charge for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems, as the first step in eliminating the underlying Methane Emissions Reduction program ushered in by the IRA “once and for all.”
“This is an important day, taxes like the one we’re discussing raise energy production costs, they discourage investment and they ultimately lead to higher consumer prices and costs,” he said.
The fee, which started at $900 per metric ton of reported methane emissions in 2024 and would have cranked up to $1,500 per metric ton in 2026, was implemented to encourage the oil and gas industry to curb emissions of greenhouse gas.
Soon after the House vote, the Senate advanced an identical version of the measure on a 52-47, party-line procedural vote. A final Senate vote on the bill’s merits is set for Thursday on the House version, which will send it to President Trump’s desk.
Sen. John Hoeven, North Dakota Republican who authored the Senate’s version, said the methane fee will be “a dead dog” as long as Mr. Trump is in office but he still wants to go after the underlying law in the IRA.
“It’s gone for four years,” he told The Washington Times.”But to not have it be resurrectable, then we would also repeal the underlying law, which we’ll do in reconciliation.”
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, said Republicans voting to repeal the methane fee are just trying to help oil companies rather than hold them responsible for leaking “excessive and harmful levels of methane” that hurts the American people in terms of their air quality and health, as well as costs.
“Typically, the more methane a company leaks during drilling, the more these companies will have to charge for the methane they do deliver,” he said.
The methane fee rule is the first of many regulations that House Republicans have in their crosshairs.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Louisiana Republican, laid out a roadmap earlier this month with eight energy-related rules, including the methane emissions fee, and two online transaction regulations on the chopping block.
The House is set to vote Thursday on another CRA measure to repeal an Energy Department rule banning certain natural gas water heaters.
The Senate took its first CRA move on Tuesday, voting to repeal a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management rule requiring all new oil and gas leaseholders on the outer continental shelf to submit an archeological report before they can begin production.
Republicans argue that this requirement adds unnecessary costs that increase energy prices for consumers.
Three Western Democrats — Sens. John W. Hickenlooper of Colorado, and Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada — joined them in voting to repeal the rule.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, South Dakota Republican, said the first CRA actions focus on energy because it affects “pretty much everything that you buy,” including the costs of groceries, transportation and fueling homes.
He said Democrats, led by the Biden administration, have regulated energy producers “to death,” leading to a 30% increase in energy costs, which has contributed “in a big way to the inflationary impact the American people have experienced over the past four years.”;
Congressional Republicans and the Trump administration will do “everything we can to open up energy production in this country and make it easier, not harder, and less expensive, not more expensive, to create energy dominance for the American people,” Mr. Thune said.
To that end, Senate Republicans on Wednesday rejected an effort from Democrats to terminate Mr. Trump’s executive order declaring an energy national emergency. The measure failed on a 47-52 party-line vote.;
Sens. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, the Democrats who authored the legislation, said the U.S. already produces more energy than any country in the world and that the president’s emergency declaration is just an effort to boost Big Oil by giving his Cabinet officials the power to approve more fossil fuel projects.
“His war on American-made energy is yet another Trump mistake that will weaken our economy, raise prices, and kill new, good-paying jobs,” they said. “And today’s vote goes to show, once again, that Senate Republicans refuse to do their jobs and put the American people above the wish lists of Trump’s donors and billionaire energy tycoons.”
• Lindsey McPherson can be reached at lmcpherson@washingtontimes.com.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.