Sponsors (44)
The bill centralizes and speeds federal approvals for LNG and gas terminals—encouraging exports and clearer permitting—while reducing some environmental scrutiny and creating potential national-security, sanctions, and investment uncertainties.
Utilities and energy developers will get faster, clearer federal permitting because FERC becomes the exclusive agency for LNG and natural gas import/export terminal approvals and the statute creates a presumption that such exports/imports are consistent with the public interest, likely accelerating project timelines and energy trade.
State and local governments and other federal agencies retain their existing statutory authorities (except where explicitly changed), reducing the risk that important environmental or safety reviews are unintentionally removed.
The President retains authority to prohibit exports or imports under national-security and sanctions statutes, preserving executive tools to respond to crises or sanctions targets.
Local communities, border communities, and taxpayers may face increased local air pollution and higher greenhouse gas emissions because the statutory presumption and FERC-centered approval process could limit consideration of environmental and climate impacts and speed approvals of fossil-fuel infrastructure.
Utilities, energy companies, and taxpayers could face national-security and sanctions-related risks because concentrating licensing authority in FERC may sideline specialized foreign-policy or sanctions expertise, creating legal friction or oversight gaps.
Energy project developers and investors face increased investment risk and potential costs to taxpayers because uncertainty remains about when presidential sanctions or national-security authorities might override FERC approvals.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Rewrites part of the Natural Gas Act to make the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) the sole agency that can approve or deny siting, construction, expansion, or operation of facilities that import or export natural gas, including LNG terminals. It also explicitly preserves the President’s constitutional and statutory authority to prohibit imports or exports under national security or sanctions laws. The change does not create new funding, set deadlines, or add reporting requirements. It reorganizes existing statutory text and defines which laws count as references for "state sponsor of terrorism," but does not change specific dollar amounts or appropriations.
Introduced March 6, 2025 by August Pfluger · Last progress December 2, 2025