Energy and Natural Resources Committee (ENR)
Summary of ENR Senate Text
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) covers policies related to energy resources and development which include regulations and conservation efforts, nuclear energy, as well as Tribal affairs, public lands and their renewable resources, and federal leasing and related activities. This component of the reconciliation bill repeals critical IRA programs that were putting the nation on track to be energy dominant, while also codifying a pay-to-play system for oil and gas companies to extort American lands. The Senate ENR Committee bill would:
- Encourage more climate disaster and harm to frontline communities by lowering fees required to lease land for oil and natural gas drilling, and establishing a minimum number of required onshore and offshore oil and gas sales annually.
- Allow expediting of liquified natural gas export facilities that pay $1 million, normalizing a corrupt pay-to-play model that will ultimately result in higher electricity and natural gas prices for Americans, while continuing to harm frontline communities.
- Repeal and rescind remaining funds for transmission reform programs that would have made our grid more affordable, resilient, and reliable, including the following programs: Transmission Facility Financing, Grants to Facilitate the Siting of Interstate Electricity Transmission Lines, and the Interregional and Offshore Wind Electricity Transmission Planning, Modeling and Analysis program
- Eliminate the majority of new funds and programs under the Department of Energy Loan Program Office, which will undermine American businesses and U.S. technology leadership.
- Repeal and rescind remaining funds for the Advanced Industrial Facilities Deployment program which will be a major blow to US economic competitiveness.
In-Depth Policy Analysis for ENR Senate Text
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8. Natural Gas Expedited Permitting
Currently, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) reviews applications for the construction and operation of interstate natural gas pipelines under the authority of the Natural Gas Act. It also contributes to the review and authorization of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports.
8a. Summary of Senate Text
This bill would lower the fees required to lease land for oil and natural gas drilling and establish a timeliness requirement for oil and gas lease sales that have undergone an environmental review and Mineral Leasing Act process. The bill also sets a floor for a minimum number of onshore and offshore oil and gas sales annually and lowers barriers to leasing. It would retroactively apply a 2016 approval for environmental review for offshore drilling in the National outer continental shelf. And it would expand approval for additional infrastructure to support drilling in communities. This bill would enable non-competitive leasing processes, further lowering the barrier to access for big oil to exploit American lands.
8b. Changes from House Version
The House bill allows natural gas pipeline projects to pay a fee of $10 million to bypass the normal permitting process. The House bill also undermines the normal judicial review process by limiting who can bring forward lawsuits. The Senate bill does not make these same changes. The Senate bill focuses on bolstering oil and gas drilling lease sales and reducing lease fees and requirements outside of the environmental review process.
8c. Key Impacts
Leasing is competitive so that we can ensure the best and most efficient use of taxpayer dollars and reduce opportunities for corruption. This bill opens the door to backroom dealing through expanded noncompetitive processes and reduced fees. This bill also encourages gas and oil drilling nationwide which will increase air pollution, increase greenhouse gas emissions, and hold our national economy back by supporting reliance on non-renewable energy resources. This bill expands opportunities for oil and gas companies to build in and across communities, which will exacerbate harms for communities with the least resources to push back.
9. Rubberstamping Liquified Natural Gas Exports
Under the Natural Gas Act, the Department of Energy (DOE) has the authority to determine whether proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to non-Free Trade Agreement countries are in the “public interest” or not. This is part of a wider review process when considering proposed LNG export facilities.
9a. Summary of Senate Text
This bill would allow the Department of Energy to determine that a liquified natural gas export facility is in the public interest if the applicant pays $1 million.
9b. Changes from House Version
The Senate version is the same as the House version.
9c. Key Impacts
This normalizes a pay-to-play privilege for LNG export infrastructure, potentially expediting the build-out of these mega-projects. That’ll hit the pocketbooks of working Americans – because the DOE’s own studies have found that unfettered American LNG exports will result in higher electricity and natural gas prices at home, while drastically raising climate pollution. Medical professionals and frontline leaders have long documented the devastating health, economic, climate, and local environmental harms from this kind of fossil fuel infrastructure, particularly in the Gulf South.
10. Derailing Transmission Reforms
There are several IRA programs at DOE that support the expansion of electricity transmission infrastructure in the U.S. and are critical to providing affordable and reliable power for Americans. These include the Transmission Facility Financing program; Offshore Wind Electricity Transmission Planning, Modeling, and Analysis program; and Grants to Facilitate the Siting of Interstate Electricity Transmission Lines. These programs are especially important at a time of rising electricity demand, fueled by data centers to power artificial intelligence (AI), increasing electrification of vehicles and buildings, and an American manufacturing renaissance.
10a. Summary of Senate Text
The bill rescinds any unobligated amounts for Transmission Facility Financing; Interregional and Offshore Wind Electricity Transmission Planning, Modelling, and Analysis; and Grants to Facilitate the Siting of Interstate Electricity Transmission Lines. Together, these programs held nearly $2.5 billion in unobligated funding at the beginning of 2025.
10b. Changes from House Version
The Senate version is the same as the House version.
10c. Key Impacts
By eliminating programs that make our energy grid a secure and reliable source of affordable power, Republicans are pushing the nation farther away from energy dominance.
11. Department of Energy Loan Programs Office
The Department of Energy Loan Programs Office (LPO) was created with strong bipartisan support during the George W. Bush administration, and for the last two decades, it has provided critical financing for American energy, manufacturing, mining, and other industrial projects that reduce emissions and support American leadership in the fast-growing clean energy economy. To date, the LPO has financed approximately $90 billion in innovative energy and manufacturing projects, including a $465 million loan to Elon Musk’s Tesla Motors in 2010. At the conclusion of 2024, the LPO had collected over $5 billion in interest payments from its loans, meaning that it has made a profit for American taxpayers.
11a. Summary of Senate Text
This bill would completely repeal the LPO’s new authority and funding from the IRA, with any unobligated funding rescinded. The LPO would return to the smaller version that pre-existed the IRA, along with a smaller $660 million pot of funds under Sec. 1706 for “energy dominance financing” (instead of the IRA’s $4.5 billion for “energy infrastructure reinvestment financing” under the same section).
11b. Changes from House Version
The house bill rescinds unobligated funding, while this version rescinds all IRA funds, except for a renamed “energy dominance financing” program.
11c. Key Impacts
Eliminating LPO’s new loan authority would be a devastating blow for the U.S., especially amidst rising energy demand and a competitive global race to build and manufacture the energy technologies that will power the 21st century. It would harm American businesses and U.S. technology leadership. Not only that, over the long-term, shrinking LPO will cost American taxpayers money, as the successful program has already returned $5 billion in profit to the American taxpayer, via interest on its loans.
12. Advanced Industrial Facilities Deployment Program
The Advanced Industrial Facilities Deployment Program (AIFDP) was created in the IRA and funded with over $5.8 billion to advance industrial decarbonization and support American manufacturing’s global economic competitiveness. The program has provided funds for innovative low-carbon cement manufacturing projects in Indiana, Georgia, Texas, and Virginia, for next-generation aluminum manufacturing in Colorado, for low-carbon steel production in multiple states, and much more.
12a. Summary of Senate Text
This bill would fully repeal the Advanced Industrial Facilities Deployment program and rescind any unobligated funding to prevent further investments in industrial innovation.
12b. Changes from House Version
This is similar to the House version.
12c. Key Impacts
Rescinding unobligated balances and eliminating the AIFDP program would deal a major blow to U.S. global economic competitiveness as American businesses fight for market share in increasingly decarbonized steel, cement, aluminum, and other heavy industries.
13. Other IRA Programs Affected by the Senate ENR Bill
The Senate ENR bill also would repeal the following IRA programs and rescind any unobligated funds:
- State-Based Home Energy Efficiency Contractor Training Grants - Grants which provided financial assistance to states for the development and implementation of the state-based programs that allowed for energy efficiency and electrification improvements, reducing costs for homeowners. These grants supported employee training for contractor jobs in many states.
- Royalties on Extracted Methane - This program imposed royalties on all methane extraction from onshore and offshore leases.
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Conclusion
In a nutshell: Senate Republicans are taking money out of working people’s pockets to give tax breaks to billionaires.
Throughout the entire reconciliation process, the GOP has been taking a wrecking ball to dozens of programs that make energy affordable for households, reduce toxic pollution, combat the climate crisis, provide life-changing healthcare, and nourish families with food assistance.
Though this analysis has focused on Evergreen’s priority IRA climate programs found in the Senate EPW and ENR bills, we anticipate that other life-changing federal programs will be gutted. Evergreen will continue to track developments in the coming weeks, including the release of the Senate Finance Committee bill text. The full bill is expected to go to the Senate floor in the coming weeks and, if passed, could be signed into law by the president soon after.