U.S. energy and electricity

Declaration of Energy Independence Act This bill reduces certain royalty rates, minimum bids, rental rates, and fees for onshore oil and gas leases on federal lands and modifies related leasing procedures. Specifically, the bill (1) decreases the royalty rate from 16 2/3% to 12 1/2% for developing oil and gas on federal lands, (2) lowers the minimum bid amount from $10.00 to $2.00 per acre for oil and gas leases on federal lands, and (3) decreases the rental rates from a maximum of $15.00 per acre to $1.50 per acre for the first five years and $2.00 per acre thereafter. The bill also eliminates the fee for expressing interest in a lease. It also modifies leasing procedures to provide for noncompetitive leasing under certain circumstances. In addition, the bill modifies the conditions for the reinstatement of leases that have been cancelled or terminated, including by reducing the applicable royalty and rental rates.

Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Strategic Production Response and Implementation Act This bill modifies the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to prohibit the Department of Energy (DOE) from drawing down petroleum products in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve until DOE develops and implements a plan to increase the percentage of federal lands leased for oil and gas production. The increase must be equal to the percentage of petroleum in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve that is to be drawn down. However, the bill does not apply to a drawdown of petroleum products in the case of a severe energy supply interruption, which is permitted under current law. The plan must not provide for a total increase in the percentage of federal lands leased for oil and gas production in excess of 10%.

Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Protecting American Energy Production Act This bill prohibits the President from declaring a moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracturing unless Congress authorizes the moratorium. The bill also expresses the sense of Congress that states should maintain primacy (authority) for the regulation of hydraulic fracturing for oil and natural gas production on state and private lands. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a process to extract underground resources such as oil or gas from a geologic formation by injecting water, a propping agent (e.g., sand), and chemical additives into a well under enough pressure to fracture the formation.

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

The bill would impose an excise tax equal to 100% of the amount by which West Texas Intermediate oil exceeds $75 per barrel on covered taxpayers’ taxable crude oil extracted in the United States or imported. The tax would apply from enactment through the quarter in which the President declares hostilities with Iran have ceased, the Strait of Hormuz is fully reopened, and oil falls below $75 per barrel; covered taxpayers generally exceed 100,000 barrels per day. Tax revenues would fund refundable gasoline price rebate credits for eligible individuals, excluding nonresident aliens, dependents, and estates or trusts, with the Treasury Secretary determining rebate amounts.

Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

The bill would establish a broad package addressing greenhouse gas emissions, infrastructure, cancer research, PFAS-impacted defense communities, fiscal policy, financial trafficking, school safety, voting, Ukraine-related intelligence, and veterans’ and small-business matters. Its climate provisions would impose taxes on fossil-fuel and certain industrial-process greenhouse gas emissions, establish the RISE Trust Fund, and allocate 70 percent of that fund for fiscal years 2027 through 2036 to the Highway Trust Fund. The bill would also establish a National Bipartisan Fiscal Commission, provide expedited congressional procedures for considering its recommendations, and authorize additional school-safety program funding of $100,000,000 for the fiscal year in which a final rule is issued and each of the following nine fiscal years.

Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.

The bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate certain federal motor vehicle and aviation fuel excise taxes and impose taxes on greenhouse gas emissions, with revenue directed toward maintaining and building infrastructure. The provided text also establishes or describes the RISE Trust Fund, border greenhouse gas adjustments, environmental-statute amendments, assistance for displaced energy-sector workers, and a National Climate Commission. It authorizes $5,000,000 annually for the Commission for fiscal years 2027 through 2039 and includes a moratorium on certain greenhouse-gas regulations after fossil fuel taxation, subject to specified exceptions and conditions.

Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.

The supplied text describes a broad bill containing multiple titles, including provisions concerning greenhouse-gas taxation, a RISE Trust Fund, infrastructure and environmental programs, cancer research, PFAS-impacted defense communities, fiscal commissions, financial instruments, human trafficking, school safety, voting, intelligence-sharing review, veteran-owned businesses, and veterans’ benefits. The text is marked as sampled and contains apparent insertion artifacts and incomplete passages, so the available text does not provide a reliable complete account of every provision. Among the visible provisions, it would establish a tax on certain greenhouse-gas emissions, provide that 75 percent of related Treasury receipts be transferred to the RISE Trust Fund, and authorize specified fund distributions.

Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Natural Resources, Education and Workforce, Transportation and Infrastructure, Science, Space, and Technology, Agriculture, Appropriations, Armed Services, the Budget, Rules, Ethics, Financial Services, Foreign Affairs, Homeland Security, House Administration, the Judiciary, Intelligence (Permanent Select), Oversight and Government Reform, Small Business, and Veterans' Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Agriculture Resilience Act of 2025 This bill establishes, expands, and revises multiple programs and activities of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) primarily to reduce carbon emissions from the agricultural sector. Specifically, USDA must finalize and implement a plan to achieve net-zero emissions from the sector by 2040. USDA must periodically review and revise the plan, as necessary, and annually report on its implementation. Additionally, the bill expands the scope of various USDA research, extension, and education programs; conservation programs; and livestock programs to incorporate climate change mitigation and adaptation. Expanded activities include efforts to improve soil health and preserve farmland and grassland. Further, the bill changes programs that support renewable energy in rural areas to address carbon emissions in the agricultural sector. Among these changes, the bill provides statutory authority for the AgSTAR program for reducing methane emissions from livestock waste and requires the program to be moved from the Environmental Protection Agency to USDA. The bill also addresses food waste, for example, by (1) standardizing the voluntary labels used by food producers to indicate the date by which food should be used or discarded, and (2) making composting activities eligible for support through USDA conservation programs. Moreover, the bill establishes grants to reduce and prevent food waste in landfills and in schools.

Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Workforce, Energy and Commerce, House Administration, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.