Lower Energy Costs Act
Latest action. The Clerk was authorized to correct section numbers, punctuation, and cross references, and to make other necessary technical and conforming corrections in the engrossment of H.R. 1.
Lower Energy Costs Act
DIVISION A--INCREASING AMERICAN ENERGY PRODUCTION, EXPORTS, INFRASTRUCTURE, AND CRITICAL MINERALS PROCESSING
(Sec. 10001) In carrying out the Department of Energy Organization Act, the Department of Energy (DOE) must assess the supply of critical energy resources that are essential to the energy security of the United States, facilitate the development of strategies to strengthen the supply chains for those resources, develop substitutes and alternatives to those resources, and improve technology that reuses and recycles critical energy resources.
(Sec. 10002) This section prohibits the President from declaring a moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracturing unless Congress authorizes the moratorium. 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.
This section also expresses the sense of Congress that states should maintain primacy for the regulation of hydraulic fracturing for oil and natural gas production on state and private lands.
(Sec. 10003) DOE must direct the National Petroleum Council to publish a report on petrochemical refineries located in the United States. The report must include information concerning (1) the contributions of such refineries to U.S. energy security, (2) a projection for expanding the capacities of the refineries, (3) any federal or state executive actions that have contributed to a decline in their capacities, and (4) any recommendations to increase such capacities.
(Sec. 10004) This section establishes a new process for permitting the construction and operation of energy infrastructure across an international border of the United States. Thus, it replaces the existing process established under specified executive orders.
This section requires a person to obtain a certificate of crossing before constructing, connecting, operating, or maintaining a border-crossing facility for the import or export of oil, natural gas, or electricity across a U.S. border between Canada or Mexico. A certificate must be obtained from (1) the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for a facility consisting of oil or natural gas pipelines, or (2) from DOE for an electric transmission facility. As a condition of obtaining a DOE certificate, an electric transmission facility must be constructed, connected, operated, or maintained in accordance with specified policies and standards.
The summary continues for 159 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed House" stage on March 30, 2023. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
The Clerk was authorized to correct section numbers, punctuation, and cross references, and to make other necessary technical and conforming corrections in the engrossment of H.R. 1.
Civibrief does not map this action to a stage in the process. See the official record.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
The latest action on file does not map to a stage Civibrief recognizes, so the page will not name one. The record's own words are the reliable fact here.
The record's latest action, on March 30, 2023: The Clerk was authorized to correct section numbers, punctuation, and cross references, and to make other necessary technical and conforming corrections in the engrossment of H.R. 1.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 118th Congress (2023-24), 274 of the 16,565 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 1.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one has no outstanding steps listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Steve Scalise (R-LA) introduced it on March 14, 2023, and 49 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 49 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 14, 2023, 1276 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 1260 days ago, on March 30, 2023.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 118th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2025 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseThe Clerk was authorized to correct section numbers, punctuation, and cross references, and to make other necessary technical and conforming corrections in the engrossment of H.R. 1.
- SenateNot stated in the latest action
- PresidentNot stated in the latest action