A US House Energy and Commerce Committee subcommittee voted to forward a bill aimed at facilitating approvals of US LNG exports to the full committee. The Energy and Power Subcommittee’s action by 15 to 11 votes was along party lines, with Republicans favoring the move and Democrats opposing it.
The subcommittee also approved an amendment to HR 6 by Rep. Bobby L. Rush (D-Ill.), the subcommittee’s ranking minority member, which would require applicants seeking US Department of Energy certification that their exports are in the US national interest to publicly disclose specific destinations of their proposed LNG sales.
The votes came hours before the Ways and Means Committee’s Trade Subcommittee was scheduled to hold a hearing on the trade implications of removing barriers to LNG exports and other US energy policy questions.
American Petroleum Institute Pres. Jack N. Gerard applauded the subcommittee’s action. “Today’s vote is just the latest signal that momentum for action on natural gas exports is stronger than ever,” he said.
“In the last few weeks, new proposals have won bipartisan support in both the House and Senate, and we are optimistic that members will come together on efforts to harness the full economic and strategic power of America’s energy exports,” Gerard said.
Contact Nick Snow at [email protected].
NICK SNOW covered oil and gas in Washington for more than 30 years. He worked in several capacities for The Oil Daily and was founding editor of Petroleum Finance Week before joining OGJ as its Washington correspondent in September 2005 and becoming its full-time Washington editor in October 2007. He retired from OGJ in January 2020.
