Sen. Ted Cruz Introduces Three Bills to Accelerate US Energy Security

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) speaks at the Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Leadership Meeting in Las Vegas, Nev., on Nov. 19, 2022. Wade Vandervort/AFP via Getty Images

Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced three bills that would accelerate the issuing of oil and gas permits in order to make America energy secure again.

The three bills announced by Cruz were first reported by The Daily Caller in an exclusive on Jan. 30.

The first sponsored bill is titled the Energy Freedom Act of 2023, which is designed to accelerate the federal permit process for energy projects and pipelines; mandates new onshore and offshore oil and gas lease sales; and discourages dependence on foreign imports of critical minerals by instead mining them at home and speed up solar, wind, and geothermal development.

The legislation requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Department of Energy to review permits to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) within 60 days and to approve pending LNG export licenses through 2025.

The FERC and the U.S. Army Corps will also have t0 allow permitting for interstate natural gas projects within one year or less, and it would be prohibited to reject a natural gas pipeline that meets safety regulations.

Energy Bill to Prevent Biden From Hurting Energy Industry

“Under President Joe Biden, American families are struggling with record-high gasoline and home heating prices thanks in large part to the Biden administration’s hostility toward oil and gas. One study found $157 billion in energy investment is tied up in the federal permitting process. I’m reintroducing the Energy Freedom Act to reverse Biden’s actions so we don’t have to resort to tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve,” Cruz said in a statement on his website.

“This bill won’t cost taxpayers a dime, but it will provide the United States billions in revenue in the coming years by expediting permitting, leasing, safe new pipelines, and exports, and providing much needed regulatory certainty. The Energy Freedom Act would put a stop to the Biden administration’s sabotage of the American energy industry, and Congress should take it up without delay,” Cruz added.

The energy act would prohibit the White House from unilaterally enacting leasing bans on federal lands and would eliminate the presidential permit requirement for cross-border energy projects.

The Biden administration has discouraged the use of fossil fuels by making it difficult to drill for gas and oil with its hesitancy to issue permits, along with the cancellation of the Keystone Pipeline in 2021, in support of its green energy agenda.

Ted Cruz Reintroduced Two Bill That Expedite Permitting Process

Cruz reintroduced two more bills the same day aimed at streamlining and expediting federal permitting for major infrastructure projects and added more stringent timetables for federal agencies and courts to review projects.

The first bill, called the Federal Permitting Modernization Act (FAST Act), would require federal agencies to reform and prioritize federal approvals by mandating publicly issued timelines to issue permits for infrastructure projects.

Federal agencies would have five days to notify the public of major infrastructure project by publishing the details in the Federal Register.

The agencies would then have 30 days to publish all environmental documents for review, with 60 days for the public to comment on those documents, and 30 days for the public to approve or disapprove the project based on the information and feedback.

The final bill, titled the 90-Day Review Act, would shorten the timetable to file a petition for judicial review of a permit, license, or approval of a major infrastructure project, such as a highway or public transit project, to 90 days, down from 150 days.

“America’s infrastructure should be able to be completed in a timely and predictable manner without excessive government red tape and delays. I’m proud to introduce two bills that would loosen the federal government’s stranglehold on infrastructure projects and get Americans back to work,” Cruz stated on his website, upon the bills’ introduction.