WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives will vote next month on a measure to overturn the Biden administration’s moratorium on approvals of new liquefied natural gas exports, Bloomberg reported, citing a Republican lawmaker.
The measure will be voted on the week after next, the report said, citing Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
The measure could get wide support in the House, which is controlled by Republicans, though if it passed there, it would not likely pass in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
President Joe Biden, a Democrat, announced the permitting pause on Friday to allow time for his administration to take a “hard look” at the environmental and economic impact of LNG exports to big markets in Asia and Europe that the U.S. does not have free trade agreements with.
Republican lawmakers slammed the moratorium which applies to pending applications for LNG exports, and future ones that could come before the Department of Energy, if the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) first votes to approve more LNG projects.
The moratorium, which will likely be in effect until after the Nov. 5 election, was criticized by House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, who said it was made to “please radical climate activists in the Democratic party.”
Johnson’s office did not immediately respond to queries about the timing of any vote.
The pause could affect timing of Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass 2 terminal project in Louisiana, if it is approved by FERC. CP2 would be the largest U.S. LNG terminal, once approved.
Johnson, who is from Louisiana, has said the pause benefits Russia, which still supplies Europe with gas via pipeline, despite the region weaning itself off Russian gas after Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022.
(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Stephen Coates)
Comments