The House on Thursday passed two Republican-backed energy bills aimed at accelerating approvals for liquefied natural gas export terminals and assessing the nation’s refinery capacity — each with support from several moderate Democrats.
The chamber cleared Rep. August Pfluger’s (R-Texas) “Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act of 2025,” H.R. 1949, in a 217-188 vote. Every Republican present backed the bill, along with 11 Democrats.
“Today’s House passage of my bill is another major victory in achieving American energy dominance,” Pfluger said. “My legislation reforms the broken, politically weaponized approval process so we can streamline permitting for exporting LNG once and for all.”
The measure would give the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission exclusive authority to approve or deny applications for LNG export and import facilities — effectively stripping the Department of Energy of its long-held role in determining whether such projects are in the “public interest.”
