Austin, Texas – U.S. Senators John Cornyn of Texas and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania today introduced the LNG Export Security Act, a bipartisan measure that would amend the Natural Gas Act to prevent future presidential administrations from pausing, blocking or delaying liquefied natural gas (LNG) export permit approvals. The legislation directly responds to former President Biden’s 2024 decision to pause new LNG export permits while the administration studied their economic and climate implications, a move that was subsequently blocked by a federal court but raised significant concern across the energy industry about the vulnerability of critical energy infrastructure projects and related permit approvals to executive branch intervention.
The bill would amend the Natural Gas Act’s existing public interest standard for LNG export approvals to explicitly require consideration of the impact on U.S. natural gas infrastructure development, domestic supply, economic growth and national security interests. By codifying and expanding the definition of public interest, the legislation aims to limit the ability of future administrations to withhold or delay export approvals on policy grounds that fall outside those statutory factors.
Senator Cornyn stated that America’s energy producers should not be forced to operate under the threat that a future administration could kneecap them with burdensome restrictions at a moment’s notice due to ambiguous laws.
Senator Fetterman also explained that the legislation makes sure decisions are made objectively while protecting natural gas jobs. The bipartisan authorship reflects the alignment between Texas Republicans and natural gas-state Democrats on protecting the LNG export industry, which has become a critical component of U.S. foreign policy and energy security strategy amid ongoing geopolitical instability and sustained global demand for American LNG.
The following statement can be attributed to Ed Longanecker, president of TIPRO:
This legislation builds on important momentum already underway in Congress. It joins similar efforts such as Senator Dave McCormick’s Unlock American Energy and Jobs Act, Senator Ted Cruz’s Natural Gas Export Expansion Act, and Representative August Pfluger’s Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act in strengthening the public interest standard under the Natural Gas Act and advancing broader permitting reform.
Together, these bills would help protect LNG export approvals from politically motivated delays, pauses or moratoriums while reinforcing the long-term certainty needed to support continued investment across the natural gas value chain. By codifying clear criteria that include impacts on domestic supply, infrastructure development, economic growth and national security, the LNG Export Security Act would reduce regulatory uncertainty and help support continued investment in Texas natural gas production, pipeline infrastructure and LNG export capacity. Texas remains the nation’s leading producer of natural gas and our state’s LNG export capacity plays a vital strategic role in strengthening America’s energy security, supporting domestic jobs, expanding market opportunities for Texas producers and delivering reliable supplies to allies around the world amid ongoing global disruptions.”