119-hres57

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 57 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
H. RES. 57

 Recognizing the benefits of natural gas to the United States economy 
 and environment, and recognizing natural gas as an affordable and 
 ``green'' energy.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 January 23, 2025

 Mr. Balderson (for himself, Mr. Pfluger, Ms. Tenney, and Mr. Meuser) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
 on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Natural 
 Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
 jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

 RESOLUTION

 Recognizing the benefits of natural gas to the United States economy 
 and environment, and recognizing natural gas as an affordable and 
 ``green'' energy.

Whereas Public Law 117-169 (commonly referred to as the ``Inflation Reduction 
 Act of 2022'') established a punitive fee on methane emissions, which 
 will result in a regressive tax on all Americans, including low-income 
 and fixed-income Americans;
Whereas a natural gas tax or methane emissions fee results in higher costs to 
 natural gas customers, including families, farmers, and small 
 businesses;
Whereas any natural gas tax or methane emissions fee will disproportionately 
 impact natural gas producing regions, and businesses across the natural 
 gas supply will be harmed by government-imposed taxes and fees;
Whereas, since 2005, two-thirds of the power sector greenhouse gas emissions 
 reductions are a direct result of the switch to natural gas;
Whereas, because of increased innovation and technology in the natural gas 
 industry, United States methane emissions were 10 percent lower in 2020 
 compared to 2005, despite the United States increasing production of 
 natural gas by nearly 100 percent between 2005 to 2020;
Whereas, according to the Energy Information Administration, using natural gas 
 to generate energy results in fewer emissions of nearly all types of air 
 pollutants, including carbon dioxide, compared to other fossil fuels;
Whereas, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, since 1970, combined 
 emissions of criteria and precursor pollutants have dropped by 78 
 percent in the United States;
Whereas, in 2021, 45 percent of the European Union's natural gas imports were 
 from Russia, accounting for 155,000,000,000 cubic meters of liquefied 
 natural gas;
Whereas, on March 9, 2022, the European Commission approved a Complementary 
 Climate Delegated Act that specifies certain nuclear and natural gas 
 activities are covered by the European Union taxonomy and thus 
 considered ``green'' investments;
Whereas the European Commission's Complementary Climate Delegated Act allows 
 natural gas and nuclear energy activities to be considered as renewable 
 or green investments, which will spur private and public investments in 
 natural gas and nuclear energy and make Europe less reliant on Russian 
 energy in the future;
Whereas, on March 25, 2022, the United States announced an agreement with the 
 European Union for the United States to supply the European Union with 
 up to 15,000,000,000 additional cubic meters of liquefied natural gas by 
 the end of 2022;
Whereas, in November 2022, an energy security agreement between the United 
 States and European Union implied that Europe would seek up to 
 147,000,000,000 cubic meters of liquified natural gas imports in 2023;
Whereas, on January 26, 2024, President Biden announced a ban on the approval 
 process of liquified natural gas export permits to countries that do not 
 have a free trade agreement with the United States;
Whereas United States liquified natural gas exports helped reduce natural gas 
 prices in Europe by over 83 percent from 2022 levels;
Whereas the Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory 
 estimates that American liquified natural gas exported to Europe is 41 
 percent cleaner than Russian liquified natural gas exported to Europe;
Whereas the International Energy Agency predicts global demand for natural gas 
 will increase by 57 percent by 2050, and an additional 240,000,000,000 
 cubic meters per year of liquified natural gas export capacity is needed 
 by 2050;
Whereas increased usage of natural gas domestically will also reduce United 
 States dependence on foreign energy and strengthen United States 
 national security; and
Whereas natural gas is abundant in the United States, and the Energy Information 
 Administration estimates the United States has enough dry natural gas to 
 last nearly a century, and the potential for even more with advances in 
 technology and exploration: Now, therefore, be it
 Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

    (1) recognizes natural gas produced in the United States as 
 an affordable and ``green'' energy;

    (2) recognizes that the United States should be committed 
 to an ``all of the above'' approach to meet United States 
 energy needs, and that natural gas is necessary for the United 
 States to be energy dominant; and

    (3) supports efforts of the Trump administration, including 
 the Department of Energy and the Department of the Interior, to 
 increase domestic production of natural gas and natural gas 
 infrastructure, identify and remove barriers to the production 
 of natural gas, and expedite the approval of new liquified 
 natural gas export facilities in the United States.
 <all>