H.R. 26 · Where this bill is now
In the Senate
Passed the House Feb 7, 2025. Received Feb 10, 2025; no Senate vote yet
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryLimits presidential power over hydraulic fracturing
This bill prevents the President from declaring a moratorium (a temporary or permanent halt) on hydraulic fracturing, also called fracking, unless Congress votes to approve it first. Fracking is the process of injecting water, sand, and chemicals into the ground under high pressure to extract oil and natural gas. The bill also expresses Congress's view that states, rather than the federal government, should have the main authority to regulate fracking on state and private lands.
How it affects you
If you work in oil and gas production or live in a state with significant energy drilling, this affects your access to that industry. For most other people, the changes are indirect—they relate to how much say the President has over energy development decisions compared to Congress and the states.
Read the official summary (Introduced in House, Jan 3, 2025)
Protecting American Energy Production Act
This bill prohibits the President from declaring a moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracturing unless Congress authorizes the moratorium. The bill also expresses the sense of Congress that states should maintain primacy (authority) for the regulation of hydraulic fracturing for oil and natural gas production on state and private lands.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a process to extract underground resources such as oil or gas from a geologic formation by injecting water, a propping agent (e.g., sand), and chemical additives into a well under enough pressure to fracture the formation.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionH. R. 26
AN ACT
Protecting American Energy Production Act
Sponsor: Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX-11) · Introduced Jan 3, 2025 · Energy · 3 versions of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Feb 10, 2025: “Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.”
How Congress voted
Official roll callsHouse · On Passage · Feb 7, 2025
Passage Passed 226–188
| Party | Yes | No | Didn’t vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 16 | 188 | 11 |
| Republicans | 210 | 0 | 8 |
16 members voted against most of their party: 16 Democrats voted Yes.
Congress votes on whole bills and amendments, not on single sections.
Sections
The wording of this bill hasn’t changed across its 3 official versions.