[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6851 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6851
To amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to ban the export of
natural gas produced in the United States, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 18, 2025
Mr. Espaillat (for himself, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms. Tlaib, and Ms.
Norton) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to ban the export of
natural gas produced in the United States, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Lowering American Energy Costs Act
of 2025''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) the Federal Government has repeatedly found that
natural gas exports lead to increased domestic gas and
electricity prices, as evidenced by--
(A) a November 2025 analysis by the Energy
Information Administration, which predicts that natural
gas prices in 2026 will be 16 percent higher than in
2025 due to increased liquefied natural gas (referred
to in this section as ``LNG'') exports;
(B) a December 2024 study by the Department of
Energy, which determined that--
(i) unconstrained exports of United States
LNG are projected to increase wholesale
domestic natural gas prices by 31 percent by
2050, not accounting for the additional price
impact of LNG exports on natural gas price
volatility;
(ii) volatility in the global natural gas
market will further increase costs on domestic
consumers and industry as United States natural
gas exports increase;
(iii) United States households will pay up
to an additional $122 per year on average in
higher natural gas and electricity costs by
2050; and
(iv) the United States industrial sector
will pay an additional $125,000,000,000 in
higher energy costs by 2050 as a result of
rising United States LNG exports;
(C) a January 2024 report from the Energy
Information Administration, which found that, in the
United States, the price of natural gas is the most
important driver of wholesale electricity prices
because natural gas is often the highest-cost fuel for
electricity generation;
(D) a 2018 study by the Department of Energy, which
found that ``producing incremental natural gas volumes
to support natural gas exports will increase the
marginal cost of supplying natural gas and therefore
raise domestic natural gas prices.''; and
(E) a 2012 study by the Energy Information
Administration, which found that ``increased natural
gas exports lead to increased natural gas prices.'' and
that ``larger export levels lead to larger domestic
price increases, while rapid increases in export levels
lead to large initial price increases.'';
(2) according to research by Public Citizen, from January
2025 through September 2025, households in the United States
paid $12,000,000,000 more for natural gas than from the same
period in 2024, a 22 percent price increase that translates to
a roughly $124 price hike for the average household;
(3) according to the Institute for Energy Economics and
Financial Analysis, surging United States LNG exports from
September 2021 to December 2022 led to the sharpest rise of
wholesale gas prices in over a decade, costing domestic
consumers $111,000,000,000 in higher energy bills;
(4) the United States is already the largest producer of
natural gas and largest exporter of LNG in the world, and
continues to set records for LNG exports, including that--
(A) in 2025, the United States had multiple record-
setting months for LNG exports; and
(B) in October 2025, the United States became the
first country in the world to surpass 10,000,000 metric
tons worth of LNG exports in a single month;
(5) natural gas is primarily composed of methane, which is
a dangerous greenhouse gas and the second-largest contributor
to atmospheric warming; and
(6) natural gas infrastructure, including pipelines and LNG
terminals, lead to significant negative health outcomes for
communities surrounding the pipelines and terminals, which is
compounded by the fact that new natural gas infrastructure is
disproportionately sited in communities that already have
polluting infrastructure.
SEC. 3. DOMESTIC USE OF ENERGY SUPPLIES AND RELATED MATERIALS AND
EQUIPMENT.
(a) In General.--The Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C.
6201 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 101 the following:
``SEC. 102. DOMESTIC USE OF ENERGY SUPPLIES AND RELATED MATERIALS AND
EQUIPMENT.
``(a) Export Restrictions.--The President, by rule, under such
terms and conditions as the President determines to be appropriate and
necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act, shall restrict exports
of natural gas for the purpose of keeping domestic energy costs low.
``(b) Prohibition of Export of Natural Gas.--
``(1) Rule.--Subject to paragraph (2), the President shall
exercise the authority provided under subsection (a) to
promulgate a rule prohibiting the export of natural gas
produced in the United States.
``(2) Exemptions.--
``(A) In general.--In accordance with subparagraph
(A), the President may exempt from a prohibition on the
export of natural gas under paragraph (1) any natural
gas exports that the President determines--
``(i) to be consistent with the national
interest and will not unreasonably raise costs
for residential consumers; or
``(ii) to be critical for the national
security of--
``(I) the United States; or
``(II) a country that is a
strategic international partner or ally
of the United States.
``(B) Congressional approval.--Before any exemption
issued by the President may go into effect, the
exemption must be approved by a joint resolution of
Congress.''.
(b) Clerical and Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Clerical amendment.--The table of contents for the
Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. prec. 6201) is
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 101 the
following:
``102. Domestic use of energy supplies and related materials and
equipment.''.
(2) Conforming amendment.--Section 101 of division O of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (42 U.S.C. 6212a), is
amended by striking subsections (b) through (d).
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