Unleashing American Energy Act

To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a minimum number of oil and gas lease sales in certain areas, to prevent delays in oil and gas leasing, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Unleashing American Energy Act 2. Offshore oil and gas leasing (a) Gulf of Mexico Region Annual Lease Sales Notwithstanding any other provision of law, beginning in fiscal year 2022, the Secretary of the Interior shall annually conduct a minimum of 2 region-wide oil and gas lease sales in the following planning areas of the Gulf of Mexico region, as described in the 2017–2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Final Program (November 2016): (1) The Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area. (2) The Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Area. (b) Alaska Region Annual Lease Sales Notwithstanding any other provision of law, beginning in fiscal year 2022, the Secretary of the Interior shall annually conduct a minimum of 2 region-wide oil and gas lease sales in the Alaska region of the Outer Continental Shelf, as described in the 2017–2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Final Program (November 2016). (c) Requirements In conducting lease sales under subsections (a) and (b), the Secretary of the Interior shall— (1) issue such leases in accordance with the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ( 43 U.S.C. 1332 et seq. (2) include in each such lease sale all unleased areas that are not subject to restrictions as of the date of the lease sale. (d) Offshore oil and gas leasing delays Section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ( 43 U.S.C. 1344 (1) in subsection (a), in the first sentence of the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking subsections (c) and (d) of this section this section (2) by redesignating subsections (f) through (h) as subsections (g) through (i), respectively; and (3) by inserting after subsection (e) the following: (f) Unreasonable delays (1) In general The President shall not, through Executive order or any other administrative procedure, unreasonably pause, cancel, delay, defer, or otherwise impede or circumvent any Federal energy mineral leasing processes under this Act, or a related rulemaking process required by subchapter II of chapter 5, and chapter 7, of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the Administrative Procedure Act (2) Rebuttable presumption There shall be a rebuttable presumption that any attempt by the President to pause, cancel, delay, defer, or otherwise impede or circumvent any Federal energy mineral leasing process, or a related rulemaking process, described in paragraph (1), without congressional approval, is considered unreasonable for purposes of paragraph (1). .

Summary: Unleashing American Energy Act This bill requires a minimum amount of oil and gas lease sales a year on certain submerged lands of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and limits delays on federal oil and gas leases on such lands. Specifically, this bill requires the Department of the Interior to annually conduct a minimum of two region-wide oil and gas lease sales in each of the following regions of the OCS: (1) the Gulf of Mexico region in the Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area and the Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Area, and (2) the Alaska region. In addition, the bill requires the President to obtain congressional approval before delaying federal oil and gas leases on the OCS.