I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7285 
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. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 30, 2022 
Mr. CARL (for himself, Mr. WESTERMAN, Mr. NEWHOUSE, Mr. STAUBER, Mr. 
ROSENDALE, Mr. FULCHER, Mr. WITTMAN, Ms. HERRELL, Mr. STEW-
ART, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Ms. VAN DUYNE, Mr. MOORE of Utah, Mr. TIF-
FANY, Mr. VAN DREW, Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana, Mr. LAMBORN, Ms. 
STEFANIK, and Mr. BALDERSON) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a min-
imum number of oil and gas lease sales in certain areas, 
to prevent delays in oil and gas leasing, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Unleashing American 
Energy Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASING. 
(a) GULF
OF MEXICO REGION ANNUAL LEASE 
SALES.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, be-
ginning 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.—Not-
withstanding any other provision of law, beginning in fis-
cal 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 Inte-
rior shall— 
(1) issue such leases in accordance with the 
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1332 
et seq.); and 
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(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) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a), in the first sentence of the 
matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘sub-
sections (c) and (d) of this section’’ and inserting 
‘‘this section’’; 
(2) by redesignating subsections (f) through (h) 
as subsections (g) through (i), respectively; and 
(3) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(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 en-
ergy 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 Pro-
cedure Act’), without congressional approval. 
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‘‘(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, de-
scribed in paragraph (1), without congressional ap-
proval, is considered unreasonable for purposes of 
paragraph (1).’’. 
Æ 
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