I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8022 
To amend the Natural Gas Act to establish a deadline for the review of 
applications for natural gas export and import orders, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 16, 2024 
Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Natural Gas Act to establish a deadline for 
the review of applications for natural gas export and 
import orders, 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. REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS FOR NATURAL GAS 
EXPORT AND IMPORT ORDERS. 
(a) DEADLINE FOR REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.— 
Section 3(a) of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b(a)) 
is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘After six months’’ and insert-
ing the following: 
‘‘(1) After six months’’; 
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(2) by striking ‘‘The Commission shall issue 
such order upon application,’’ and inserting ‘‘Except 
as provided in subsection (c), the Secretary of En-
ergy shall grant or deny an application for such an 
order by not later than 180 days after receiving the 
application. The Secretary shall grant such an appli-
cation,’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) EFFECT OF DELAYS.— 
‘‘(A) REPORT.—If the Secretary of Energy 
fails to grant or deny an application for an 
order under this subsection to export or import 
natural gas by the deadline described in para-
graph (1), the Secretary of Energy shall, not 
later than 30 days after such deadline, submit 
to Congress a report that details the reason for 
the failure. 
‘‘(B) APPLICATION
REVIEW
BY
FERC.— 
Notwithstanding section 402(f) of the Depart-
ment of Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 
7172(f)), if the Secretary of Energy fails to 
grant or deny an application for an order under 
this subsection to export or import natural gas 
by the deadline described in paragraph (1), the 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall 
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grant the application, unless, after opportunity 
for hearing, it finds that the proposed expor-
tation or importation will not be consistent with 
the public interest. 
‘‘(3) APPEAL
OF
DENIAL
OF
AN
APPLICA-
TION.—If the Secretary of Energy denies an applica-
tion for an order under this subsection to export or 
import natural gas, the applicant may submit to the 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission a request to 
grant the application. The Federal Energy Regu-
latory Commission shall grant the application or af-
firm the denial by not later than 60 days after re-
ceiving the request. The Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission shall grant the application, unless, after 
opportunity for hearing, it finds that the proposed 
exportation or importation will not be consistent 
with the public interest. 
‘‘(4) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The Secretary of En-
ergy shall annually submit to Congress a report 
that— 
‘‘(A) provides a detailed rational for each 
decision to grant or deny an application for an 
order under this subsection to export or import 
natural gas; and 
‘‘(B) identifies— 
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‘‘(i) the number of such applications 
received by the Secretary of Energy during 
the preceding year; 
‘‘(ii) the number of such applications 
granted or denied by the Secretary of En-
ergy by the deadline described in para-
graph (1); and 
‘‘(iii) measures implemented by the 
Secretary of Energy to improve the effi-
cient review of such applications by the 
Secretary of Energy.’’. 
(b) EXPEDITED APPLICATION AND APPROVAL PROC-
ESS.—Section 3(c) of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 
717b(c)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(c) EXPEDITED
APPLICATION
AND
APPROVAL 
PROCESS.— 
‘‘(1) FREE
TRADE
AGREEMENTS.—For pur-
poses of subsection (a), the importation of the nat-
ural gas referred to in subsection (b), or the expor-
tation of natural gas to a nation with which there 
is in effect a free trade agreement requiring national 
treatment for trade in natural gas, shall be deemed 
to be consistent with the public interest, and appli-
cations for such importation or exportation shall be 
granted without modification or delay. 
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‘‘(2) LOW-IMPACT PROJECTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of En-
ergy shall grant or deny an application for an 
order under subsection (a) to export natural 
gas from, or import natural gas to, a low-im-
pact project by not later than 90 days after re-
ceiving such application. 
‘‘(B) LOW-IMPACT PROJECT DEFINED.—In 
this paragraph, the term ‘low-impact project’ 
means an LNG terminal for which an applica-
tion has been submitted under subsection (e) to 
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for 
the expansion of the capacity of such LNG ter-
minal by not more than 5 billion cubic feet per 
day.’’. 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 3 of the 
Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Commission’’ 
and inserting ‘‘Secretary of Energy’’ each place it 
appears; and 
(2) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ‘‘Commis-
sion’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary of Energy’’. 
Æ 
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