Harnessing Energy At Thermal Sources Act of 2026

Floor Speech

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Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1189, I call up the bill (H.R. 5587) to amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to waive the requirement for a Federal drilling permit for certain activities, to exempt certain activities from the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

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Mr. WESTERMAN. 5587.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5587, the Harnessing Energy At Thermal Sources Act, or the HEATS Act.

This is an important bill to help add to the energy needs that our country has. We can do that very responsibly. We can do it in a smarter and more proactive way.

I thank Representative Young Kim for being a leader on this issue and working with our committee to bring this bipartisan legislation to the floor.

H.R. 5587, the HEATS Act, is a commonsense bill that would expedite the development of geothermal energy on non-Federal surface lands where the Federal subsurface estate is less than 50 percent.

Currently, geothermal operators on non-Federal land are required to undergo a full Federal permitting process under the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act if they intersect any quantity of Federal subsurface resources, even if the Federal mineral interest is minuscule.

This process creates unnecessary delays for geothermal energy project developers, who must already comply with rigorous State-level permitting requirements.

H.R. 5587 would address this issue by alleviating the need for the Bureau of Land Management to issue permits for geothermal wells on State and private lands where the Federal Government holds an ownership interest of less than 50 percent of the subsurface geothermal estate.

Crucially, this bill upholds strong environmental standards by stipulating that Federal requirements may only be waived if operators receive drilling permits and comply with historic preservation laws on the State level.

Notably, the bill would not impact the royalties paid to the Federal Government. Therefore, it will not reduce the Federal revenues generated by geothermal production. In fact, this legislation would actually increase Federal revenues by reducing the administrative responsibilities of Federal agencies and expediting the permitting process so that we can build more geothermal energy projects and do more development in that area.

I want to emphasize the importance of this legislation. Again, energy demand is skyrocketing, and geothermal energy stands ready to meet the moment and bring gigawatts of new baseload power online.

Out West, the Great Basin region encompasses swaths of California, Oregon, Utah, and most of Nevada. According to a recent study from the U.S. Geological Survey, this region alone hosts approximately 135 gigawatts of geothermal potential.

To unleash geothermal energy's full potential, we must cut unnecessary red tape holding back key projects on these lands. By reducing duplicative Federal requirements on State and private lands, this bill will give developers the regulatory certainty needed to spur greater investment in geothermal exploration and production.

Mr. Speaker, again, this is an opportunity to do something proactive, something that is common sense, and something that I think we can all be proud of in the future.

Mr. Speaker, there are a lot of similarities on both sides of the aisle, but there is a big difference. The similarities are that I think both sides of the aisle support geothermal energy. It is similar that we talk about inflation and high costs and how that affects Americans.

The difference is, on this side of the aisle we actually pass policies that will help those things. On the other side of the aisle, they vote against those policies.

We talk about the high cost of living. Republicans voted to give Americans a huge tax cut last year. All the Democrats voted against it.

We talk about high healthcare costs. Republicans voted to send $50 billion to help with rural healthcare. All Democrats voted against it.

Today, we are talking about geothermal energy and the opportunities that are there. We have an opportunity to help make that happen more. Republicans are supporting it. I believe some Democrats will actually support this legislation, but there is a difference between saying you want something to happen and actually voting to make it happen.

I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Kim), and I thank her for her work on geothermal energy.

Mr. Speaker, I have to ask the question: What is well balanced and what is fair about requiring a duplicative process? It is almost, from the minority's testimony, like there is no permitting that will happen. We are talking about a well that is drilled on State or private property close to Federal property. The surface disturbance is all on the State or private property. They have to go through the State permitting process, which is very rigorous. It is looking at the same things the Federal permitting process looks at.

The argument not to pass this bill is that we want to put on a belt and suspenders. We want to make the developers go through the total duplicative process because the underground well that is thousands of feet below ground would be receiving thermal energy that is under the Federal estate and all of the historical preservation, all the NEPA, all the ESA, that has been looked at under the State permitting process.

Again, the surface disturbance would not be on Federal land. You are only talking about the migration of thermal energy thousands of feet below ground, and we are saying it is reasonable and fair and a good process to make a developer go through double permitting and opening up Pandora's box for people who, for whatever reason, don't like geothermal energy will have all these Federal statutes and the broken permitting process to stop geothermal energy projects.

If we are serious about producing more energy for this country, if we are serious about being energy independent, if we are serious about developing energy sources like geothermal energy, then this is a pragmatic, proactive way to make that happen. It removes duplicity, and it makes the process make sense.

Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, again, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5587. These reforms will both streamline the permitting process for geothermal energy projects and reduce agency workloads, which will allow BLM to focus on projects that actually have a majority Federal nexus.

States, as I have already mentioned, have robust requirements in regulations for developing energy resources within their borders, so eliminating duplicative Federal-level bureaucracy will help stop the things that are impeding geothermal energy development. This quite simply is just common sense.

Accelerating geothermal energy production and deployment is a win for our economy, a win for national security, and a win for American energy dominance.

On this floor today and not too much longer, we are going to have an opportunity to vote for American energy, for American workers, for common sense, and for doing the right things. I have heard many times: I support this, but . . . There is always a but--but what about this or what about that. Today is an opportunity to actually vote for something good.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this good bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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