License to Drill Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. KENNEDY of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chair Westerman and his outstanding staff for their help in getting this bill to the floor.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my legislation, the License to Drill Act. This bill ensures the Federal Government has the operational resources to process energy permits efficiently without unnecessary delay.

Every American takes part in an electrified economy, whether they choose to or not, and right now that economy is facing a critical point. We are heading toward a severe energy deficit.

We possess the most dynamic economy in the world, but every single engine of that economy runs on power. We need more of it every year to build, manufacture, and to put people to work, yet much of our existing generating capacity is at the end of its useful life. As those plants go offline, our energy deficit worsens.

We cannot close an energy gap this massive with wishful thinking. We must take practical steps to meet demand because meeting demand is how we keep energy affordable for working families.

The answer isn't to bet everything on a single source. The answer is an all-of-the-above energy strategy. We have already proven that this works. Just last year, the United States produced more energy than at any point in its history, hitting record highs in oil, natural gas, and renewables simultaneously, but when one source is choked off, everyday Americans pay the price.

Producing that energy requires the capacity to efficiently permit it. Right now, a single permit can sit for months, not because the technology or industry isn't ready, but because the Federal Government often lacks the ability to keep up.

Let's be clear: Cutting red tape is not about cutting corners on safety. It is about speeding up our bureaucracy. We can maintain rigorous oversight without ensuring years of needless delay. Every day a permit sits idly on a bureaucrat's desk is a day that costs American jobs, drives up utility bills, and hands global leverage to our adversaries.

My License to Drill Act will extend a proven, bipartisan program that has successfully cleared permit backlogs since 2004. By utilizing an industry-funded fee model, energy companies foot the bill for the administrative costs of these reviews. This means faster approvals, smaller backlogs, and more American energy, all without costing the taxpayers a single dollar.

The License to Drill Act is a commonsense step in the right direction. Let's keep American energy moving forward. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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