Oil drilling exempted from federal review on some federal lands.

What it does

This bill changes law to let oil and gas companies drill on land where the U.S. owns less than half the underground resources. Companies need only a state permit. They can start drilling 30 days after they apply. The bill does not change how much money the government gets from drilling.

Who it affects

Oil and gas companies and people who own resource rights would benefit. People would lose the chance to review and comment on drilling plans. People who care about endangered species, old sites, and historic places would lose protections on government resource lands.

One thing to notice

The bill removes government review and public input for drilling on mixed-ownership resource lands. These lands are common in Western states.

From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.

Where it stands

3 cosponsors: 3 Republicans.

• Feb 25, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Feb 25, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources”
• Mar 25, 2026 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Subcommittee Hearings Held”
• Sep 15, 2026 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Sep 15, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by the Yeas and Nays: 21 - 16”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

4 groups reported lobbying about this bill. They filed 4 reports from Jun 2026 to Jun 2026.

Those reports show $1,770,000 in lobbying spending. Each report lists about 16 bills. So that money was not all for this bill.

More groups named this bill than 72% of bills with any report.

Stephanie Bice, who sponsored the bill, received $1,024,250 from PACs for the 2026 election.

• Conocophillips — $750,000 in 1 report
• American Exploration & Production Council — $500,000 in 1 report
• Defenders of Wildlife — $270,000 in 1 report
• Independent Petroleum Association of America — $250,000 in 1 report

Lobbying is legal. These reports show who lobbied about this bill, not what changed.

Words to know

• exempted — Freed from a rule or requirement that applies to others.
• endangered species — Plants and animals at risk of dying out completely.
• historic places — Old sites and buildings that have value to history or culture.
• lobbying — Trying to influence lawmakers about a bill. Companies and groups pay people to do this.
• PACs — Groups that collect money and give it to candidates for office.
• sponsored — To sponsor a bill is to introduce it in Congress and put your name on it.