Congress moves to auto-expire energy rules unless agencies fight to keep them
H.R. 7592 — Zero-Based Regulatory Budgeting to Unleash American Energy Act of 2026 · Filed by Craig Goldman (R-TX) · 8 cosponsors · Introduced Feb 17, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill requires all energy-related regulations from the Department of Energy, Interior Department bureaus (BLM, BOEM, BSEE, OSMRE), and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to automatically expire within 1 year (existing rules) or 5 years (new rules) unless agencies affirmatively renew them through a public comment process. Agencies can skip renewal requirements if they claim a rule has a 'net deregulatory effect.' The bill benefits energy producers and extractive industries by forcing regulators to justify every rule or watch it disappear, while shifting the burden of proof from industry (defending why a rule should exist) to regulators (proving why it should continue).
Why we flagged it
The bill's functional purpose is to systematically dismantle energy and environmental regulations by imposing automatic expiration dates and shifting the burden of proof to regulators. The title frames this as 'unleashing' energy, but the mechanism is a procedural trap designed to let rules lapse unless agencies can overcome administrative friction.
What the text implies
- Agencies may lack resources to conduct full cost-benefit analyses and public comment periods for hundreds of rules within tight deadlines, causing rules to lapse by default rather than deliberate policy choice.
- The 'net deregulatory effect' waiver is self-judging by agency heads—no independent review required—creating a loophole for agencies to exempt rules they favor without public scrutiny.
The full analysis lists 5 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
fossil fuel producers (coal, oil, natural gas); nuclear energy operators; mining companies