Bill cancels rules that limited oil and gas work in the Gulf
H.R. 8919 — To nullify the decision and order of the Endangered Species Committee with respect to certain oil and gas activities, and for other purposes. · Filed by Donald Beyer (D-VA) · 22 cosponsors · Introduced May 20, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill erases a decision made on March 31, 2026. The Endangered Species Committee had limited oil and gas work in the Gulf of America. The bill stops the Committee from making similar limits for three years. Oil and gas companies would no longer follow those limits. Companies would still have to follow older Endangered Species Act rules from before March 30, 2026.
Who it affects
Oil and gas companies working in the Gulf would face fewer rules. Wildlife and the ocean ecosystem would lose protections. The Endangered Species Committee had put those protections in place.
One thing to notice
The bill freezes protections at rules from before March 30, 2026. The Committee cannot make new limits for three years, even if scientists find endangered animals are getting hurt.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
22 cosponsors: 22 Democrats.
- May 20, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- May 20, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources”
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 5 reports from Jun 2026 to Jun 2026.
Those reports show $906,600 in lobbying spending. Each report lists about 79 bills. So that money was not all for this bill.
More groups named this bill than 72% of bills with any report.
Donald Beyer, who sponsored the bill, received $607,099 from PACs for the 2026 election.
- Earthjustice Action — $376,600 in 2 reports
- Defenders of Wildlife — $270,000 in 1 report
- Ocean Conservancy — $260,000 in 1 report
- Save the Manatee Club — $0 in 1 report
Lobbying is legal. These reports show who lobbied about this bill, not what changed.
Words to know
- Endangered Species Committee — A group that decides which animals and plants need protection from harm.
- Endangered Species Act — A law that protects animals and plants in danger of dying out.
- limits — Rules that say what companies can and cannot do.
- 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.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the full bill text on Jun 3, 2026; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,206 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-09-17.
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