H.R. 7831, the License to Drill Act, passed both the House and Senate on September 30, 2026.
H.R. 7831 — License to Drill Act
What it does
This bill extends the deadline for the Department of Interior to collect application fees for oil and gas drilling permits on federal land from 2026 to 2037—a 11-year extension. It also redirects those collected fees into a dedicated fund (the BLM Permit Processing Improvement Fund) for fiscal years 2027–2037, rather than allowing them to lapse or be diverted elsewhere.
Quorum's transparency scan gave License to Drill Act a moderate transparency flag.
What happens next
H.R. 7831 passed both the House and Senate. It is on the President's desk.
Who is behind it
Filed by Mike Kennedy. Cosponsored by Celeste Maloy, Harriet Hageman and Stephanie Bice.
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