S. 4520, Natural Gas Industry Deregulation. Quorum's AI analysis reads it as a net cost — and names who bears it.
S. 4520 · Net cost
What it does
This bill redefines what 'public interest' means under the Natural Gas Act by adding four specific factors: development of U.S. natural gas facilities, domestic natural gas supply, domestic economic interests, and national security interests. The change narrows the regulatory standard that the Department of Energy uses to approve or deny liquefied natural gas (LNG) export licenses, potentially making it easier for companies to export LNG by explicitly prioritizing domestic supply and economic/security interests in the approval calculus.
The analysis names natural gas producers — and 3 more groups — among the beneficiaries.
The cost
Removal of environmental and climate considerations from LNG export approval decisions may accelerate greenhouse-gas emissions and reduce DOE's ability to weigh climate impacts.
The analysis put a high warning level on this bill. Transparency scores 65%, and the analysis found no provisions unrelated to the bill's subject.
Who is behind it
Filed by John Cornyn. Cosponsored by John Fetterman.