January 14, 2025

Casten Reintroduces Trio of Bills to Combat Emissions, Global Warming

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Congressman Sean Casten (IL-06) reintroduced three bills aimed at reducing harmful emissions that lead to global warming: the End Oil and Gas Tax Subsidies Act, the LNG Public Interest Determination Act, and the Exported Carbon Emissions Report Act.

The End Oil and Gas Tax Subsidies Act, introduced by Reps. Casten, Don Beyer (VA- 08), and Mike Levin (CA-49), would eliminate nearly a dozen of the most egregious tax breaks enjoyed by the oil and gas industry.

Despite consistent profitability, fossil fuel companies receive billions of dollars in federal tax breaks and subsidies, which underwrite the costs of continued oil and gas production. The forgone revenues undermine the United States’ ability to combat the climate crisis and invest in critical initiatives like education, housing, infrastructure, and healthcare. The subsidies also distort the energy market, creating an unfair and economically-inefficient advantage for polluting fuels against solar, wind, geothermal, nuclear, and hydro power.

“According to the International Monetary Fund, the fossil fuel industry receives $757 billion a year in direct and indirect tax subsidies from the United States,” said Rep. Casten. “In the last decade, we have seen the fossil fuel industry teetering on the verge of irrelevance because it cannot compete with cleaner, cheaper energy sources, but it’s been kept afloat by these subsidies. I’m proud to introduce this legislation with Reps. Beyer and Levin to unrig our energy markets, lower emissions, and protect public health.”

“It is crazy, dangerous, and a stupid waste of money for the federal government to keep subsidizing fossil fuels with taxpayer money when we have just reached the 1.5°C global warming threshold and the ten hottest years on record were all in the last decade,” said Rep. Beyer. “I have heard colleagues rail for years against ‘the government picking winners and losers’ when we use the tax code to support a clean energy transition, yet many of those most fiercely opposed to building green jobs with tax credits fiercely guard tax subsidies for massively profitable oil companies. Those tax credits are terrible policy in every way and we should end them permanently.”

“California is experiencing some of the most devastating wildfires in our country’s history, and these fires are made worse by climate change,” said Rep. Levin. “While California burns, the oil and gas companies responsible for accelerating the climate crisis continue to receive billions of dollars in tax subsidies every year, all while making record profits. Ending these corporate giveaways will help us fight the climate crisis, hold those who are responsible accountable, and help the U.S. invest in clean energy.”

The End Oil and Gas Tax Subsidies Act would amend the Internal Revenue Code by:

Increasing the amortization period for geological and geophysical expenditures from two years to seven years;
Repealing the Section 45I tax credit for producing oil and gas from marginal wells and the Section 43 tax credit for enhanced oil recovery;
Repealing the Section 263(c) tax deduction for the intangible drilling and development costs of oil and gas wells;
Repealing percentage depletion in Section 613A;
Repealing the Section 193 tax deduction for tertiary injectant expenses;
Repealing the exception to passive loss limitations for working interests in oil and gas property.

Text of the End Oil and Gas Tax Subsidies Act can be found here.

The LNG Public Interest Determination Act, introduced by Rep. Casten, requires the Department of Energy to examine the impacts on climate stability, consumer energy costs, and environmental justice when considering permits for new liquified natural gas (LNG) export terminals.

“When we ship LNG exports overseas, it raises the cost of energy for American consumers. It leaks so much that it might not be any less damaging to the climate than the coal it’s replacing. It competes against clean energy investments that would otherwise be made by the receiving countries. And it causes health and environmental consequences for communities along the way,” said Rep. Casten. “Unfortunately, the existing law does not require these factors to be considered when determining whether a new LNG export terminal is in the national interest. The Biden Administration has begun to consider these factors, but it is unclear whether a future administration will do so. The LNG Public Interest Determination Act remedies this.”

The LNG Public Interest Act amends the Natural Gas Act, which currently mandates that companies that want to export natural gas must get authorization to do so from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). While the Natural Gas Act directs DOE to evaluate applications to export LNG to non-Free Trade Agreement countries, it does not provide adequate guidance for making that evaluation. The LNG Public Interest Determination Act fills in the blanks.

The LNG Public Interest Determination Act requires DOE to more strictly assess whether a proposed LNG facility is consistent with the public interest. Before authorization is granted, the legislation requires DOE to determine that a new LNG export terminal would not likely contribute significantly to climate change, materially increase energy prices or energy price volatility for US consumers, or create a disproportionate health or environmental burden on rural, low-income, minority, and other vulnerable communities.

Text of the LNG Public Interest Determination Act can be found here.

The Exported Carbon Emissions Act, introduced by Rep. Casten, would require the Environmental Protection Agency to regularly publish a summary for each of the previous ten years of total emissions of carbon dioxide and methane related to United States fossil fuel exports.

“When we talk about the carbon footprint of the United States, we rarely have the full picture,” said Rep. Sean Casten. “The Exported Carbon Emissions Report Act helps fill in the rest of the story on the U.S. contribution to global warming pollution, ensuring we know the impacts of the fossil fuels – like liquified natural gas – that we export across the globe.”

The Exported Carbon Emissions Report Act will require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), within 180 days of enactment and annually thereafter, to publish a summary for each of the previous ten years of the total emissions of carbon dioxide and methane that are released:

within the boundaries of the United States that are the result of the extraction, processing, transportation, combustion and other use of fossil fuels; and
outside the boundaries of the United States that are the result of leakage and combustion of fossil fuels produced or refined in the United States and subsequently exported from the United States.

The Act will require the EPA, in implementing this bill, to:

use the best available scientific information, including information collected through direct monitoring and measurement, and disclosures of emissions by other national and subnational governments;
be informed by established international standards, including the Greenhouse Gas Protocol of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the World Resources Institute; and
consult with the Energy Information Administration and the International Energy Agency in implementing this Act.

Text of the Exported Carbon Emissions Report Act can be found here.

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