HR-3062-119
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Sponsored by Julie Fedorchak (R-ND)
What it does
This bill would replace the current Presidential permit process for new border-crossing oil, natural gas, and electricity infrastructure with a "certificate of crossing" issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or the Secretary of Energy. It sets a 120-day deadline for certificate decisions after environmental review is complete, requires automatic approval of natural gas import/export applications to Canada and Mexico within 30 days, exempts existing facilities and pending permits from the new process, and bars the President from revoking existing cross-border permits without an Act of Congress.
Who benefits
Oil, natural gas, and electric transmission companies seeking to build or modify cross-border energy infrastructure, particularly those with projects connecting to Canada and Mexico. Energy-producing states and companies benefiting from faster approval timelines, and consumers who may see more reliable cross-border electricity and natural gas supply. Companies with pending or existing Presidential permits gain certainty since their permits cannot be revoked without congressional action.
Who is hurt
Environmental and landowner groups seeking to challenge or delay specific cross-border projects, since presidential discretion to block or revoke permits is eliminated. Communities near proposed border-crossing facilities who may have less opportunity to influence outcomes through executive branch review. Future presidents lose a tool used historically to block projects like the Keystone XL pipeline on policy or environmental grounds.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that the current Presidential permit process has become a political football, citing the Keystone XL pipeline's repeated approval and revocation across administrations as evidence of costly uncertainty for energy infrastructure investment. They contend that shifting authority to FERC and the Department of Energy, agencies with technical expertise, and setting firm deadlines would create predictable rules that support North American energy trade and grid reliability.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that removing presidential authority over cross-border energy projects strips a check that has allowed elected leaders to weigh climate, environmental justice, and foreign policy considerations that agencies like FERC are not equipped to evaluate. They contend that automatic approvals within 30 days for natural gas trade with Canada and Mexico, combined with a permanent bar on permit revocation absent new legislation, would remove meaningful oversight of projects with lasting environmental and community impacts.
Constitutional context
This bill implicates the separation of powers over foreign commerce and the President's traditionally broad discretion over cross-border infrastructure, an authority rooted in the President's foreign affairs power and historically exercised through executive orders rather than a specific constitutional clause. Congress has authority under the Commerce Clause (Art. I, §8, cl. 3) to regulate this infrastructure and to redefine or transfer permitting authority from the executive to independent agencies, though courts have not definitively resolved how far Congress may restrict presidential control over cross-border facility permits.
Checks and balances
Congress would strip the President of unilateral authority to grant, deny, or revoke cross-border energy permits, transferring that discretion to FERC and the Department of Energy while requiring congressional action for any future permit revocation, shifting power from the executive branch to Congress and independent agencies.
Historical precedent
Presidential permits for cross-border pipelines and transmission lines, including the Keystone XL pipeline, have been granted and revoked by successive presidents through executive orders since the 1950s, and this bill would end that practice by transferring authority to FERC and DOE.