COMMITTING LEASES FOR ENERGY ACCESS NOW ACT

On 2026-06-02, Representative Bruce Westerman (R-AR-4) delivered a floor speech titled "COMMITTING LEASES FOR ENERGY ACCESS NOW ACT" in the House.

COMMITTING LEASES FOR ENERGY ACCESS NOW ACT

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 93 (Tuesday, June 2, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 93 (Tuesday, June 2, 2026)] [House] [Pages H3758-H3760] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] COMMITTING LEASES FOR ENERGY ACCESS NOW ACT Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1687) to amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to increase the frequency of lease sales, to require replacement sales, and for other purposes, as amended. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 1687 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Committing Leases for Energy Access Now Act'' or the ``CLEAN Act''. SEC. 2. GEOTHERMAL LEASING. (a) Annual Leasing.--Section 4(b) of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1003(b)) is amended-- (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``2 years'' and inserting ``year''; (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively; and (3) after paragraph (2), by inserting the following: ``(3) Replacement sales.--If a lease sale under paragraph (1) for a year is canceled or delayed, the Secretary of the Interior shall conduct a replacement sale during the same year. [[Page H3759]] ``(4) Requirement.--Of the nominated parcels eligible for geothermal development and utilization under the resource management plan in effect for the State, the Secretary shall, in conducting a lease sale under paragraph (2), offer for lease-- ``(A) 75 percent of such nominated parcels; and ``(B) the remaining 25 percent of such nominated parcels, unless the Secretary provides a written justification that identifies a statutory, environmental, or administrative basis that prevents the Secretary from offering such nominated parcels for lease.''. (b) Deadlines for Consideration of Geothermal Drilling Permits.--Section 4 of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1003) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``(h) Deadlines for Consideration of Geothermal Drilling Permits.-- ``(1) Notice.--Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary receives an application for any geothermal drilling permit, the Secretary shall-- ``(A) provide written notice to the applicant that the application is complete; or ``(B) notify the applicant that information is missing and specify any information that is required to be submitted for the application to be complete. ``(2) Issuance or deferral.-- ``(A) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the Secretary has provided written notice to an applicant for a geothermal drilling permit that the application for such permit is complete pursuant to paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary shall-- ``(i) issue the permit, if the requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and other applicable law have been completed within such timeframe; or ``(ii) defer the decision on the permit and provide to the applicant a notice-- ``(I) that specifies any steps that the applicant could take for the permit to be issued; and ``(II) that includes a list of actions that need to be taken by the agency to comply with applicable law, together with timelines and deadlines for taking such actions, which shall not exceed the deadlines specified in section 107(g) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4336a(g)). ``(B) Deadline for deferred decisions.--If the Secretary defers a decision on a permit under subparagraph (A)(ii), the Secretary shall issue a decision on the permit not later than 10 days after the applicant takes any steps specified pursuant to subparagraph (A)(ii)(I) and the agency takes the actions listed pursuant to subparagraph (A)(ii)(II) in accordance with any applicable timelines and deadlines.''. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) and the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Stansbury) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas. General Leave Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material to H.R. 1687, the bill now under consideration. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Arkansas? There was no objection. Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of H.R. 1687, the Committing Leases for Energy Access Now Act, or the CLEAN Act. Introduced by Representative Fulcher, this bill is essential to bolstering geothermal energy production. Across the United States, the Bureau of Land Management is responsible for geothermal permitting on roughly 245 million acres of public land. The previous administration, however, was unwilling to hold lease sales at the rate necessary to support the industry and lower energy costs for Americans. Thankfully, President Trump and Secretary Burgum understand the need for abundant, low-cost, reliable energy sources and have made expanding domestic energy production a priority. Under their leadership, BLM has begun promoting annual geothermal lease sales. Representative Fulcher's CLEAN Act codifies these annual lease sales into law and furthers prudent efforts to secure American energy dominance for generations to come. In October 2025, the BLM held a geothermal lease sale in Nevada that brought in a record-setting $9.4 million in bids. Similarly, the BLM's geothermal lease sale in California last August netted over $2.7 million across just 13 parcels of land. These revenues help fund other important functions of the Bureau, including mapping, permitting, scientific research, and conservation. In addition to requiring annual lease sales, the bill sets clear expectations and deadlines for geothermal permitting. By implementing transparent, predictable, and timely reviews, the CLEAN Act incentivizes further investment and helps meet the Nation's rapidly rising energy demands. During committee markup, the bipartisan CLEAN Act was unanimously approved with an amendment reflecting meaningful collaboration among Democrats, Republicans, the Department of the Interior, and industry. The bill's commonsense approach to incentivizing domestic geothermal energy investment and helping everyday Americans lower their monthly electric bills is a crucial step that Congress should not hesitate to take. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 1687, and I reserve the balance of my time. Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may concern. The CLEAN Act is designed to speed up geothermal leasing and permitting, which we support. It would add a 30-day deadline for the Secretary to issue geothermal permits to drill if all environmental reviews have been completed. The CLEAN Act would also require the Department of the Interior to hold lease sales once a year instead of every 2 years. The current leasing schedule means that geothermal developers can wait for years just for the chance to lease public lands, creating delays in getting clean, reliable energy to American communities. This faster leasing schedule only applies to States where developers have expressed interest in geothermal leasing, so it won't make extra work for field offices that have no reason to do this work. I thank the bill's sponsor and my colleagues across the aisle for working with the Natural Resources Committee Democrats to retain important agency discretion in which public lands are leased. The bill, as originally drafted before these revisions, required that the Department of the Interior offer a lease to every piece of public land that the industry expressed an interest in. That old language mirrored language that passed in the big, ugly bill for oil and gas, requiring the Secretary to offer to lease all the public lands that any industry would want. It doesn't matter if that meant allowing drilling next to a drinking water source like Colorado's Aurora Reservoir or the destruction of beloved trails like a popular trail in North Dakota's Badlands. Since the passage of the big, ugly bill, BLM has put up public lands for leasing in both of these areas, creating local backlash. Geothermal drilling is certainly less dangerous than oil and gas, but there are still risks and places that are inappropriate to lease for environmental, cultural, and other reasons. Natural Resources Committee Democrats have worked across the aisle in good faith to make a compromise, which will allow BLM to lease most of the industry-nominated public lands but allows the Secretary to choose not to lease lands for legal or environmental reasons. {time} 1550 We can speed up the build-out of clean, reliable geothermal energy without sacrificing special places and community support. While I recognize that this bill still contains controversial provisions, including the requirement that 75 percent of nominated parcels for geothermal development be leased, we are encouraged by the reduction of that threshold. Committee Democrats are urging the Senate to carefully consider the legislation and prioritize a balanced approach to managing our public lands, one that prioritizes responsible management of public lands for our communities and for the environment. Mr. Speaker, Committee Democrats urge our colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, most of America's geothermal resources lie beneath Federal lands, and interest in leasing those areas continues to grow. It is imperative that we increase the frequency of geothermal lease sales from every 2 years to annually and further streamline the permitting process. Doing so will help keep energy costs low and keep America's lights on. [[Page H3760]] Mr. Speaker, I applaud Represe

Referenced legislation: HR1687, HR1687