Congress has passed a resolution led by U.S. Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX) and U.S. Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) that repeals the Biden administration’s natural gas tax. The Congressional Review Act (CRA) now heads to the president’s desk to be signed into law.
The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed and indefinitely postponed Senate Joint Resolution (S.J.Res.) 12 with a vote of 52-47. The U.S. House of Representatives on Feb. 26 voted 220-206 to approve the identical House Joint Resolution (H.J.Res.) 35.
“I applaud the Senate’s swift passage of my CRA to reverse the Biden-era’s harmful natural gas tax,” Rep. Pfluger said on Thursday. “I am thrilled that this legislation is now headed to the president’s desk to eliminate this harmful tax once and for all.”
“This is an important milestone in our efforts to roll back the Biden administration’s harmful Green New Deal policies, unleash our domestic energy potential and make our nation truly energy dominant,” said Sen. Hoeven.
Rep. Pfluger sponsored H.J.Res. 35 on Feb. 4 alongside 13 GOP original cosponsors to repeal the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) rule implementing the Waste Emissions Charge (WEC) — also known as the natural gas tax — which was established in the Inflation Reduction Act during the Biden administration.
Among the members who joined Rep. Pfluger in introducing the bill were original cosponsors including U.S. Reps. Troy Balderson (R-OH), Mike Carey (R-OH), John Joyce (R-PA), Bob Latta (R-OH), and Buddy Carter (R-GA).
“This rule has only stifled American energy production, discouraged investment, and increased energy prices across America,” said Rep. Pfluger. “Before this rule was enacted, the American energy sector had already taken initiatives to hit record-low emissions while simultaneously hitting record-high production.
“No one wants to do business when the federal government creates regulations that will put them out of business, which is what this natural gas tax is doing,” he added.
Sen. Hoeven on Feb. 4 led the identical S.J.Res. 12 in the Senate with 24 GOP original cosponsors, including U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Steve Daines (R-MT), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Roger Wicker (R-MS).
“We depend on natural gas for a wide array of needs, from manufacturing to home heating and cooking, all of which were going to be more expensive as a result of President Biden’s Natural Gas Tax,” said Sen. Hoeven following the Senate’s vote. “We’ve now moved our legislation through both chambers, and we look forward to it being signed by President Trump.