To: Members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce
From: National Taxpayers Union
Date: June 24, 2025
Subject: NTU’s Views on June 25 Markup
I. Introduction
On behalf of National Taxpayers Union (NTU), the nation’s oldest taxpayer advocacy organization, we write to express our views on legislation slated for consideration before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on June 25, 2025. NTU applauds the Committee for your continued efforts to advance proposals that protect the reliability of our electric grid, promote American energy dominance, and reduce government burdens. As such, NTU strongly urges Committee members to support H.R. 3616, H.R. 1047, H.R. 3657, H.R. 3062, H.R. 1949, and H.R. 3668.
II. Legislation
NTU is proud to support the following bills at the Committee’s markup and encourages all members to move them to the House floor for further consideration.
H.R. 3616, Reliable Power Act from Rep. Troy Balderson (R-OH). This legislation would help protect America’s electric grid by requiring federal agencies and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to consider the impact of their regulations on grid reliability before finalizing new rules. Importantly, it ensures that no final rule can move forward if it would cause a significant negative impact on grid reliability. Far too often, federal agencies seek to institute rules that harm baseload power generation to reduce carbon emissions, but which ultimately raise costs on ratepayers or disconnect power plants from the grid.
H.R. 1047, The GRID Power Act from Rep. Troy Balderson (R-OH). This legislation would enable grid operators to prioritize and expedite interconnection queue requests for projects that improve the reliability of the electric grid. It specifically gives FERC authority to develop rules to fast track critical generation that ensures greater reliability by allowing it to bypass the years-long wait in its interconnection queue, with the median wait time at about five years. Power grids are already buckling, and with power demands slated to surge in the years ahead, it is crucial that reliability be a top priority for new projects that are connected to the system. This legislation and subsequent regulations should create guardrails to prevent the government from putting its finger on the permitting process in favor of one industry and ensure that reliability of our grid is paramount above all else.
H.R. 3657, Hydropower Relicensing Transparency Act from Reps. Kim Schrier (D-WA) and Russ Fulcher (R-ID). This bipartisan legislation will provide greater clarity for hydropower developers and operators when they begin the process of recertifying their dams or projects. Hydropower accounts for almost 6% of U.S. utility-scale electricity generation, mostly concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, making it an important component of our grid. FERC estimates that the average length for the relicensing process is between seven to ten years, and H.R. 3657 seeks to reduce that timeline by increasing transparency, tracking application progress, and providing detailed status updates to Congress and applicants.
H.R. 3062, Promoting Cross-Border Energy Infrastructure Act from Rep. Julie Fedorchak (R-ND). Some presidential administrations have undermined American energy dominance by unilaterally revoking pipeline permits that travel across international borders, including the Keystone XL Pipeline. Such an unpredictable permitting process creates uncertainty for a highly capital intensive industry and leaves it at the whims of politically-charged decisions. This legislation requires congressional approval to reverse a cross-border project and creates a more consistent statutory framework that puts FERC in the driver’s seat for oil and gas pipeline approvals.
H.R. 1949, Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act from Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX). The previous administration politicized LNG exports by unilaterally freezing approvals for such projects, harming our energy industry, and undermining free trade with our allies. This legislation would encourage American exports of liquified natural gas by eliminating the requirement for Department of Energy approval and instead shifting that authority to FERC. As an independent agency, FERC is composed of bipartisan members and focuses on technical issues of energy regulation, and is somewhat insulated from national politics.
H.R. 3668, Improving Interagency Coordination for Pipeline Reviews Act from Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC). This legislation would increase communication between federal and state agencies to streamline reviews and approvals of natural gas pipelines. Specifically, it would expand FERC’s role by requiring schedules, simultaneous reviews, and stronger abilities to resolve disputes between the agencies. Taken together, it will retain environmental protections while expediting approval times so more energy can be connected from where it is produced, to where it can be put to use.
III. Conclusion
Energy demands are expected to rise significantly in the years ahead, and it is crucial that preparations are made today. The solutions offered at this markup will help meet the moment by expanding supply and ensuring reliability is not compromised as more renewable energy projects are added to the grid. Should you have any questions about the recommendations in this memo, please do not hesitate to reach out to Thomas Aiello (Taiello@ntu.org).
Thank you for your consideration.