License to Drill Act | ChamberLight

PASSED HOUSE· 119TH CONGRESS

House BillHR 7831Licensing and registrationsOil and gas

License to Drill Act

INTRO MAR 5· LAST ACTION SEP 17

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WHAT THE BILL DOES

AI-written

This bill matters because it ensures a continuous funding stream for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to handle oil and gas drilling permits on public lands. Without this bill, the fee collection for permit applications would stop in 2026, potentially cutting off a significant source of funding for the BLM's permit processing operations. This could lead to slower permit approvals and delays for energy companies.

By extending the fees and dedicating all of them to the permit processing fund, the bill aims to maintain or even improve the speed at which drilling permits are issued. This could impact the availability of domestic oil and gas, potentially influencing energy prices and the U.S. energy supply. Voters who care about energy independence, environmental protection on public lands, or the efficiency of government services would find this bill relevant.

KEY PROVISIONS

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PROVISION 01

Extends the period during which the Secretary of the Interior is required to collect a fee for each new application for a permit to drill for oil and gas.

This ensures continued funding for the processing of drilling permits beyond the current expiration date.

PROVISION 02

Changes the fee transfer mechanism so that all fees collected from fiscal years 2027 through 2037 are transferred to the BLM Permit Processing Improvement Fund.

This directs the entirety of the collected fees to improving the efficiency of the permit review process.

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ACTION TIMELINE

48 EVENTS

SEP 17

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Lee without amendment. Without written report.

COMMITTEE

SEP 17

Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 665.

CALENDARS

JUL 29

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.

COMMITTEE

JUL 29

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.

COMMITTEE

BILL INFO

TypeHouse Bill

NumberHR 7831

Congress119th

StatusPassed House

IntroducedMar 5, 2026

Last actionSep 17, 2026

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PASSED HOUSE· 119TH CONGRESS · NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE · INTRODUCED MAR 5, 2026

House BillHR 7831Licensing and registrationsOil and gas

License to Drill Act

INTRODUCED MAR 5, 2026· LAST ACTION SEP 17, 2026

PASSAGE CHANCES

—%

READING

1 min

COSPONSORS

COMPLEXITY

Moderate

Call my reps Congress.gov

LEGISLATIVE PROGRESS

STEP 4 OF 8

Introduced

In Committee

Reported

Passed House

Passed Senate

Conference

To President

Became Law

Introduced
In Committee
Reported
Passed House
Passed Senate
Conference
To President
Became Law

WHAT THE BILL DOES

AI-written

KEY PROVISIONS

AI-extracted

high

Extends the period during which the Secretary of the Interior is required to collect a fee for each new application for a permit to drill for oil and gas.

This ensures continued funding for the processing of drilling permits beyond the current expiration date.

high

Changes the fee transfer mechanism so that all fees collected from fiscal years 2027 through 2037 are transferred to the BLM Permit Processing Improvement Fund.

This directs the entirety of the collected fees to improving the efficiency of the permit review process.

DEADLINES & DATES

AI-extracted

An AI model extracted this from the bill’s official record and can make mistakes. Check the official text ↗ (opens in new tab)

Through fiscal year 2037

Extension of the period for collecting fees for new oil and gas drilling permits.

Fiscal years 2027 through 2037

Period during which all collected fees are transferred to the BLM Permit Processing Improvement Fund.

GLOSSARY

AI-written

Mineral Leasing Act: A federal law that governs the leasing of public lands for the development of minerals like oil, gas, coal, and other non-metallic minerals.
Secretary of the Interior: The head of the U.S. Department of the Interior, responsible for managing federal lands and natural resources.
Application for a permit to drill: A formal request submitted by an energy company to the government for approval to drill an oil or gas well on leased federal land.
Fiscal year: A 12-month period that a government or business uses for budgeting and accounting, often different from the calendar year (e.g., October 1 to September 30 for the U.S. federal government).
BLM Permit Processing Improvement Fund: A special account managed by the Bureau of Land Management to help pay for staff and resources needed to review and approve oil and gas drilling permits more quickly.
Bureau of Land Management (BLM): A U.S. government agency within the Department of the Interior that manages over 245 million acres of public land, mainly in western states, including land for energy development, recreation, and conservation.

ACTION TIMELINE

48 EVENTS

SEP 17

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Lee without amendment. Without written report.

COMMITTEE

SEP 17

Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 665.

CALENDARS

JUL 29

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.

COMMITTEE

JUL 29

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.

COMMITTEE

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Committee Referrals

Natural Resources CommitteeReferred

May 20, 2026

house

Related Hearings

Business meeting to consider S.365 and H.R.1729, bills to amend the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act to allow for additional entities to be eligible to complete the maintenance work on Bolts Ditch and the Bolts Ditch Headgate within the Holy Cross Wilderness, Colorado, S.764, to provide for the designation of certain wilderness areas, recreation management areas, and conservation areas in the State of Colorado, S.791, to establish the Justice Thurgood Marshall National Historic Site in the State of Maryland as an affiliated area of the National Park System, S.888, to designate certain land administered by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service in the State of Oregon as wilderness and national recreation areas, to withdraw certain land located in Curry County and Josephine County, Oregon, from all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws, location, entry, and patent under the mining laws, and operation under the mineral leasing and geothermal leasing laws, S.945, to amend the Smith River National Recreation Area Act to include certain additions to the Smith River National Recreation Area, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain wild rivers in the State of Oregon, S.1005, to provide for conservation and economic development in the State of Nevada, S.1088, to provide that the memorial to commemorate the sacrifice and service of the women who worked on the home front to support the efforts of the United States military during World War II may be located on the National Mall, S.1195, to promote conservation, improve public land management, and provide for sensible development in Pershing County, Nevada, S.1257, to amend the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to authorize the use of funds for certain additional Carey Act projects, S.1341, to amend the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 to add certain land to the Sarvis Creek Wilderness, S.1349, to withdraw the National Forest System land in the Ruby Mountains subdistrict of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and the National Wildlife Refuge System land in Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Elko and White Pine Counties, Nevada, from operation under the mineral leasing laws, S.1476, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain segments of the Gila River system in the State of New Mexico as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, to provide for the transfer of administrative jurisdiction over certain Federal land in the State of New Mexico, S.1737, to designate and expand wilderness areas in Olympic National Forest in the State of Washington, and to designate certain rivers in Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park as wild and scenic rivers, S.1777, to amend the California Desert Protection Act of 1994 to expand the boundary of Joshua Tree National Park, to redesignate the Cottonwood Visitor Center at Joshua Tree National Park as the "Dianne Feinstein Visitor Center", S.1870, to adjust the boundary of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area to include the Rim of the Valley Corridor, S.2498, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to extend certain leases within units of the National Park System without opening the lease to bidding, S.2767 and H.R.5254, bills to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to enter into an agreement with the Gateway Arch Park Foundation to host private events in Gateway Arch National Park buildings, S.2801, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to assess the suitability and feasibility of designating the Canterbury Shaker Village National Heritage Area, S.2887, to amend the National Trails System Act to designate the Route 66 National Historic Trail, S.2933, to redesignate a playground in the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in the State of West Virginia as the "Hearts of Gold Playground: In Honor of West Virginia Children and Families Impacted by Childhood Cancer", S.2968, to ensure access to certain public land, S.3194, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to assess the suitability and feasibility of designating certain land in California as the Monterey Bay National Heritage Area, S.3313 and H.R.6365, bills to require the Secretary of the Interior to issue a right-of-way for an emergency exit on certain National Park Service land in the State of Virginia, S.3409, to reaffirm that the Bureau of Reclamation retains exclusive ownership, operational control, and financial responsibility for the Lower Yellowstone Fish Bypass Channel, ensuring long-term conservation of the endangered pallid sturgeon and other native aquatic species in the Yellowstone River while protecting the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project and District from undue financial and operational burdens, S.3635 and H.R. 7250, bills to reauthorize the Fort Peck Reservation Rural Water System Act of 2000, S.3715 and H.R.6380, bills to establish the Chiricahua N

Energy and Natural Resources Committee (senate)Jul 29, 2026

Video

Markup of: • H.R. 741 (Rep. Stanton), “Stronger Engagement for Indian Health Needs Act of 2025” • H.R. 3924 (Rep. Neguse), “Wildfire Risk Evaluation Act” • H.R. 5694 (Rep. Begich), “Alaska’s Right To Ivory Sales and Tradition Act” or the “ARTIST Act” • H.R. 7250 (Rep. Downing), To reauthorize the Fort Peck Reservation Rural Water System Act of 2000. • H.R. 7487 (Rep. Boebert), “Rural Jobs and Hydropower Expansion Act” • H.R. 7831 (Rep. Kennedy of UT), “License to Drill Act”

Natural Resources Committee (house)May 14, 2026

Video

Hearings to examine S.1791, to designate certain special management areas, wildlife conservation areas, protection areas, recreation areas, wilderness areas, and a scientific research and education area in the State of Colorado, S.4200, to promote conservation, improve public land, and provide for sensible development in Douglas County, Nevada, S.4239, to require the Secretary of the Interior to annually submit to Congress, and make publicly available on a website, a report on decommissioning offshore oil and gas wells, platforms, and pipelines, S.4383, to appoint a Geothermal Ombudsman and establish a Geothermal Permitting Task Force from within the Bureau of Land Management, S.4410, to amend the Mineral Leasing Act to provide for the payment of bonus payments of certain coal leases issued under that Act, S.4458, to establish the Caja del Rio Special Management Area and Caja del Rio National Conservation Area in the State of New Mexico, S.4561, to modernize and streamline the permitting process for broadband infrastructure on Federal land, S.4605, to amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to provide cost-recovery authority for the Department of the Interior, S.4715, to amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to establish fitness to operate standards and decommissioning escrow accounts for offshore oil and gas operators, H.R.655, to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain Federal land to the City of The Dalles, Oregon, S.4960 and H.R.1687, to amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to increase the frequency of lease sales, to require replacement sales, H.R.4090, to codify certain provisions of certain Executive Orders relating to domestic mining and hardrock mineral resources, S.4975 and H.R.5587, to amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to waive the requirement for a Federal drilling permit for certain activities, to exempt certain activities from the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, H.R.5631, to appoint a Geothermal Ombudsman and establish a Geothermal Permitting Task Force from within the Bureau of Land Management, and H.R.7831, to amend the Mineral Leasing Act to extend the period of time during which the Secretary of the Interior is required to collect a fee for each new application for a permit to drill.

Public Lands, Forests, and Mining Subcommittee (senate)

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License to Drill Act

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License to Drill Act

LEGISLATIVE PROGRESS

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