# H.R. 1949 (119th): Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act of 2025

Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act of 2025 This bill repeals certain restrictions on the import and export of natural gas under the Natural Gas Act, including requirements for Department of Energy (DOE) approval and related provisions that address free trade agreements. In addition, the bill grants the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) the exclusive authority to approve or deny applications to authorize the siting, construction, expansion, or operation of facilities (e.g., liquefied natural gas terminals) to export natural gas to foreign countries or import natural gas from foreign countries. (Currently, DOE authorizes the export or import of natural gas, and FERC authorizes related facilities.) In determining whether to approve or deny an application, FERC must deem the exportation or importation of natural gas to be consistent with the public interest.

## How this bill is scored

Tier: no Tier 1 record. A bill with no record cannot newly become Tier 1.
Lane: economic_development. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: energy_policy. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: lng_exports. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: natural_gas. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: regulatory_reform. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Tier 1 sign-off: no record. A bill with no record cannot newly become Tier 1.
Stored polarity: mixed. Only tags the rules mark scoreable on a mixed bill are scored. A yea can draw a penalty or a credit according to the tag. A nay on a tag scored as good can draw a penalty.
Roll 304: On Passage. Vote type: final_passage.
Polarity rationale: Reviewed enrichment (llm_import) polarity: The bill addresses ordinary energy trade and regulatory structure, which involves prudential goods such as supply, commerce, and infrastructure, alongside legitimate concerns about environmental risk, regulatory centralization, and the public-interest standard. It neither directly restrains a named evil nor directly advances one, so it fits the mixed category for generic regulatory and economic measures.
Theological note: The measure bears on stewardship of God-given natural resources, honest commerce, and the common good of energy access and prices. Its concerns are largely prudential: how to allocate regulatory authority over energy trade and infrastructure. No direct moral harm is named in the metadata, so the issue is relevant to economic justice and wise governance rather than to a clear evil being advanced or restrained.

## Recorded votes

Roll 304: On Passage. Yea 217 · Nay 188 · Other 28.

HTML: https://justmeasure.org/bill/hr-1949-119/