July 21, 2026
Mr. Lee introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
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, and for other purposes.
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 License to Drill Act
.
Sec. 2. BLM oil and gas permit processing fee
Section 35(d) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 191(d)) is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (1), by striking 2026
and inserting 2037
;
(2)
in paragraph (3)—
(A)
by striking Of the fees collected under this subsection for a fiscal year, the
and inserting The
; and
(B)
by striking transfer—
and all that follows through the Fund
and inserting transfer, for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2037, all of the fees collected under this subsection for each such fiscal year to the BLM Permit Processing Improvement Fund
; and
(3)
in paragraph (4), by striking 2026
and inserting 2037
.