When the U.S. House passed the National Defense Authorization Act recently, it included some energy related amendments offered by Oklahoma Rep. Jim Bridenstine.
HR 4909 included one amendment to expand U.S. Liquefied Natural Gas Exports. It codifies the 30-day limit for the Department of Energy to issue final decisions on the LNG export applications.
Another Bridenstine amendment would prevent the re-listing of the Lesser Prairie Chicken and also de-list the American Burying Beetle from the Endangered Species Act. Bridenstine argued the Endangered Species Act mandates on the prairie chicken and the beetle are costly, unnecessary and would impact daily operations and expansion of Oklahoma military installations.
Another amendment that was adopted will prohibit housing on U.S. military installations to be used to house unaccompanied alien children like those held at Fort Sill in the summer of 2014 when an estimated 1,200 were temporarily housed at the post.
