HR 7831: License to Drill Act

HR 7831 in plain English: This bill extends the Bureau of Land Management's authority to collect oil and gas drilling permit processing fees through fiscal year 2037, eleven years beyond the current expiration date of 2026. Fees collected are deposited into the BLM Permit Processing Improvement Fund.

Stated purpose

This bill extends the Bureau of Land Management's authority to collect fees from oil and gas drilling permit applications through 2037, instead of letting that authority expire in 2026. The collected fees go into a dedicated fund intended to support the processing of those permits.

Key points

• Extends BLM's oil and gas permit fee collection authority from FY2026 through FY2037.
• Fees from each new permit application go into the BLM Permit Processing Improvement Fund.

Arguments supporters make

• Keeping the fee program running ensures BLM has dedicated funding to process drilling permits more efficiently, which can reduce delays for applicants.
• Extending the program through 2037 provides long-term budget stability for permit processing without relying on general taxpayer appropriations.
• Faster, better-funded permitting can support domestic energy production by reducing bureaucratic backlogs.

Arguments opponents make

• Critics may argue that fees paid by industry should not be the primary funding mechanism for a government regulatory function that benefits the public broadly.
• Some may contend the extension simply locks in a fee structure without requiring BLM to demonstrate that the fund has actually improved permit processing times or outcomes.
• Environmental advocates might argue that streamlining and funding oil and gas permitting on federal lands accelerates fossil fuel development in ways that conflict with climate or conservation goals.

Tradeoffs

The bill keeps a cost on oil and gas companies in exchange for a dedicated funding stream meant to speed up permitting, but it extends this arrangement for over a decade without built-in reviews of whether the fund achieves its processing improvement goals.

Current status in Congress: Passed House.

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