H.R. 1497House118th Congress (2023-2025)In Committee

American Gas for Allies Act

AI-Generated Summary

Updated January 20, 2026 at 4:42 AM UTC

The American Gas for Allies Act creates a three‑year window during which the U.S. must treat applications to export natural gas to NATO member countries as being in the public interest and approve them without changes or delay. It also lets the Secretary of State, in consultation with Defense and Energy, add other countries if the export supports U.S. national security. The rule applies to pending applications and any filed during the three‑year period.

Key Provisions

For three years, any application to export natural gas to a NATO ally is automatically considered in the public interest and must be approved without modification or delay.
The Secretary of State, together with the Secretaries of Defense and Energy, may designate additional foreign countries whose natural‑gas exports are deemed to promote U.S. national‑security interests, triggering the same fast‑track treatment.
The expedited treatment applies to applications pending on enactment and to any new applications filed within the three‑year period after the law takes effect.

Legislative Activity

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2 earlier actions

HouseCommittee Latest Action

Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy, Climate and Grid Security.

Energy Subcommittee

March 17, 2023

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HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

March 9, 2023

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Energy and Commerce Committee

March 9, 2023

HouseCommittee

Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy, Climate and Grid Security.

Energy Subcommittee

March 17, 2023

Floor Debate

1 member

What members said about H.R. 1497 on the floor

1 Democrat

Rep. John GaramendiD-CA-8 · Feb 24, 2023

Mr. Speaker, today I reintroduce an amendment to the Clean Water Act extending permit terms for publicly owned water infrastructure projects under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). I thank my colleague Congressman Ken Calvert (R-CA) for his support as the original cosponsor again this Congress.

This bipartisan bill would simply extend the NPDES permit term for projects owned and operated by local public agencies like water districts from the current 5 years up to 10 years. NPDES permit terms for private projects or industrial discharges would remain at the current 5-year term.

The United States has fallen behind many other developed nations in wastewater infrastructure, receiving a D-plus grade in the American Society of Civil Engineers' most recent report card. One reason for this lapse in infrastructure modernization is arbitrary permitting timetables imposed by federal law. Permit terms should match the construction timelines and on-the-ground reality for the projects to which those permits apply. This is currently not the case. With over 95 percent of wastewater infrastructure spending at the local level, according to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, lengthening permit terms for local governments would be one of the most expeditious ways to encouraging further investment in 21st-century wastewater treatment and water recycling facilities.

Current NPDES permitting under the Clean Water Act has a maximum term of 5 years, an arbitrary timeline that is impracticable given prolonged construction schedules for local public agencies. As a result, California's State Water Resources Control Board and Clean Water Act regulators in other states are overwhelmed with a backlog of NPDES permitting requests for existing projects. New public projects are significantly delayed by this unnecessary bureaucracy, which also prevents regulators like California's State Water Resources Control Board from focusing on watershed-scale planning and water quality standards.

My bill would alleviate this burden by extending the maximum permit to 10 years, helping local water agencies nationwide better implement the Clean Water Act and cutting the current permitting backlog in half. Extending NPDES permit terms is a practical solution that allows local agencies to meet regulatory standards while building public water projects that measurably improve water quality, which after all is the purpose of the Clean Water Act.

In October 2019, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure passed my bill to allow States to issue NPDES permits with terms up to 10 years as part of then-Chairman DeFazio's bipartisan ``Water Quality Protection and Job Creation Act of 2019'' (H.R. 1497). Mr. Speaker, I encourage all Members to cosponsor this bipartisan bill.

Bill Text

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Introduced in HouseIssued March 9, 2023

118th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 1497

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 9, 2023

Mrs. Fletcher introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

A BILL

To provide that, for a 3-year period, applications for the exportation of natural gas to member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization be granted without modification or delay, and for other purposes.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the American Gas for Allies Act.

Temporary treatment of certain applications for the exportation of natural gas

(a)

In general

During the period described in subsection (c) of this section, for purposes of section 3(a) of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b(a)), the exportation of natural gas to a foreign country described in subsection (b) of this section shall be deemed to be consistent with the public interest, and applications for such exportation shall be granted without modification or delay.

(b)

Foreign countries

A foreign country described in this subsection is—

(1)

a member country of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; or

(2)

any other foreign country, if the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy, determines that exportation of natural gas to that foreign country would promote the national security interests of the United States.

(c)

Applicability

This section shall apply with respect to applications for the authorization to export natural gas under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b) to a foreign country described in subsection (b) of this section that are pending on the date of enactment of this Act, or filed during the period that begins on such date of enactment and ends on the date that is 3 years after such date of enactment.