Through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, Democrats in Congress amended the Clean Air Act to create a ‘Methane Emissions Reduction Program.’ The program directed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to collect a Waste Emissions Charge (WEC) on waste emissions of methane from some oil and gas facilities.

Under this direction, the Biden Administration EPA issued a rulemaking in November 2024, called “Waste Emissions Charge for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems,” that imposes a significant fee (WEC) on methane emissions from oil and natural gas facilities that emit methane exceeding a certain threshold.

The fee is a pass-through cost to consumers, raising prices for hardworking Americans and burdening taxpayers while doing little to actually help the environment. Families are already paying too much at the gas pump, the grocery store, in their utility bills, and everywhere else – we can’t raise energy costs even more with overreaching and burdensome Washington regulations. 

Additionally, the WEC will result in the reduction of domestic energy production and increase America's reliance on foreign energy sources – the exact opposite of what we need to be doing to counter the Biden Administration’s lingering energy crisis. Depending on foreign nations for energy threatens our national security and the safety of Americans. We need to be unleashing domestic energy production, not suffocating it.

House Republicans are bringing legislation to get rid of the WEC, reduce energy costs, and support President Trump’s pro-American energy agenda.
Rep. August Pfluger’s legislation, H.J. Res. 35, disapproves the Biden Environmental Protection Agency’s “Waste Emissions Charge for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems,” rule that imposes a significant fee (WEC) on methane emissions from oil and natural gas facilities that exceed specific levels, preventing the rule from raising costs for consumers, reducing domestic energy production, and increasing reliance on foreign energy sources.

House Republicans are taking a stand against burdensome regulations that hurt America’s people and position on the world stage – it’s time to deregulate and allow our nation to reach its full potential.