Ranking Members Huffman, Ansari Oppose Republican Bill to Let Corporations Drill Under Americans' Private Property

Ranking Members Huffman, Ansari Oppose Republican Bill to Let Corporations Drill Under Americans' Private Property

Washington, D.C. - Today, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee Ranking Member Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) took to the House Floor to oppose H.R. 5587, the "HEATS Act," Republican legislation that lets corporations tunnel into federal minerals beneath Americans' property without a federal permit, without public input, without Tribal consultation, and without any of the safeguards that keep families safe from earthquakes, sinkholes, and contaminated drinking water.

Watch Ranking Member Ansari speak on the House Floor.(April 23, 2026)

"My constituents and Americans across the country are struggling under the rising cost of gas, groceries and electricity from President Trump's tariffs and endless wars. We should be spending our time finding ways to lower costs for families. Instead, we are moving on legislation that is just another chapter in the Republican playbook to gut common sense safeguards for energy development," Ranking Member Ansari said on the House Floor.

Ansari continued: "In areas where the federal government owns the underground mineral rights, but a rancher owns the surface rights to graze their cattle, or a farmer to grow their crops, underground development could take place without that landowner even knowing and without sufficient protections in place. Landowners and communities have the right to provide input into how public lands are developed, whether that development is on the surface of the land or below it."

Watch Ranking Member Huffman speak on the House Floor. (April 23, 2026)

Ranking Member Huffman called out GOP hypocrisy on energy policy: "In the spirit of geothermal energy, we're sure hearing a lot of hot air from the other side with this fantastical narrative that Republicans, I guess, are now lowering costs and saving health care. But for the past year, they have cheerleaded Donald Trump's insane war on clean energy that is trying to destroy an entire sector, to surrender American leadership to China and others, and drive up utility bills for the American people."

Huffman warned the bill sets a dangerous precedent for Big Oil: "This bill is clearly not just about geothermal energy. This is the proverbial camel's nose under the tent. The oil and gas industry has been trying to get this same policy, this same broad waiver for subsurface federal lands for years. This is a precedent we should not set. And mark my words, if this legislation advances before this sputtering congress comes to an end later this year, you will see another bill where the oil and gas industry is seeking the same treatment."

Background

H.R. 5587 waives the requirement for a federal drilling permit, along with review under the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act, for geothermal exploration and production activities where the federal government owns less than 50 percent of the subsurface geothermal estate, so long as the operator has a state drilling permit. Geothermal wells extend horizontally for kilometers underground, meaning a project on one landowner's property could tunnel into federal minerals beneath neighbors who never consented to development.

While geothermal energy is generally safer than oil and gas, drilling still risks triggering earthquakes, causing land subsidence and sinkholes, and contaminating groundwater and drinking water supplies. By waiving federal review, H.R. 5587 eliminates Tribal consultation requirements, cuts off public input and public notice, and shifts cleanup liability from developers to landowners and taxpayers when state processes fall short.

The bill also opens the door for Big Oil to demand the same treatment. The oil and gas industry has pushed for years to exempt subsurface federal lands from environmental review, and H.R. 5587 threatens roughly four million acres of public lands with the same loophole.

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