Bills introduced in US House will end offshore drilling protections

June 05, 2025

A Federal Congressional bill targeting the reversal of offshore drilling protections, first introduced by U.S. Rep. Higgins (LA) on January 16, 2025, had its first hearing before the House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources on May 20. 2025.

The bill was proposed on behalf of the U.S. Department of the Interior, which is interested in opening areas along the California coast to new offshore drilling. The bill includes the U.S. coastline areas and the Gulf of Mexico, which currently have protection from oil drilling under a January 6, 2025, Presidential Memorandum signed by President Joe Biden.

Biden’s protection order included approximately 650 million acres of Outer Continental Shelf lands in the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Alaskan planning areas. The memoranda cited environmental and climate concerns. Biden’s authority came from the terms in the Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953.

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By:  Mary Benjamin
Source: Fort-Bragg Advocate News