The TAPP American Resources Act is designed to speed up and expand oil, gas, and mineral development on federal lands and waters. The bill requires the Department of the Interior to hold regular lease sales so companies can bid on rights to extract these resources from public property. Specifically, it mandates quarterly sales on federal land and requires at least four lease sales per state that has available land, plus regular offshore leasing programs every five years.

The bill makes it easier and cheaper for energy companies to develop these resources in several ways. It streamlines environmental reviews that normally happen before major projects get approved, meaning projects can move forward faster with less detailed scrutiny. It also lowers the royalty rates—essentially the fees that companies pay the government when they extract oil and gas from federal property. This means the government collects less money per barrel of oil or unit of gas extracted.

On the revenue side, the bill does increase the share of money that goes to coastal states from energy development in their waters. So while companies pay less in royalties overall, states with ocean resources get a bigger cut of what is collected. The core effect is that this bill makes federal energy development more attractive to companies by reducing costs and speeding up approvals, while also increasing the pace and volume of leasing on public lands and waters.

TAPP American Resources Act

Westerman, Bruce

Transparency, Accountability, Permitting, and Production of American Resources Act or the TAPP American Resources Act This bill provides for the exploration and development of energy resources (e.g., oil, gas, and minerals), including by (1) requiring additional federal oil and gas leasing, (2) expediting energy projects, (3) eliminating or reducing certain fees related to the development of federal energy resources, and (4) requiring certain revenue from energy development to be shared with states. The Department of the Interior must conduct sales for the leasing of oil and gas resources on federal lands and waters as specified by the bill. For example, Interior must <ul> <li>immediately resume quarterly sales of leases of onshore federal land for oil and gas development,</li> <li> conduct a minimum of four oil and gas lease sales in each state with land available for oil and gas leasing under mineral leasing law,</li> <li>issue a five-year oil and gas leasing program under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act for 2023-2028, and</li> <li>approve each subsequent five-year oil and gas offshore leasing program no later than 180 days before the expiration of the previous program.</li> </ul> Additionally, the bill expedites the development of energy resources, including by (1) limiting the scope of review of major federal actions under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969; and (2) expediting the environmental review of mineral exploration and production activities, such as coal mining. The bill also reduces royalties for oil and gas development on federal land. Finally, the bill increases the amount of revenue from energy development that is shared with coastal states.