Cheney Proposes Bill to Address Oil and Gas Lease Moratorium

According to a press release by Wyoming representative Liz Cheney, she has introduced a bill that intends to give money to Wyoming to make up for a since-halted oil and gas lease moratorium instituted by President Joe Biden.

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The bill, called the PILLR, or Payment in Lieu of Lost Revenue, act would provide money to states like Wyoming that have been impacted by Biden's pause on new oil and gas leases based on 10 year averages.

Cheney said:

"The executive orders signed by President Biden on his first day in office targeting the energy industry were misguided. Not only did these unfair mandates negatively impact the work of energy producers in Wyoming, but they cost our state a key source of revenue that we depend on to educate our kids, support our first responders, and provide for other critical needs. While the best course of action would be to allow new energy leases and permits to move forward unimpeded, the bill I've introduced will ensure that citizens in Wyoming and other states that rely on money generated by the energy industry are compensated the full amount of the revenue lost so they can continue to meet the needs of their citizens, despite the Biden Administration's thoughtless and political agenda."

In June, the oil and gas lease moratorium that Biden put in place was halted by a federal judge in Louisiana and has been in limbo since, though the Biden administration has recently recommended some changes to the oil and gas leasing system, which does not include a halt on public lands.

While the press release put out by Cheney cites a study from the American Petroleum Institute (API) in 2020 that claims Wyoming could lose $641 million due to a ban, companies are still able to use the large amount of unused leases that they have access to.

It is unclear how likely it is for the legislation proposed by Cheney is to pass, as both the House of Representatives and Senate are controlled by Democrats, and few of the bills that Cheney has sponsored or co-sponsored have become law.