The Industrial Energy Consumers of America (IECA) sent a letter opposing H.R. 1949, the “Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act of 2025.”
Paul N. Cicio, President of IECA, made the following statement:
The bill prioritizes LNG exports over U.S. consumers by removing long standing Natural Gas Act consumer protections. We urge Republicans to not vote for this bill which could directly impact manufacturing competitiveness and the 13 million jobs we employ. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has already approved volume equal to 48 Bcf/d for shipment to NFTA countries, which equals 51 percent of 2024 net supply. Only 15 Bcf/d is operating. Why then is it in the public interest for Republicans to remove consumer protections? This is not a national security issue. What is approved is far more than enough to supply our allies.
The stakes are high. For every one dollar increase in the Henry Hub natural gas price, consumers pay on average $34 billion more for natural gas and $20 billion more for electricity, or $54 billion annually.[1] One hundred percent of our member companies are from the manufacturing sector and are price sensitive.
States that Should Vote Against H.R. 1949
The most vulnerable are large natural gas consuming states that do not produce much natural gas. These states should not support H.R. 1949 which includes Georgia, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Indiana, Tennessee, South Carolina, Iowa, California, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Oregon, and Alabama.
[1] Natural Gas, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), https://www.eia.gov/naturalgas/
