# 119-hr-398: Geothermal Cost-Recovery Authority Act of 2025

119-hr-398, Geothermal Cost-Recovery Authority Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria [D-NY-14] (D-NY); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-398
- As of: 2026-09-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-398
- Congress: 119
- Title: Geothermal Cost-Recovery Authority Act of 2025
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2025-01-14
- Sponsor: Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria [D-NY-14] (D-NY)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Energy
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-21

## Summary

This bill would create a temporary **cost-recovery authority for geothermal leases**. It would let the Secretary of the Interior require applicants and lease holders to reimburse reasonable administrative and oversight costs tied to processing leases and monitoring development through September 30, 2032. - Geothermal developers and applicants: Could be charged for processing applications and related approvals and for inspections, drilling oversight, plugging and reclamation. The Secretary may reduce charges for economic hardship or to promote greater use of geothermal resources. - Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM): Reimbursements would be credited as discretionary offsetting collections to the applicable DOI accounts. Those collections would be available only for processing and inspecting geothermal leases as Congress provides in appropriations acts. - Congress and industry stakeholders: The Secretary must submit a report no later than five years after enactment assessing how the change affected the BLM geothermal program and offering reauthorization recommendations after consulting industry and others.

## Provisions PRIA read

- New fees for geothermal lease applicants: mixed, medium. This bill would let the Interior Secretary require applicants for, or holders of, geothermal leases to reimburse the U.S. for reasonable costs to process lease applications and related permits. It would also let the Secretary require reimbursement for inspections and monitoring, including explorati…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-2038: American Housing and Economic Mobility Act of 2025
- 119-hr-4714: End Polluter Welfare Act of 2025
- 119-hr-3971: Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act
- 119-hr-5356: National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-398 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/398)

## Related
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-2038: American Housing and Economic Mobility Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2038)
- [119-hr-4714: End Polluter Welfare Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4714)
- [119-hr-3971: Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3971)
- [119-hr-5356: National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5356)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-398 (as of 2026-09-21).