# 119-hr-513: Offshore Lands Authorities Act of 2025

119-hr-513, Offshore Lands Authorities Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Higgins, Clay [R-LA-3] (R-LA); status in_committee (as of 2026-05-14).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-513
- As of: 2026-05-14
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-513
- Congress: 119
- Title: Offshore Lands Authorities Act of 2025
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2025-01-16
- Sponsor: Rep. Higgins, Clay [R-LA-3] (R-LA)
- Cosponsors: 25
- Policy area: Energy
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-05-14

## Summary

**Reopens unleased offshore areas to oil and gas leasing.** It would also sharply limit the President's power to withdraw unleased offshore lands by imposing acreage caps, time limits, strict assessment rules, and a fast congressional disapproval process. - Restores leasing access in eight specific presidential withdrawals, including the December 2016 Arctic memorandum and the January 2025 Gulf, Atlantic, Pacific, and Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience withdrawals. That returns those planning areas to potential lease consideration and requires agencies to report assessments before any new withdrawal. - Would cap any single withdrawal at 150,000 acres, limit withdrawals to 20 years, and bar a President from withdrawing more than 500,000 acres cumulatively without Congressional approval. Withdrawals would need recent geophysical and geological resource assessments and consultations with Commerce, Energy, Defense, and Agriculture. - Sets an expedited congressional disapproval process using a joint resolution with defined referral, discharge, and floor procedures and limits like no more than 10 hours of Senate debate. It also blocks withdrawals that conflict with areas already scheduled in a five-year oil and gas leasing program.

## Cosponsors (25)

- Rep. Hunt, Wesley [R-TX-38] (R-TX), 2025-01-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Weber, Randy K. Sr. [R-TX-14] (R-TX), 2025-01-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Burchett, Tim [R-TN-2] (R-TN), 2025-01-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Shreve, Jefferson [R-IN-6] (R-IN), 2025-01-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Meuser, Daniel [R-PA-9] (R-PA), 2025-01-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Arrington, Jodey C. [R-TX-19] (R-TX), 2025-01-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Miller, Carol D. [R-WV-1] (R-WV), 2025-01-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Crenshaw, Dan [R-TX-2] (R-TX), 2025-01-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Brecheen, Josh [R-OK-2] (R-OK), 2025-01-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Van Duyne, Beth [R-TX-24] (R-TX), 2025-01-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Perry, Scott [R-PA-10] (R-PA), 2025-01-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Tiffany, Thomas P. [R-WI-7] (R-WI), 2025-01-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Miller, Mary E. [R-IL-15] (R-IL), 2025-01-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ogles, Andrew [R-TN-5] (R-TN), 2025-01-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Burlison, Eric [R-MO-7] (R-MO), 2025-01-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Clyde, Andrew S. [R-GA-9] (R-GA), 2025-01-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Biggs, Andy [R-AZ-5] (R-AZ), 2025-01-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Harris, Andy [R-MD-1] (R-MD), 2025-01-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moore, Barry [R-AL-1] (R-AL), 2025-01-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Stauber, Pete [R-MN-8] (R-MN), 2025-01-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Balderson, Troy [R-OH-12] (R-OH), 2025-01-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Baird, James R. [R-IN-4] (R-IN), 2025-01-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Newhouse, Dan [R-WA-4] (R-WA), 2025-01-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Johnson, Dusty [R-SD-At Large] (R-SD), 2025-02-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Hageman, Harriet M. [R-WY-At Large] (R-WY), 2025-05-19T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Cancel past offshore withdrawal orders: benefit, high. If enacted, this bill would cancel eight specific Presidential withdrawals of unleased offshore areas. Those areas would no longer be withdrawn from leasing unless another law applies. Affected regions would include parts of the Arctic (Chukchi and Beaufort), the North Aleutian Basin, Atlantic cany…
- New caps on offshore withdrawals: benefit, medium. The bill would cap a single Presidential withdrawal at 150,000 acres and at 20 years. A President could not withdraw more than 500,000 acres in total without Congress agreeing. It would also bar withdrawals that conflict with areas already scheduled for lease sales under the approved leasing progra…
- Studies and fast-track review for offshore withdrawals: mixed, high. Before a withdrawal, the Secretary would need a resource study done in the last 5 years. The Secretary would assess economic, energy, and national security value with Commerce, Energy, Defense, and Agriculture, and estimate lost future revenues to the Treasury, States (including GOMESA section 105…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-38: Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2025
- 119-hr-703: Main Street Tax Certainty Act
- 119-hr-425: Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act
- 119-hr-987: Fair Access to Banking Act
- 119-hr-21: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act
- 119-hr-1301: Death Tax Repeal Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-513 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/513)

## Related
- [119-hr-38: Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-38)
- [119-hr-703: Main Street Tax Certainty Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-703)
- [119-hr-425: Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-425)
- [119-hr-987: Fair Access to Banking Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-987)
- [119-hr-21: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-21)
- [119-hr-1301: Death Tax Repeal Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1301)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-513 (as of 2026-05-14).