# 119-s-4735: Protecting Americans from High Electricity Prices Act of 2026

119-s-4735, Protecting Americans from High Electricity Prices Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-10).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4735
- As of: 2026-09-10
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-4735
- Congress: 119
- Title: Protecting Americans from High Electricity Prices Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-06-10
- Sponsor: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Energy
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-10

## Summary

**This bill would replace the Natural Gas Act's default standard with a new Public Interest Criteria that would guide approvals for natural gas imports and exports.** - Families and industries: Regulators would have to consider whether a proposed export would increase U.S. natural gas prices. That change puts household energy costs and energy-intensive businesses into the approval test. - Climate and environment: Regulators would be required to weigh Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions when deciding import or export permits. Lifecycle emissions would be an explicit part of the public interest determination. - National security and regulators: The bill would create an Authorization Order framework that conditions approvals on the new criteria and defines a "country of concern" to include Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran, with a process to add others after interagency consultation. It also expands Commission discretion and formalizes consultation among Energy, Defense, State, and the Director of National Intelligence.

## Provisions PRIA read

- Protect households from higher gas prices: benefit, high. This bill would require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to use a new public-interest authorization process for natural gas imports and exports. FERC would only issue an authorization order after an application, an opportunity for hearing, and a finding that the project meets new public int…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5238: For Our Republic Act
- 119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026
- 119-s-5022: Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act
- 119-s-2838: Protecting Our Democracy Act
- 119-s-2819: Head Start for America's Children Act
- 119-s-5283: Momnibus Act

## Sources
- [119-s-4735 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4735)

## Related
- [119-s-5238: For Our Republic Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5238)
- [119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5071)
- [119-s-5022: Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5022)
- [119-s-2838: Protecting Our Democracy Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2838)
- [119-s-2819: Head Start for America's Children Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2819)
- [119-s-5283: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5283)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4735 (as of 2026-09-10).