INTERVIEW: Rep. Stephanie Bice explains why the Big, Beautiful Bill is "vital" to Oklahomans and for lowering energy costs across America
THE LOWDOWN:
House Republicans are poised to pass President Trump’s reconciliation package — his Big, Beautiful Bill — and Rep. Stephanie Bice (R., Okla.) is making the case that the reconciliation package includes wins for Americans in both her home state of Oklahoma and from across the country.
Bice herself has been involved in crafting major aspects of the bill that are critical to mineral owners across America. One of its provisions is a bicameral one she worked on with Sen. John Hoeven (R., N.D.) that she said “provides regulatory relief and allows the BLM to better utilize its resources and give power back to mineral owners.”
The legislative behemoth comes at a critical juncture for Republicans, who have what President Donald Trump has categorized as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to secure critical changes across American society.
Bice said that reform “in the energy space has been needed for quite a long time” and that she describes the way former President Joe Biden treated the energy industry as “death by a thousand cuts.”
As Republicans gather momentum behind the Big, Beautiful Bill and urge its passage, a series of House Republicans have made the case in the pages of the Washington Reporter for its importance in matters ranging from homeland security to countering illegal immigration.
However, Rep. Stephanie Bice (R., Okla.) is making the case that the reconciliation package includes wins for Americans in both her home state of Oklahoma and from across the country, ranging from streamlining of permitting to the restoration of onshore lease sales in several oil and gas heavy states, including her own Oklahoma.
“Oklahoma has a working oil rig on the grounds of the state capitol, that is what energy means to our state and our community,” Bice told the Reporter in an interview.
“This legislation is vital in restoring American energy dominance and lowering inflation,” she continued. “After years of attack from the Biden administration, this legislation rightly put America and American producers and manufacturers first.”
Bice herself has been involved in crafting major aspects of the bill that are critical to mineral owners across America. One of its provisions is a bicameral one she worked on with Sen. John Hoeven (R., N.D.) that she said “provides regulatory relief and allows the BLM to better utilize its resources and give power back to mineral owners.”
“This commonsense approach will better respect private property rights and strengthen domestic energy production,” Bice added.
The legislative behemoth comes at a critical juncture for Republicans, who have what President Donald Trump has categorized as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to secure critical changes across American society. Bice said that reform “in the energy space has been needed for quite a long time” and that she describes the way former President Joe Biden treated the energy industry as “death by a thousand cuts.”
“The Biden administration passed a slew of executive orders making oil and gas lease sales very difficult — in some places, they banned it altogether,” Bice said. “At the same time, the government began to weigh non-economic uses of public lands such as conservation more favorably than energy lease sales.”
“This practice was pretty harmful to communities that rely on public lands bringing in some revenue to support their economy and municipal tax base,” she continued.
Bice said that from “regulations to new taxes,” Biden “was seeking to decimate domestic production.”
“It can take as long as half a decade for a project to get approved from the federal end, which is unacceptable off the bat. Then, once projects are approved, they face a virtually unlimited number of court challenges for a period of up to six years. Oftentimes, companies will face challenge after challenge until their project is no longer economically viable and simply give up.”
Under President Trump, energy producers have seen a complete about-face, and Bice said that congressional Republicans are eager to help. She told the Reporter that the “reconciliation package has a lot of excellent provisions in it to help the industry address these challenges and unleash American energy dominance.”
“From streamlining the permitting process to insulating the industry from politically charged attacks, this bill will help us address the national energy crisis that President Trump declared on his first day in office,” Bice noted of the bill.
President Trump, for his part, urged House Republicans to set aside their differences and pass this bill quickly at their meeting earlier today. Bice’s explanations of lesser-known conservative wins could help usher her colleagues along.
“This bill requires quarterly onshore lease sales in states with oil deposits, including, I’m happy to say, Oklahoma,” Bice said. “Noncompetitive leasing is a separate practice that we are bringing back. Sometimes, it is unclear if public lands have energy resources worth developing, and these lands often fail to receive the minimum bid at a competitive auction. Noncompetitive leasing allows these lands to be purchased for significantly less, incentivizing energy producers to develop resources on these lands.”
While Bice’s district itself is particularly dominated by energy producers, she explained that the Republicans’ bill will lower energy costs for Americans in both her state and around the country because “of the way that energy is interceded throughout our lives and sectors of the economy, lowering energy prices is a really pivotal fight in helping lower costs for the American people.”
The bill also includes major wins for American energy producers, which have been priorities for years for many in the industry. Bice explained that there “are two major components to permitting reform in this bill: shortening the judicial review window, and expediting government permitting practices.”
“We are shortening the judicial review window for projects to 180 days so that these projects are not stuck permanently in judicial purgatory and narrowing the focus of challenges to predominately focus on economic concerns. In terms of streamlining permitting approval, we are offering new fees which companies can buy to expedite their permits — especially with regard to the environmental impact statements required by NEPA, which can take as long as six years under the status quo.”
The Republicans’ Big, Beautiful Bill also “fully eliminat[es]” the methane tax that companies dealt with under the Biden administration.
“U.S. energy companies were already leading the world in methane emission reductions thanks to innovation and technology,” Bice said. “Biden’s methane tax was an attack on domestic production and a boon to foreign energy producers. In the Big Beautiful Bill, we are fully eliminating this tax.”
Another reform that Republicans are pushing in the Big, Beautiful Bill is the repeal of what Bice called “ridiculously generous tax incentives” to so-called green energy projects.
“Under the IRA,” she explained, “green energy producers were receiving ridiculously generous tax incentives — often as much as 30 percent of a project’s cost, which they could then sell off to other companies. This artificially inflated the viability of these energy types, displacing oil and gas from the market while having virtually no impact on energy prices. By removing these subsidies, we are helping bring back a competitive marketplace for energy — and as part of that push, we are lowering the royalty rate for onshore and offshore oil and gas production to 12.5 percent.”
Bice also noted that Trump’s agenda undoes much of the damage the Biden administration did by draining America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) for political purposes.
“The main purpose of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is for national security emergencies and major weather events. The Biden administration used the SPR to artificially lower gas prices, which had skyrocketed due to his anti-American energy agenda, leading into the 2022 midterms. To make matters worse, he even sent American crude from the SPR to companies like Sinopec in China. President Trump has long been focused on maintaining and supporting the SPR. In 2020, before being blocked by Democrats, he attempted to totally fill the SPR when oil prices were low. This legislation will help restore the SPR to its intended purposes.”
Bice’s interview with the Reporter came shortly after she returned from a bipartisan trip to Vatican City where she attended the Inaugural Mass of Pope Leo XIV.
Bice, who converted to Catholicism in her early 20s, said the experience was “an honor to now be able to stand in Vatican City and see such an incredible service.”
“When the conclave chooses a Pope though it is not for their background but for who will serve the church and the Lord,” she said. “Nonetheless it is a huge plus for Americans and younger generations to see a Pope that is relatable to them in those normal experiences like baseball. I think it will bring a new wave of Americans to the church because of this.”
Below is a transcript of our interview with Rep. Stephanie Bice (R., Okla.), lightly edited for clarity.
Washington Reporter:
Congresswoman Bice, thanks so much for chatting today; so much of the focus on reconciliation is about SALT deductions and Medicaid. Can you walk us through the conservative energy reforms that are in this bill?
Rep. Stephanie Bice:
Reform in the energy space has been needed for quite a long time. I describe the way Biden treated the energy industry as death by a thousand cuts. From regulations to new taxes, he was seeking to decimate domestic production. It can take as long as half a decade for a project to get approved from the Federal end, which is unacceptable off the bat. Then, once projects are approved, they face a virtually unlimited number of court challenges, for a period of up to six years. Oftentimes, companies will face challenge after challenge until their project is no longer economically viable and simply give up. This reconciliation package has a lot of excellent provisions in it to help the industry address these challenges and unleash American energy dominance. From streamlining the permitting process, to insulating the industry from politically charged attacks, this bill will help us address the national energy crisis that President Trump declared on his first day in office. And, as I’m sure you know, because of the way that energy is interceded throughout our lives it and sectors of the economy, lowering energy prices is a really pivotal fight in helping lower costs for the American people.
Washington Reporter:
Reforms to oil and gas leases are some of the biggest energy-related changes in this bill; what are the changes there when it comes to quarterly onshore lease sales and noncompetitive leasing?
Rep. Stephanie Bice:
Well, the biggest change is that we are bringing them back. The Biden administration passed a slew of executive orders making oil and gas lease sales very difficult — in some places, they banned it all together. At the same time, the government began to weigh non-economic uses of public lands such as conservation more favorably than energy lease sales. This practice was pretty harmful to communities that rely on public lands bringing in some revenue to support their economy and municipal tax base. This bill requires quarterly onshore lease sales in states with oil deposits, including, I’m happy to say, Oklahoma. Noncompetitive leasing is a separate practice that we are bringing back. Sometimes, it is unclear if public lands have energy resources worth developing, and these lands often fail to receive the minimum bid at a competitive auction. Noncompetitive leasing allows these lands to be purchased for significantly less, incentivizing energy producers to develop resources on these lands.
Washington Reporter:
The Big, Beautiful Bill also rolls back a lot of provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act in the energy space; where does that fit in with offshore and onshore production royalty rates?
Rep. Stephanie Bice:
The biggest policy change with respect to the IRA is the removal of its green energy tax subsidies. Under the IRA, green energy producers were receiving ridiculously generous tax incentives — often as much as 30 percent of a project’s cost, which they could then sell off to other companies. This artificially inflated the viability of these energy types, displacing oil and gas from the market while having virtually no impact on energy prices. By removing these subsidies, we are helping bring back a competitive marketplace for energy — and as part of that push, we are lowering the royalty rate for onshore and offshore oil and gas production to 12.5 percent.
Washington Reporter:
President Trump made it a Day One priority to unleash Alaska’s “extraordinary resource potential.” What will happen with Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) after this bill gets passed?
Rep. Stephanie Bice:
ANWR is incredibly rich in natural resources. Furthermore, many Alaska Natives support energy production in ANWR and recognize the jobs and economic benefits it will bring to their communities. It has strong support from the Village of Kaktovik — the only town within the coastal plain of ANWR. By opening up a slim portion of the north slope of ANWR we could have access to billions of barrels of oil. This is the epitome of America first.
Washington Reporter:
How does this bill get permitting reform across the finish line?
Rep. Stephanie Bice:
There are two major components to permitting reform in this bill: shortening the judicial review window, and expediting government permitting practices. As I mentioned earlier, we have a situation right now where projects are being delayed for years on end by an endless stream of lawsuits from environmental groups. The overwhelming majority of these challenges fail in court, but they serve their true purpose, which is to indefinitely delay projects to make them economically unviable. We are shortening the judicial review window for projects to 180 days so that these projects are not stuck permanently in judicial purgatory and narrowing the focus of challenges to predominately focus on economic concerns. In terms of streamlining permitting approval, we are offering new fees which companies can buy to expedite their permits — especially with regard to the environmental impact statements required by NEPA, which can take as long as six years under the status quo. And let me provide a more concrete example. The Mariner East Pipelines were developed to transport natural gas from shale regions in Pennsylvania. This took ten years to complete. It only took eight years and a month to start the space program and get somebody on the moon.
Washington Reporter:
Looking specifically to Oklahoma for a second, how does this bill help your constituents, both from an energy production standpoint, but also from a lowering energy costs perspective?
Rep. Stephanie Bice:
Energy is the key to lowering inflation and the costs of goods and services. This legislation helps unleash American energy production in states like Oklahoma. And look, Oklahoma has a working oil rig on the grounds of the state capitol, that is what energy means to our state and our community. In 2021, the energy sector provided over 350,000 jobs and contributed over 57 billion in Oklahoma’s total gross domestic product. This bill is vital to our state.
Washington Reporter:
While this bill doesn’t fully refill America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) that was drained by Biden for political purposes, it does help refill it a lot; why is this important?
Rep. Stephanie Bice:
The main purpose of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is for national security emergencies and major weather events. The Biden administration used the SPR to artificially lower gas prices, which had skyrocketed due to his anti-American energy agenda, leading into the 2022 midterms. To make matters worse, he even sent American crude from the SPR to companies like Sinopec in China. President Trump has long been focused on maintaining and supporting the SPR. In 2020, before being blocked by Democrats, he attempted to totally fill the SPR when oil prices were low. This legislation will help restore the SPR to its intended purposes.
Washington Reporter:
Another big priority for American energy producers has been the elimination of the methane tax. What’s the latest on that?
Rep. Stephanie Bice:
U.S. energy companies were already leading the world in methane emission reductions thanks to innovation and technology. Biden’s methane tax was an attack on domestic production and a boon to foreign energy producers. In the Big Beautiful Bill, we are fully eliminating this tax.
Washington Reporter:
When it comes to the Bureau of Land Management, under current law, if any of a spacing unit’s subsurface material is owned by the federal government, there are a slew of additional permitting requirements that must be met; this bill changes that — how?
Rep. Stephanie Bice:
This is actually a bill that I introduced alongside Senator Hoeven. It provides regulatory relief and allows the BLM to better utilize its resources and give power back to mineral owners. This commonsense approach will better respect private property rights and strengthen domestic energy production.
Washington Reporter:
My understanding is that this bill also drastically reforms judicial reform in the energy space. What does the new regimen look like?
Rep. Stephanie Bice:
Radical judicial activists have used litigation to attempt to halt energy products throughout the country. Currently, energy projects can face lawsuits for six years, an absurd window that opens up endless litigation from every environmental group interested in suing and settling for a profit. The vast majority of these challenges — 87 percent — lose in court, because they are not legitimate. Their sole intention is to slow projects down as much as possible and make them economically unviable. Reducing the judicial review window to 180 days is a smart move that will allow reasonable review of projects without sending them permanently to judicial purgatory.
Washington Reporter:
Finally, you were just in the Vatican for the Pope’s inaugural Mass. How was that? What’s the significance to you of the Pope being from America for the first time ever?
Rep. Stephanie Bice:
This was an amazing and incredible experience to see the Inaugural Mass of Pope Leo the XIV. I converted to Catholicism in my early 20s so it truly was an honor to now be able to stand in Vatican City and see such an incredible service. When the conclave chooses a Pope though it is not for their background but for who will serve the church and the Lord. Nonetheless it is a huge plus for Americans and younger generations to see a Pope that is relatable to them in those normal experiences like baseball. I think it will bring a new wave of Americans to the church because of this.
