H.R. 1687 (119th)Bill Overview

CLEAN Act

Energy|Alternative and renewable resourcesElectric power generation and transmission
Cosponsors
Support
Lean Republican
Introduced
Feb 27, 2025
Discussions
Bill Text
Current stageCommittee

Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Introduced
Committee
Floor
President
Law
Congressional Activities
01 · The brief
Plain-English summaryWhat this bill actually does

Amends the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to increase leasing frequency and require replacement lease sales if delayed. Requires the Interior Secretary to offer all nominated, eligible parcels in specified states during sales.

Why people may split

Progressives emphasize environmental and tribal consultation risks

Watch point

Narrow, pro-development bill likely attractive to supporters of faster energy permitting; opposition from environmental stakeholders could slow momentum.

Amends the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to increase leasing frequency and require replacement lease sales if delayed.

Requires the Interior Secretary to offer all nominated, eligible parcels in specified states during sales.

Imposes deadlines for geothermal drilling permit processing: a 30‑day completeness notice and a 30‑day final decision after completeness.

Passage30/100

Narrow and administratively prescriptive but politically sensitive on environmental and permitting grounds; likely to face debate, amendments, or legal challenges.

CredibilityPartial

How solid the drafting looks.

Contention52/100

Progressives emphasize environmental and tribal consultation risks

02 · What it does

Who stands to gain, and who may push back.

Likely benefits vs burdens50% / 50%
Developers · Federal agenciesLikely burdened

These are examples from the analysis, not a ranked list of the most-affected groups.

Likely helped
  • Potential benefitMore frequent lease sales could accelerate geothermal development and related construction and operations jobs.
  • DevelopersClear 30-day completeness and 30-day decision deadlines reduce permitting uncertainty for developers.
  • Federal agenciesOffering all nominated eligible parcels may increase private investment opportunities and potential federal lease reven…
Likely burdened
  • Potential burdenShorter review and decision timelines could constrain environmental and cultural reviews, increasing litigation risk.
  • Potential burdenMandating offer of all nominated parcels may force leasing of environmentally or culturally sensitive lands.
  • Potential burdenAnnual and replacement sale requirements increase administrative workload for DOI, potentially requiring more staffing…
03 · Why people split

Why the argument around this bill splits.

Progressives emphasize environmental and tribal consultation risks
Progressive60%

Generally supportive of accelerating renewable geothermal deployment, but wary that strict deadlines and mandatory parcel offerings could weaken environmental review and tribal consultation.

Sees potential climate and jobs benefits but wants safeguards to protect sensitive lands and communities.

Concerned about rushed NEPA, habitat impacts, and meaningful public input.

Split reaction
Centrist70%

Likely to view the bill as a practical effort to streamline permitting and spur domestic renewables, while flagging implementation risks.

Wants funding and agency capacity to meet firm deadlines without sacrificing legal compliance.

Open to the bill with targeted safeguards and resource commitments.

Leans supportive
Conservative90%

Strongly favorable: the bill reduces bureaucratic delays, mandates offering available parcels, and accelerates domestic energy development.

Views deadlines and replacement‑sale rules as pro‑development reforms that unlock public‑land resources and economic growth.

Leans supportive
04 · Can it pass?

The path through Congress.

Introduced

Reached or meaningfully advanced

Committee

Reached or meaningfully advanced

Floor

Still ahead

President

Still ahead

Law

Still ahead

Passage likelihood30/100

Narrow and administratively prescriptive but politically sensitive on environmental and permitting grounds; likely to face debate, amendments, or legal challenges.

Scope and complexity
24%
Scopenarrow
24%
Complexitylow
Why this could stall
  • No Congressional Budget Office cost estimate provided
  • Extent to which deadlines conflict with NEPA and other reviews
05 · Recent votes

Recent votes on the bill.

No vote history yet

The bill has not accumulated any surfaced votes yet.

06 · Go deeper

Go deeper than the headline read.

Included on this page

Progressives emphasize environmental and tribal consultation risks

Narrow and administratively prescriptive but politically sensitive on environmental and permitting grounds; likely to face debate, amendmen…

Unlocked analysis

Pro readers get the full perspective split, passage barriers, legislative design review, stakeholder impact map, and lens-based policy tradeoff analysis for CLEAN Act.

Go beyond the headline summary with full stakeholder mapping, legislative design analysis, passage barriers, and lens-by-lens tradeoff breakdowns.

Perspective breakdownsPassage barriersLegislative design reviewStakeholder impact map
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