WASHINGTON - Legislation that would relieve oil and gas companies from handing over hundreds of millions of dollars a year in advances on royalties for leases on public lands is headed to the White House for President Joe Biden to sign. The bill, authored by Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Houston, would change how the Department of Interior collects royalties, stopping them from holding advance royalties for more than 120 days.
Houston Rep. Wesley Hunt makes debut at RNC and goes after Biden on inflation The Senate passed the bill by unanimous consent Thursday. Hunt, who introduced the legislation in April, said the problem has persisted since the 1980s, one in a myriad of federal energy laws that he has been working with Democrats to fix. 'It's shocking how long this has lasted,' Hunt said.