Congress·Reported·S. 5039

License to Drill Act

Oil and Gas Drilling: Permit Fee Extension

Jul 21·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

Next up: The Senate

The Senate must act next: a Senate floor vote.

Legislative Progress

Senate

House

President

Law

Unlikely to pass

This bill is in the early stages and was introduced by one senator without a large group of supporters from both parties.

Key Points

This bill would keep a fee in place for companies that want to drill for oil and gas on federal land. The current requirement to collect this fee is set to end in 2026, but this plan would extend it until 2037.
All the money collected from these fees would go into a special fund used by the government agency that manages federal land. This fund is designed to help the government process drilling permits more quickly and efficiently.
Energy companies are the ones most affected because they must pay this fee every time they apply for a new permit to drill. The goal is to make sure the government has the resources to handle these requests without using as much general taxpayer money.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

3 milestones3 actions

Jul 29, 2026Senate

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.

The committee approved this bill and is sending it to the full chamber for a vote. This is a significant step — most bills never get this far.

Jul 21, 2026Senate

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

Jul 21, 2026

Introduced in Senate

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

No votes or news coverage recorded for this bill yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

License to Drill Act

Bill NumberS 5039

Congress119th Congress

ChamberSenate

Latest ActionCommittee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.