H.R. 398 · 119th Congress
Geothermal Cost-Recovery Authority Act of 2025
Key: what the circles and colors mean
Each circle is a bill. The ring fills as it moves through Congress:
Under the number: the Yea · Nay count of its final (or latest) recorded vote. On a member's page, the small badge is how that member voted: Y Yea / Aye, N Nay / No, P Present, – Not voting.
Gold and violet are only for Yea and Nay; they never mean a party. A member's party is the letter on their photo.
Not yet voted on. This bill is still a proposal: it hasn't reached a floor vote, and its text can change in committee or on the floor before any vote.
D
Ocasio-CortezSponsorNo cosponsors.
This bill expands the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to give the Department of the Interior the authority to collect certain fees from applicants for, or holders of, geothermal leases through September 30, 2032.
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in House · Jan 14, 2025
Geothermal Cost-Recovery Authority Act of 2025
This bill expands the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to give the Department of the Interior the authority to collect certain fees from applicants for, or holders of, geothermal leases through September 30, 2032. Specifically, Interior may direct those applicants or leaseholders to reimburse the United States for costs from (1) processing applications for geothermal leases on federal land, such as applications for geothermal drilling permits; and (2) inspecting and monitoring geothermal exploration and development activities, including reclamation activities.
Interior may reduce the amount of the fee if it determines that (1) the full reimbursement would impose an economic hardship on the applicant, or (2) a less than full reimbursement is necessary to promote the greatest use of geothermal resources.
Interior may use those fees only to the extent that they are provided in advance in appropriations acts for (1) processing applications for geothermal leases, and (2) inspecting and monitoring related exploration and development activities.
Within five years of the bill's enactment, Interior must submit to Congress a report that includes an assessment of how the fees affect Interior's geothermal leasing program and any recommendations for updates to the fees and the program.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Geothermal Cost-Recovery Authority Act of 2025
Latest action (May 20, 2026): Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 569.
Policy area: Energy · Origin: House · Introduced: Jan 14, 2025
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.