The LNG Liberty Act: Codifying the American Energy Anchor for 2026

By: Elias Sikavitsas

Photo by Mike Mareen/Shutterstock/Energy Intelligence

The global energy landscape has shifted profoundly entering 2026. The theoretical debates of the early 2020s regarding energy transitions have given way to a new era of "energy pragmatism," a policy framework that prioritizes immediate energy security and economic stability alongside long-term environmental goals. In this reshaped world, the United States is no longer a top-tier market participant; rather, she is the undisputed energy superpower currently serving as the world’s largest exporter of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and a primary guarantor of European energy independence (EIA). However, in order for the U.S. to sustain and leverage this dominance for geopolitical stability, there needs to be a fundamental shift in domestic policy. The U.S. should adopt the LNG Liberty Act—a comprehensive policy framework advocating for the legislative adoption of the Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act (H.R. 1949) and the SPEED Act (H.R. 4776)—in order to eliminate regulatory bottlenecks that threaten global energy security.

The cornerstone of the LNG Liberty Act is the elimination of regulatory redundancy that has historically been weaponized for political leverage. Historically, U.S. LNG projects have faced a "dual-track" approval process: a project could clear the rigorous environmental and safety reviews of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) only to languish in the opaque "public interest" determination phase at the Department of Energy (DOE) (Yergin and Jowdy, 2024). The LNG Liberty Act streamlines this by consolidating all export approval authority under FERC. By stripping the DOE of its discretionary veto power, LNG exports transition into a "legally protected commodity." This means LNG would be treated as a standard commercial good—like coal or petroleum—where the market, rather than shifting political administrations, determines the flow of trade.

This consolidation directly addresses the primary threat to the global economy: energy price shocks. When adversarial nations use energy as a weapon, the resulting price spikes cause severe economic contraction and "energy poverty" in developing nations, where high costs force a return to dirtier fuels (Yergin and Jowdy, 2024). Currently, the DOE’s discretionary "public interest" veto creates a "bottleneck of uncertainty" that prevents U.S. supply from responding to these shocks. By removing this political hurdle, the U.S. ensures that its vast reserves can reach the market at the speed of demand, effectively neutralizing the ability of dictators to manipulate global prices through artificial scarcity.

The second pillar of the LNG Liberty Act treats the pricing mechanism of U.S. gas as a primary tool of foreign policy. Historically, Russia and Middle Eastern suppliers have dominated global gas contracts by indexing the price of natural gas and the price of oil (Richards,2025). This archaic model subjects developing economies to volatile price swings unrelated to supply-and-demand forces. The U.S. strategic advantage lies in the Henry Hub-linked pricing model, which reflects the abundant, low-cost nature of American shale which decouples gas prices from the volatility of the global oil market, providing a stable, transparent, and market-reflective alternative that lowers the cost of energy for U.S. allies.

To maximize this advantage, this proposal implements a "Blanket Authorization" program, modeled after 18 C.F.R Part 157, specifically for routine facility upgrades and capacity optimizations. Currently, minor efficiency upgrades that could squeeze out additional shiploads of LNG often require months of bureaucratic review (Richards, 2025). A "prior notice" blanket authorization allows facilities to expand capacity in real-time response to market signals. This agility is a critical extension of our strategic advantage, as it ensures that supply can scale instantly to meet demand, preventing the temporary scarcities that drive global prices upward.

This agility is crucial for winning the trust of the developing world and expanding the market for American exports. By guaranteeing a flexible, Henry Hub-linked supply, the U.S. can anchor the industrialization of the Global South to American energy. For many of these nations, reliable LNG provides the necessary baseload power for heavy industry that intermittent renewables cannot yet provide, ensuring their economic growth is fueled by a democratic partner rather than an adversarial sphere of influence (Yergin and Jowdy, 2024).

The urgency of this transition is supported by current capacity trends. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), North American LNG export capacity is on track to more than double by 2028 compared to 2023 levels, adding 13.3 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of capacity (EIA). The backlog of projects awaiting final investment decisions (FID) represents the difference between a constrained market and a liquid, stabilizing global force. By establishing firm statutory deadlines for National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews, the Act provides the investment certainty required to accelerate the development of Gulf Coast hubs like Sabine Pass and Plaquemines. This increased capacity scales rapidly to meet European decoupling needs, ensuring that Russian gas cannot regain its previous leverage over the EU market (Hidayat, 2025).

A common critique of LNG exports is the potential for domestic price spikes. The LNG Liberty Act posits that the solution to domestic price stability is not fewer exports, but more infrastructure. The coming wave of export demand is colliding with a pipeline network that has been artificially constrained by litigation. To resolve this, the Act calls for the rescission of FERC Order No. 871. This regulation has historically allowed opposition groups to secure legal pauses simply by filing rehearing requests, creating a loophole that stalls projects indefinitely. This procedural loophole has stalled critical midstream projects, trapping gas in the Permian and Marcellus basins while coastal facilities starve for feedgas.

The LNG Liberty Act champions a framework that connects upstream production directly to the global market. U.S. feedgas demand (the raw natural gas delivered to terminal facilities to be cooled into liquid) is forecast to double by 2030 (Davis 25). Without new interstate pipelines, regional supply gluts will crash local producer prices and disincentivize production while coastal prices soar due to scarcity. By ensuring midstream projects (pipelines and storage) can proceed without frivolous litigation delays, we maintain the $1.3 trillion economic engine of the shale revolution (Atlantic Council). This connectivity lowers the "risk premium" for American consumers by ensuring that the domestic market is deep, liquid, and capable of absorbing demand shocks without spiking utility bills.

Ultimately, the LNG Liberty Act is a geopolitical strategy masquerading as energy policy. The era in which adversaries could wield pipeline gas as a tool of coercion would come to an end, driven by the U.S. “free on board” (FOB) contract. Unlike rigid state-controlled contracts, U.S. FOB cargoes are flexible; the buyer owns the gas as soon as it is loaded and can divert the ship to wherever the need is greatest. This flexibility was the critical factor that rescued Europe in 2022 by allowing rapid redirection of cargoes away from Asia, and it is the strategic shield that will protect Taiwan and Japan from energy blockades in the future (Hidayat, 2025; Yergin and Jowdy, 2024).

The data supports the urgency of this transition. The European Union has already pivoted, dropping reliance on Russian pipeline gas from 137 billion cubic meters (Bcm) in 2021 to approximately 31 Bcm in 2024 (Hidayat 25). The U.S. is now filling that void. However, we are approaching a capacity gap. With the U.S. on schedule to add 13.3 Bcf/d of capacity, which is equivalent to 13% of total dry gas production, we are moving from an "emergency response" posture to becoming a "permanent baseload provider,” in other words the reliable, underlying source of energy for the global grid (EIA).

By codifying these reforms into law by 2026, the United States ensures that its LNG exports are a strategic lifeblood for the free world. The United States must move beyond the era of permitting pauses and regulatory ambiguity to a framework of "Permit Certainty," which establishes a predictable, legally-binding timeline for project approvals. Through the LNG Liberty Act, we transition from a passive market participant to the Global Reliability Anchor, securing a future where energy security is defined by the efficiency and abundance of American industry rather than the whims of dictators.

The views expressed in this publication are the authors' own and do not necessarily reflect the position of The Rice Journal of Public Policy, its staff, or its Editorial Board.

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References

Davis, Carolyn. “Explosive LNG Demand Reshaping Global Markets as U.S. Feed Gas Forecast to Double by 2030.” Natural Gas Intelligence, 25 Nov. 2025, naturalgasintel.com/news/explosive-lng-demand-reshaping-global-markets-as-us-feed-gas-forecast-to-double-by-2030/.

Hidayat, Muflih. “Energy Market Dynamics 2025: Global Infrastructure.” Discovery Alert, 11 Dec. 2025, discoveryalert.com.au/energy-market-dynamics-2025-global-infrastructure/.

Richards, Kyle. “Sizing Up the Next Wave of U.S. LNG Export Projects.” ETF Trends, 2 Sept. 2025, www.etftrends.com/energy-infrastructure-content-hub/sizing-next-wave-u-s-lng-export-projects/

Yergin, Daniel, and Madeline Jowdy. “The Importance of U.S. LNG for Economic Growth and the Global Energy Transition.” Atlantic Council, 2024, www.atlanticcouncil.org/content-series/global-energy-agenda/the-importance-of-us-lng-for-economic-growth-and-the-global-energy-transition/

"U.S. LNG Export Capacity to More Than Double by 2028." Today in Energy, U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2024, https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=66384.