Today, the House Committee on Natural Resources held a markup on eight bills including H.R. 5577 (Rep. Garret Graves, R-LA), the Innovation in Offshore Leasing Act, which modernizes the Bureau of Ocean Management’s offshore leasing process through the use of internet-based oil and natural gas lease sales. H.R. 5577 passed as part of a broader unanimous consent package.

“This bill is an important improvement to the federal government’s ancient process for offshore oil and gas leasing. I applaud the work of Rep. Graves in developing an innovative framework for an outdated process,” Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) said.

Currently, the Secretary of the Interior conducts sealed-bid lease sales for offshore oil and natural gas leasing, in which bids are opened and read aloud in the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. Transitioning to internet-based technologies will bring greater efficiency and transparency to the Department of the Interior’s offshore leasing process.

“This is a step forward for taxpayers. It’s a change that makes sense, plain and simple. My 6 year old uses the internet – the government should embrace this change,” Rep. Graves stated. “It will save taxpayers money, increase transparency for the public and level the playing field so that businesses access the opportunity in the Gulf.  Most importantly, the increased competition for offshore energy will maximize value of this important public resource.”

H.R. 5577 is one piece of legislation in the Innovation Initiative spearheaded by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Chief Deputy Whip Patrick McHenry (R-NC). The initiative seeks to remove government-made obstacles to innovation and bring government into the 21^st Century.

“The process to lease federal land could be the poster child for inefficiencies and outdated processes that frustrate Americans’ interaction with government. The Innovation Initiative was designed to streamline government programs to bring them into the 21^st Century and I am thrilled Representative Garrett Graves has introduced this legislation,” Leader McCarthy said.