Republicans on Capitol Hill unveiled legislation in both houses of Congress on April 16 that would prohibit liability against the companies engaged in the mining, extraction, production, refinement, transportation, distribution, marketing, manufacture, or sale of energy products.
The Stop Climate Shakedowns Act of 2026, H.R. 8330 / S. 4340, led by U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), aims to protect American energy from what the GOP say are “leftist legal crusades punishing lawful activity.”
American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers President and CEO Chet Thompson and American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Mike Sommers said the bill would address lawsuits and “climate superfund” laws targeting U.S. energy producers and threatening to raise costs for American consumers.
“We thank Sen. Cruz and Rep. Hageman for introducing legislation to stop a growing patchwork of state laws and lawsuits that threaten American energy and risk raising costs for consumers,” said Thompson and Sommers in a joint statement. “These efforts to retroactively penalize companies for lawfully meeting consumer demand are misguided and counterproductive.
“Congress should act decisively to reaffirm federal authority over national energy policy and end this activist-driven state overreach,” they added.
Specifically, say bill proponents, states passing so-called climate superfund laws, along with climate liability lawsuits, threaten to undermine American energy dominance by litigating producers out of business.
The Stop Climate Shakedowns Act of 2026 would shield U.S. energy producers from such attacks, support an affordable energy sector, preserve American jobs, and restore clarity to federal energy policy, they say.
“Energy security is national security, and we will not self-sabotage our critical industries with a cascade of costly lawsuits and extreme penalties that jeopardize American drilling,” said Hageman. “America’s energy producers should be protected from the dangerous legal precedent that would be set by the retroactive punishment of lawful activity.”
If enacted, the bill would prohibit retroactive climate liability lawsuits and other proceedings to implement or enforce an energy penalty law, and dismiss pending lawsuits and proceedings on the date of the bill’s enactment.
Additionally, it would void state energy penalty laws and affirm that the federal government maintains the exclusive authority and jurisdiction to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and other interstate environmental standards, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.
“Radical environmental groups have waged a coordinated campaign to weaponize our judicial system against American energy producers, including many in Texas,” Cruz said. “They’re using meritless lawsuits to bankrupt our energy industry, kill good paying jobs, and drive up the cost of electricity and gasoline for hardworking families.
“I am proud to lead this bill to stop that abuse to protect American jobs, lower energy costs, and defend American energy dominance,” he said.
Both bills have been referred for consideration to the Judiciary Committee in each chamber of Congress.