S. 3247: Fracking Ban Act
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S. 3247: Fracking Ban Act
116th Congress · introduced 2020-01-28 · Environmental Protection · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
federal
Follow this bill, step by step
- Where it came from: introduced 2020-01-28 · official record
- Who proposed it: Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] · what a sponsor is
- What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
- Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
- If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.
Official title
Fracking Ban Act
Plain summary
Fracking Ban Act This bill phases out hydraulic fracturing for oil and natural gas. Hydraulic fracturing or fracking is a process to extract underground resources such as oil or gas from a geologic formation by injecting water, a propping agent (e.g., sand), and chemical additives into a well under enough pressure to fracture the geological formation. The bill prohibits federal agencies from issuing permits for the expansion of fracking or fracked oil and natural gas infrastructure, including infrastructure intended to extract, transport, or burn natural gas or oil. In addition, the bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency to complete a survey of all oil and natural gas wells to identify the wells where fracking is, or has been, used. The survey must include a variety of data, including data on the proximity of fracking operations to inhabited structures (e.g., homes or schools). Beginning on February 1, 2021, the bill revokes permits for wells where fracking is, or has been, used within 2,500 feet of inhabited structures. The bill bans all fracking on onshore and offshore land by 2025. Finally, the bill requires the Department of Labor to establish a Just Transition Committee to make recommendations on ensuring the health and safety of individuals residing in, and the prosperity of, natural gas- and oil-producing regions during the phaseout of fracking.
Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.
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A “Nay” vote
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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes
Officials and money
Sponsor: Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] · 1 cosponsors
Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.
Cosponsors on this site
Jeff Merkley (D-OR)
Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] reported raising $26.5 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.
No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.
Words on this page, explained (1)
- Bill
- A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
- Congress.gov
- Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-116s3247.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/116/s>
Record fed-us-cong116-s3247 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116