H.R. 5616 is a plan for the U.S. to sell or rent certain areas in the ocean for finding oil and gas, mainly in the Gulf of Mexico and Cook Inlet. The goal is to have these sales happen faster but still check that it's safe for the environment.

The Offshore Parity Act of 2024 wants to let Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama take charge of certain ocean areas near them to manage things like fish and energy, but they have to follow some rules. This means these states can have more control over these areas, but it might cause problems with different laws and how they work with the environment.

The bill wants to make sure that when the government says "no" to people wanting to drill for oil in certain places, they have to explain why, to be fair and clear. It also wants to make it easier and quicker for companies to get special permissions to drill for oil and gas, even if some people think it's not following the rules exactly right.