Bill > HR6707

Introduced Session

To amend the Mineral Leasing Act and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to limit the authority of the Secretary of the Interior to reduce certain royalties, to amend the CARES Act to limit the provision of assistance to certain businesses, to impose a moratorium on certain oil and natural gas lease sales, the issuance of coal leases, and modifications to certain regulations, to extend certain public comment periods, and for other purposes. This bill limits the financial assistance that fossil fuel companies may receive from programs that provide relief to businesses affected by the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) outbreak, the Department of Interior's authority with respect to fossil fuels, the types and amount of oil that may be placed in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), and the issuance or modification of rules until the COVID-19 national emergency terminates. Specifically, it prohibits fossil fuel businesses from receiving financial assistance, loans, and loan guarantees under specified provisions of the Defense Production Act of 1950 and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act or the CARES Act. Further, certain financial institutions (e.g., banks) that receive funding under the CARES Act may not operate or invest in such businesses for two years. In addition, Interior may not (1) conduct lease sales for oil or natural gas; (2) issue leases for oil, natural gas, or coal; (3) modify regulations related to fossil fuel; or (4) reduce or eliminate royalty rates for fossil fuel leases on federal lands and in federal waters. The bill decreases the storage cap on the SPR and declares that privately-owned oil may not be stored in the SPR. Finally, the bill suspends the issuance of new rules until the national emergency terminates unless the rules are specifically required to respond to, or recover from, COVID-19.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Nanette Barragán (D)*,  Joyce Beatty (D),  Earl Blumenauer (D),  Salud Carbajal (D),  Yvette Clarke (D),  Steve Cohen (D),  Charlie Crist (D),  Diana DeGette (D),  Anna Eshoo (D),  Adriano Espaillat (D),  Chuy García (D),  Jimmy Gomez (D),  Raúl Grijalva (D),  Alcee Hastings (D),  Jahana Hayes (D),  Jared Huffman (D),  Pramila Jayapal (D),  Hank Johnson (D),  Joseph Kennedy (D),  Ro Khanna (D),  Barbara Lee (D),  Mike Levin (D),  Ted Lieu (D),  Alan Lowenthal (D),  Jim McGovern (D),  Jerry Nadler (D),  Grace Napolitano (D),  Joe Neguse (D),  Eleanor Holmes Norton (D),  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D),  Ilhan Omar (D),  Chellie Pingree (D),  Mark Pocan (D),  Ayanna Pressley (D),  Jamie Raskin (D),  Lucille Roybal-Allard (D),  Darren Soto (D),  Jackie Speier (D),  Rashida Tlaib (D),  Paul Tonko (D),  Nydia Velázquez (D),  Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D),  Bonnie Watson Coleman (D),  Peter Welch (D), 

Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources. (on 05/27/2020)

Official Document