[House Report 113-271]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
113th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 113-271
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PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE BILL (H.R. 1965) TO STREAMLINE AND
ENSURE ONSHORE ENERGY PERMITTING, PROVIDE FOR ONSHORE LEASING
CERTAINTY, AND GIVE CERTAINTY TO OIL SHALE DEVELOPMENT FOR AMERICAN
ENERGY SECURITY, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND JOB CREATION, AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES, AND PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE BILL (H.R. 2728) TO
RECOGNIZE STATES' AUTHORITY TO REGULATE OIL AND GAS OPERATIONS AND
PROMOTE AMERICAN ENERGY SECURITY, DEVELOPMENT, AND JOB CREATION
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November 18, 2013.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be
printed
_______
Mr. Bishop of Utah, from the Committee on Rules,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H. Res. 419]
The Committee on Rules, having had under consideration
House Resolution 419, by a nonrecord vote, report the same to
the House with the recommendation that the resolution be
adopted.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS OF THE RESOLUTION
The resolution provides for consideration of H.R. 1965, the
Federal Lands Jobs and Energy Security Act, under a structured
rule. The resolution provides one hour of general debate
equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking
minority member of the Committee on Natural Resources. The
resolution waives all points of order against consideration of
the bill. The resolution provides that an amendment in the
nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules
Committee Print 113-26 shall be considered as adopted and the
bill, as amended, shall be considered as read. The resolution
waives all points of order against provisions in the bill, as
amended. The resolution makes in order only those further
amendments printed in part A of this report. Each such
amendment may be offered only in the order printed in this
report, may be offered only by a Member designated in this
report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the
time specified in this report equally divided and controlled by
the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to
amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of
the question in the House or in the Committee of the Whole. The
resolution waives all points of order against the amendments
printed in part A of this report. The rule provides one motion
to recommit with or without instructions.
Section 2 of the resolution provides for consideration of
H.R. 2728, the Protecting States' Rights to Promote American
Energy Security Act, under a structured rule. The resolution
provides one hour of general debate, with 40 minutes equally
divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member
of the Natural Resources and 20 minutes equally divided and
controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. The resolution
waives all points of order against consideration of the bill.
The resolution provides that an amendment in the nature of a
substitute consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 113-
27 shall be considered as adopted and the bill, as amended,
shall be considered as read. The resolution waives all points
of order against provisions in the bill, as amended. The
resolution makes in order only those amendments printed in part
B of this report. Each such amendment may be offered only in
the order printed in this report, may be offered only by a
Member designated in this report, shall be considered as read,
shall be debatable for the time specified in this report
equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an
opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be
subject to a demand for division of the question in the House
or in the Committee of the Whole. The resolution waives all
points of order against the amendments printed in part B of
this report. The resolution provides one motion to recommit
with or without instructions.
EXPLANATION OF WAIVERS
Although the resolution waives all points of order against
consideration of H.R. 1965, the Committee is not aware of any
points of order. The waiver is prophylactic in nature.
Although the resolution waives all points of order against
provisions in H.R. 1965, as amended, the Committee is not aware
of any points of order. The waiver is prophylactic in nature.
Although the resolution waives all points of order against
the amendments to H.R. 1965 printed in part A of this report,
the Committee is not aware of any points of order. The waiver
is prophylactic in nature.
Although the resolution waives all points of order against
consideration of H.R. 2728, the Committee is not aware of any
points of order. The waiver is prophylactic in nature.
Although the resolution waives all points of order against
provisions in H.R. 2728, as amended, the Committee is not aware
of any points of order. The waiver is prophylactic in nature.
Although the resolution waives all points of order against
the amendments to H.R. 2728 printed in part B of this report,
the Committee is not aware of any points of order. The waiver
is prophylactic in nature.
COMMITTEE VOTES
The results of each record vote on an amendment or motion
to report, together with the names of those voting for and
against, are printed below:
Rules Committee record vote No. 89
Motion by Mr. Polis to make in order and provide the
appropriate waivers for amendment #11 to H.R. 1965, offered by
Rep. Polis (CO) and Rep. Napolitano (CA), which requires the
Director of the United States Geological Survey to study and
prepare a report regarding the potential impacts of oil shale
leasing on the quantity and quality of water available for
agricultural and municipal use in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming
and amendment #6 to H.R. 2728, offered by Rep. Polis (CO),
which eliminates a loophole in the Clean Air Act under which
oil and gas exploration and production activities are exempt
from complying with the Clean Air Act's aggregation requirement
and adds hydrogen sulfide to the federal list of hazardous air
pollutants. Defeated: 3-9.
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Majority Members Vote Minority Members Vote
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Ms. Foxx........................................ Nay Ms. Slaughter..................... ............
Mr. Bishop of Utah.............................. Nay Mr. McGovern...................... Yea
Mr. Cole........................................ Nay Mr. Hastings of Florida........... Yea
Mr. Woodall..................................... Nay Mr. Polis......................... Yea
Mr. Nugent...................................... Nay
Mr. Webster..................................... Nay
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen................................ Nay
Mr. Burgess..................................... Nay
Mr. Sessions, Chairman.......................... Nay
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SUMMARY OF THE AMENDMENTS TO H.R. 1965 IN PART A MADE IN ORDER
1. Hastings, Doc (WA): MANAGER'S AMENDMENT Adjusts the
amount of funds authorized to be made available to BLM field
offices for energy permitting to ensure bill has a positive
(deficit reducing) score. (10 minutes)
2. Jackson Lee (TX): Preserves First Amendment Right To
Petition. (10 minutes)
3. Lowenthal (CA): Allows the Secretary of the Interior to
continue to review actions that generally qualify for
Categorical Exclusions to NEPA for possible Extraordinary
Circumstances (e.g. Violations of a Federal law, or a State,
local, or tribal law or requirement) which would then supersede
the Categorical Exclusion and require further NEPA review. (10
minutes)
4. Jackson Lee (TX): Eliminates prohibition of award of
attorney fees which otherwise would be recoverable under Equal
Access to Justice Act. (10 minutes)
5. Hanabusa (HI): Requires the Secretary of the Interior in
consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture to include in
their Quadrennial Federal Onshore Energy Production Strategy,
the best estimate, based upon commercial and scientific data,
of the expected increase in domestic production of geothermal,
solar, wind, or other renewable energy sources on lands
designated as Hawaiian Home Lands that the state agency or
department responsible for the administration of these lands
selects to be used for energy production. (10 minutes)
6. Marino (PA): Requires the Secretary of the Interior to
include Federal lands as a part of its plan to address new
demands for oil and gas pipelines. (10 minutes)
7. Polis (CO), Huffman (CA): Requires National Academy of
Sciences to study and report to Congress about the impact of
flooding on oil and gas facilities and the resulting instances
of leaking and spills from tanks, wells, and pipelines. (10
minutes)
8. DeFazio (OR): Authorizes $10 million of the revenue
generated by the underlying bill for the Commodity Futures
Trading Commission to use existing authority to limit
speculation in energy markets. (10 minutes)
SUMMARY OF THE AMENDMENTS TO H.R. 2728 IN PART B MADE IN ORDER
1. Holt (NJ), Peters, Scott (CA), Polis (CO): Allows the
Secretary of the Interior to issue regulations to reduce
methane emissions from oil and gas drilling operations on
public lands. (10 minutes)
2. Flores (TX): Requires states to submit a copy of their
hydraulic fracturing regulations and chemical disclosure
requirements to the BLM for public disclosure and provides
other technical/clarifying changes. (10 minutes)
3. Reed (NY), Costa (CA): Directs the GAO to conduct a
study on the economic benefits of domestic oil and gas
production as result of hydraulic fracturing including job
creation, energy prices and State and Federal revenues. (10
minutes)
4. DeFazio (OR): Prohibits the export of natural gas
produced from public lands. (10 minutes)
5. Jackson Lee (TX): The Secretary shall conduct an annual
review of any and all state hydraulic fracturing activity and
submit a report to Congress. (10 minutes)
PART A--TEXT OF AMENDMENTS TO H.R. 1965 MADE IN ORDER
1. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Hastings of Washington
or His designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes
Page 8, line 17, strike ``$10,000,000'' and insert
``$5,000,000''.
----------
2. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Jackson Lee of Texas or
Her Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes
Page 9, line 9, strike the closing quotation marks and the
following period, and after line 9 insert the following:
``(C) Right to petition preserved.--This
paragraph shall not be construed to abridge the
right of the people to petition for the redress
of grievances, in violation of the first
article of amendment to the Constitution of the
United States.''.
----------
3. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Lowenthal of California
or His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes
Page 12, beginning at line 20, strike section 1132.
Beginning at page 16, line 24, strike ``, except that'' and
all that follows through page 17, line 2 and insert a period.
----------
4. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Jackson Lee of Texas or
Her Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes
Page 15, beginning at line 4, strike section 1147.
----------
5. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Hanabusa of Hawaii or
Her Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes
Page 25, on line 15, strike ``and'', on line 20, strike the
period and insert ``; and'', and after line 20 insert the
following:
``(H) the best estimate, based upon
commercial and scientific data, of the expected
increase in domestic production of geothermal,
solar, wind, or other renewable energy sources
from `available lands' (as such term is defined
in section 203 of the Hawaiian Homes Commission
Act, 1920 (42 Stat. 108 et seq.), and including
any other lands deemed by the Territory or
State of Hawaii, as the case may be, to be
included within that definition) that the
agency or department of the government of the
State of Hawaii that is responsible for the
administration of such lands selects to be used
for such energy production.
----------
6. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Marino of Pennsylvania
or His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes
Page 26, after line 4, insert the following:
``(6) The Secretary shall include in the Strategy a
plan for addressing new demands for transmission lines
and pipelines for distribution of oil and gas across
Federal lands to ensure that energy produced can be
distributed to areas of need.
----------
7. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Polis of Colorado or
His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes
Add at the end the following:
TITLE __--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
SEC. _01. STUDY OF EFFECTS OF FLOODING ON OIL AND GAS FACILITIES.
The Secretary of the Interior shall enter into an arrangement
with the National Academy of Sciences under which the Academy
shall study and report to the Congress on the effect of
flooding on oil and gas facilities, and the resulting instances
of leaking and spills from tanks, wells, and pipelines.
----------
8. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative DeFazio of Oregon or
His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes
At the end of the bill, add the following (and conform the
table of contents accordingly):
TITLE VI--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
SEC. 6001. CERTAIN REVENUES GENERATED BY THIS ACT TO BE MADE AVAILABLE
TO THE COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION TO
LIMIT EXCESSIVE SPECULATION IN ENERGY MARKETS.
The Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is amended by
redesignating section 44 as section 45, and by inserting after
section 43 the following:
``SEC. 44. REVENUES TO BE MADE AVAILABLE TO THE COMMODITY FUTURES
TRADING COMMISSION.
``(a) Establishment of Treasury Account.--The Secretary of
the Treasury (in this section referred to as the `Secretary')
shall establish an account in the Treasury of the United
States.
``(b) Deposit Into Account of Certain Revenues Generated by
This Act.--The Secretary shall deposit into the account
established under subsection (a) the first $10,000,000 of the
total of the amounts received by the United States under leases
issued under this Act or any plan, strategy, or program under
this Act.
``(c) Availability and Use of Funds.--
``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the
amounts in the account established under subsection (a)
shall be made available to the Commodity Futures
Trading Commission to use its existing authorities to
limit excessive speculation in energy markets.
``(2) Subject to appropriations.--The authority
provided in paragraph (1) may be exercised only to such
extent, and with respect to such amounts, as are
provided in advance in appropriations Acts.''.
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PART B--TEXT OF AMENDMENTS TO H.R. 2728 MADE IN ORDER
1. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Holt of New Jersey or
His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes
Page 1, line 14, strike ``The'' and insert ``Except as
provided in subsection (c), the''.
Page 2, line 4, strike ``The'' and insert ``Except as
provided in subsection (c), the''.
Page 2, after line 11, insert the following (and redesignate
the subsequent quoted subsection accordingly):
``(c) Methane Emissions.--Nothing in this section limits the
authority of the Secretary of the Interior to issue regulations
to require the minimization of venting and flaring of methane
from oil and gas drilling operations on public lands, and to
issue regulations designed to reduce fugitive methane
emissions.
----------
2. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Flores of Texas or His
Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes
Page 2, beginning at line 9, strike ``regardless'' and all
that follows through line 11 and insert a period.
Page 2, after line 11, insert the following:
``(c) Transparency of State Regulations.--
``(1) In general.--Each State shall submit to the
Bureau of Land Management a copy of its regulations
that apply to hydraulic fracturing operations on
Federal land.
``(2) Availability.--The Secretary of the Interior
shall make available to the public State regulations
submitted under this subsection.
``(d) Transparency of State Disclosure Requirements.--
``(1) In general.--Each State shall submit to the
Bureau of Land Management a copy of any regulations of
the State that require disclosure of chemicals used in
hydraulic fracturing operations on Federal land.
``(2) Availability.--The Secretary of the Interior
shall make available to the public State regulations
submitted under this subsection.
Page 2, beginning at line 23, strike ``the'' and all that
follows through ``process'' and insert ``the process of
hydraulic fracturing (as that term is defined in section 44 of
the Mineral Leasing Act, as amended by section 102 of this
Act)''.
----------
3. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Reed of New York or His
Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes
Page 4, after line 10, insert the following:
SEC. __. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE STUDY.
(a) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States
shall conduct a study examining the economic benefits of
domestic shale oil and gas production resulting from the
process of hydraulic fracturing. This study will include
identification of--
(1) State and Federal revenue generated as a result
of shale gas production;
(2) jobs created both directly and indirectly as a
result of shale oil and gas production; and
(3) an estimate of potential energy prices without
domestic shale oil and gas production.
(b) Report.--The Comptroller General shall submit a report on
the findings of such study to the Committee on Natural
Resources of the House of Representatives within 30 days after
completion of the study.
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4. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative DeFazio of Oregon or
His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes
Add at the end the following:
TITLE __--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
SEC. _01. REQUIREMENT TO OFFER FOR SALE ONLY IN THE UNITED STATES.
The Secretary of the Interior shall require that all gas
produced under a lease issued pursuant to authorities granted
by this Act shall be offered for sale only in the United
States.
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5. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Jackson Lee of Texas or
Her Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes
Add at the end the following:
TITLE __--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
SEC. __. REVIEW OF STATE ACTIVITIES.
The Secretary of the Interior shall annually review and
report to Congress on all State activities relating to
hydraulic fracturing.