H.R. 1230

Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act

At-a-Glance
Amendments
Rules

Rule Hearing Information:

Meeting Time: Wednesday May 4, 2011 at 3:00 p.m. in H-313 The Capitol

To watch this hearing, click here.

For more information on the hearing, click here.

Resources:

Text of H.R. 1230 — Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act [PDF][XML]
Amendment Process Announcement for H.R. 1230
For a copy of the rule, click here.
For a copy of H.Res. 245, click here.
For a copy of H.Rept. 112-73, click here.

Amendments:

#	Version #	Sponsor(s)	Party	Summary	Status
#8	Version 1	Bishop, Tim (NY)	Democrat	Adds a section at the end of the bill that would designate surplus revenue toward deficit reduction.	Submitted
#2	Version 1	Castor (FL)	Democrat	Would establish within the Department of Treasury a special fund for the collection of at least 80% of Clean Water Act fines and penalties related to the BP Gulf Spill.	Submitted
#14	Version 1	Connolly (VA)	Democrat	Late Would close tax loopholes for oil companies and use that money to offer gas price relief to American consumers.	Submitted
#15	Version 1	Connolly (VA), Moran, James (VA), Sarbanes (MD)	Democrat	Late Would ensure that Lease Sale 220 does not interfere with Naval or other DOD operations.	Made In Order
#13	Version 1	Garamendi, John	Democrat	Clarifies that U.S. immigration laws apply to facilities on the OCS, and add an `intention of Congress' section stating that energy development activities on the OCS should support domestic manufacturing sector and jobs.	Submitted
#5	Version 1	Hastings, Alcee (FL)	Democrat	Would require the Governor of each State potentially affected by an oil spill to specifically consent to the relevant Lease Sale before drilling and exploration activities can commence.	Submitted
#6	Version 1	Holt (NJ)	Democrat	Would prohibit lease sales authorized by the bill unless the Secretary of the Interior is able to obtain certain unbiased data and analysis on oil resources and markets from the independent Energy Information Administration.	Submitted
#7	Version 1	Holt (NJ)	Democrat	Would remove provisions in the bill that would “deem” the safety and environmental review done in 2007, prior to the BP spill, sufficient for new offshore oil and gas leasing. The amendment would allow lease sales to go forward, but require new environmental and safety reviews, following the BP spill.	Made In Order
#16	Version 1	Jackson Lee (TX)	Democrat	Late Requires Secretary of Interior to conduct a study and report to Congress on Department of Interior Staffing and Training levels.	Submitted
#10	Version 2	Markey, Edward (MA)	Democrat	Revised Would require that companies bidding on new leases pursuant to H.R. 1230 first renegotiate any royalty-free leases they own. This amendment would raise more than $2 billion over 10 years.	Submitted
#1	Version 1	McGovern (MA), Welch (VT), Blumenauer (OR)	Democrat	Would reduce the federal deficit by $40 billion by eliminating subsidies to oil companies.	Submitted
#9	Version 2	Miller, George (CA)	Democrat	Revised Revised. Would require a company bidding on leases to publicly disclose whether it has met its obligations under the Oil Pollution Act, or has a significant history of worker fatalities or violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, Clean Water Act, or Clean Air Act.	Submitted
#4	Version 1	Murphy, Christopher (CT)	Democrat	Would direct a portion of the royalties generated by the bill’s lease sales to fully-fund the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).	Submitted
#11	Version 1	Pingree (ME)	Democrat	Would recover the cost of conducting the environmental impact statements for the oil and gas leases subject to this act and uses the proceeds from the fee to fund the gathering of baseline environmental data necessary for the permitting process. Sunsets after 5 years.	Submitted
#12	Version 1	Sarbanes (MD), Holt (NJ)	Democrat	Would eliminate language requiring oil and gas lease sales on the outer continental shelf off the coast of Virginia near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.	Submitted
#3	Version 1	Tonko (NY)	Democrat	Would rename the bill to "Big Oil Handouts at Taxpayers Expense Act"	Submitted

Rule Information on H.R. 1230

COMMITTEE ACTION:
REPORTED BY A RECORD VOTE of 9-3 on Monday, May 2, 2011.

FLOOR ACTION ON H.RES. 245:
Adopted by record vote of 245-167, after agreeing to the previous question by a record vote of 241-171, on Thursday, May 5, 2011.

MANAGERS: Bishop/Polis

1. Structured rule for H.R. 1229.

2. Provides one hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Natural Resources.

3. Waives all points of order against consideration of the bill.

4. Provides that the amendment recommended by the Committee on Natural Resources shall be considered as adopted.

5. Waives all points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended.

6. Makes in order only those amendments to H.R. 1229 printed in Part A of the Rules Committee report accompanying the resolution. Provides that each such amendment may be offered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a Member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the 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.

7. Waives all points of order against the amendments printed in Part A of the report.

8. Provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions.

9. Structured rule for H.R. 1230.

10. Provides one hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Natural Resources.

11. Waives all points of order against consideration of the bill.

12. Waives all points of order against provisions in the bill.

13. Makes in order only those amendments to H.R. 1230 printed in Part B of the Rules Committee report accompanying the resolution. Provides that each such amendment may be offered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a Member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the 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.

14. Waives all points of order against the amendments printed in Part B of the report.

15. Provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions.

16. Directs the Clerk to, in the engrossment of H.R. 1229, add the text of H.R. 1230 as passed by the House as a new matter at the end of H.R. 1229.

Summary of Amendments in Part A to be Made in Order:

(summaries derived from information provided by sponsors)

Sponsor	#	Description	Debate Time
1. Polis (CO)	#22	Would require safety review of permits to take into consideration all applicable safety, environmental and fisheries laws.	(10 minutes)
2. Garamendi, John	#14	Would implement the Commission’s recommendation by requiring that in reviewing a drilling permit, the Secretary consult with an independent drilling safety organization not affiliated with the oil industry trade association.	(10 minutes)
3. Markey, Edward (MA)	#2	(REVISED) Would implement basic offshore drilling safety reforms recommended by the independent BP spill commission. The Commission found that the root causes of the BP spill were “systematic” and could have been prevented. The Markey amendment would set specific new minimum standards for blow-out preventers, cementing and well design.	(10 minutes)
4. Hanabusa (HI)	#10	Would state that the Secretary shall not issue an offshore drilling permit without certifying that the applicant has calculated a worst-case discharge scenario for the proposed drilling operations; and has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the applicant possesses the capability and technology to respond immediately and effectively to such worst-case discharge scenario.	(10 minutes)
5. Jackson Lee (TX)	#3	Would ensure a reasonable period for review of applications and eliminate the language that could result in the automatic approval of applications.	(10 minutes)
6. Holt (NJ)	#9	Would strike a provision in the underlying bill that would “deem” drilling permits approved after 60 days even if the necessary safety and environmental reviews have not be completed. Would leave in place a timeline for approving drilling permits, but prevents permits from being “deemed” approved before the safety review has been completed.	(10 minutes)
7. Polis (CO)	#23	Would lift timeline requirements if the agency lacks an adequate budget or lacks staff expertise to properly review permits.	(10 minutes)
8. Hastings, Alcee (FL)	#12	Would require a detailed description of the extent to which and by when any oil found on the leased property will decrease the price of crude oil and at the pump for hardworking Americans.	(10 minutes)
9. Deutch (FL)	#4	Would strike section 202 of H.R. 1229, so that states outside of the 5th Circuit can have their courts hear civil actions relating to energy projects in the Gulf of Mexico.	(10 minutes)
10. Polis (CO)	#21	Would amend bill to emphasize quality of court decisions instead of speed of court decisions.	(10 minutes)
11. Hastings, Alcee (FL)	#13	Would strike Section 207, the limitation on attorneys' fees.	(10 minutes)

Summary of Amendments in Part B to be Made in Order:

(summaries derived from information provided by sponsors)

Sponsor

Description

Debate Time

1. Holt (NJ)

Would remove provisions in the bill that would “deem” the safety and environmental review done in 2007, prior to the BP spill, sufficient for new offshore oil and gas leasing. The amendment would allow lease sales to go forward, but require new environmental and safety reviews, following the BP spill.

(10 minutes)

2. Connolly (VA), Moran, James (VA), Sarbanes (MD)

#15

(LATE) Would ensure that Lease Sale 220 does not interfere with Naval or other DOD operations.