Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Domestic Energy Crisis Relief Act”.
Domestic Energy Crisis Relief Act
A BILL
To provide solutions to the United States energy crisis, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Sense of the Senate relating to lowering energy prices for American families
It is the sense of the Senate that the Federal Government should implement policies to lower energy prices for American families and to ensure the resiliency and energy independence of the United States by revising the regulatory agenda and legislative priorities of the Biden Administration that relate to domestic oil and gas development, such as by—
supporting the development of additional oil and gas pipelines to the United States, such as the Keystone XL Pipeline;
following Federal law and the intent of Congress by imposing sanctions on Nord Stream 2 AG and all individuals and entities involved in the planning, construction, or operation of the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline;
withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement;
complying with the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.); and
revising section 208 of Executive Order 14008 (86 Fed. Reg. 7624 (February 1, 2021); relating to tackling the climate crisis at home and abroad) to allow oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico and other offshore and onshore Federal areas.
Sec. 3 Oil and gas leasing
In general— The Secretary of the Interior shall immediately resume oil and gas lease sales on Federal land in compliance with the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.).
Prohibition— The President shall not, through Executive order or any other administrative procedure, pause, cancel, delay, defer, or otherwise impede or circumvent the Federal energy mineral leasing processes under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) or the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) or a related rulemaking process required by subchapter II of chapter 5, and chapter 7, of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the “Administrative Procedure Act”), without Congressional approval.
Sec. 4 Authorization of Keystone pipeline
In general— TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. may construct, connect, operate, and maintain pipeline facilities at the international border of the United States and Canada in Phillips County, Montana, for the import of oil from Canada to the United States as described in the Presidential Permit of March 29, 2019 (84 Fed. Reg. 13101 (April 3, 2019)).
No Presidential permit required— No Presidential permit (or similar permit) under any Executive order shall be required for the construction, connection, operation, or maintenance of the pipeline facilities described in subsection (a).
Sec. 5 Federal share of certain oil and gas projects
Definition of covered project— In this section, the term covered project means a project to conduct oil and gas resource assessments on Federal land with significant oil and gas potential.
Federal share— With respect to a covered project carried out jointly by a State and the Secretary of the Interior, the Federal share of the cost of the covered project shall be not less than 50 percent.
Sec. 6 Use of United States workers and equipment manufactured in the United States
When practicable, the Secretary of the Interior shall encourage the use of United States workers and equipment manufactured in the United States in all construction activities carried out by the Secretary relating to mineral resource development.
Sec. 7 Report on international regulation of energy commodity futures and derivatives
In general— The Commodity Futures Trading Commission shall conduct a study on the international regime for regulating trading in energy commodity futures and derivatives.
Analysis— The study conducted under subsection (a) shall include an analysis of, at a minimum—
key common features and differences among countries in the regulation of energy commodity trading, including with respect to market oversight and enforcement;
agreements and practices for sharing market and trading data;
the use of position limits or thresholds to detect and prevent price manipulation, excessive speculation described in section 4a(a) of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 6a(a)), or other unfair trading practices;
practices regarding the identification of commercial and noncommercial trading and the extent of market speculation; and
agreements and practices for facilitating international cooperation on market oversight, compliance, and enforcement.
Report— Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives a report that—
describes the results of the study conducted under that subsection; and
provides recommendations to improve openness, transparency, and other necessary elements of a properly functioning market.
Sec. 8 Reporting and recordkeeping
In general— Section 4g of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 6g) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(g) Index traders and swap dealers—The Commission shall—
“(1) not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, issue a proposed rule regarding routine reporting requirements for index traders (as defined by the Commission) and swap dealers in energy and agricultural transactions (as defined by the Commission) within the jurisdiction of the Commission;
“(2) not later than 270 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, issue a final rule regarding the reporting requirements described in paragraph (1); and
“(3) subject to section 8, disaggregate and make publicly available monthly information on the positions and value of index funds and other passive, long-only positions in the energy and agricultural futures markets (as defined by the Commission).”
Report— Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report describing—
the scope of commodity index trading in the futures markets;
whether classification of index traders and swap dealers in the futures markets can be improved for regulatory and reporting purposes; and
whether, based on a review of the trading practices for index traders in the futures markets—
index trading activity is adversely impacting the price discovery process in the futures markets; and
different practices and controls should be required.
Sec. 9 Hiring of employees for improved oversight and enforcement
As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission shall hire not fewer than 50 additional full-time employees—
to increase the public transparency of operations in energy futures markets;
to improve enforcement in those markets; and
to carry out such other duties as the Commission determines to be appropriate.
Sec. 10 Gulf of Mexico outer Continental Shelf revenues
Definition of qualified outer Continental Shelf revenues— Section 102(9)(A) of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 1331 note; Public Law 109–432) is amended—
in clause (i)(II), by striking “and” after the semicolon;
in clause (ii)—
in the matter preceding subclause (I), by striking “fiscal year 2017 and each fiscal year thereafter” and inserting “each of fiscal years 2017 through 2021”; and
in subclause (III), by striking the period and inserting “; and”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(iii) in the case of fiscal year 2022 and each fiscal year thereafter, all rentals, royalties, bonus bids, and other sums due and payable to the United States received on or after October 1, 2021, from leases entered into on or after October 1, 2000, for—
“(I) the 181 Area;
“(II) the 181 South Area; and
“(III) the 2002–2007 planning area.”
Disposition of qualified outer Continental Shelf revenues—
In general— Section 105(a) of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 1331 note; Public Law 109–432) is amended—
in paragraph (1), by striking “50” and inserting “37.5”; and
in paragraph (2)—
in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking “50” and inserting “62.5”;
in subparagraph (A), by striking “75” and inserting “80”; and
in subparagraph (B), by striking “25” and inserting “20”.
Limitations on amount of distributed qualified outer Continental Shelf revenues— Section 105(f) of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 1331 note; Public Law 109–432) is amended—
in paragraph (1)—
in subparagraph (A), by adding “and” after the semicolon;
in subparagraph (B), by striking “; and” and inserting a period; and
by striking subparagraph (C); and
in paragraph (2), by striking “2055” and inserting “2021”.
Exemption of certain payments from sequestration—
In general— Section 255(g)(1)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 905(g)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting after “Payments to Social Security Trust Funds (28–0404–0–1–651).” the following:
Applicability— The amendment made by this subsection shall apply to any sequestration order issued under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 900 et seq.) on or after the date of enactment of this Act.