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COMMITTEE ACTION: REPORTED BY A VOICE VOTE on Thursday, July 29, 2010.
FLOOR ACTION: ADOPTED BY A RECORD VOTE OF 220-194 on Friday, July 30, 2010

MANAGERS: Pingree/Sessions
111th Congress 
2nd Session

H.RES 1574

[Report No. 111-582]

 

H.R. 3534 - Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources Act of 2009

H.R. 5851 - Offshore Oil and Gas Worker Whistleblower Protection Act of 2010

1.             Structured rule for consideration of H.R. 3534.

2.             Provides one hour of general debate with 40 minutes equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Natural Resources and 20 minutes equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

3.             Waives all points of order against consideration of the bill except those arising under clause 9 or 10 of rule XXI.

4.             Provides that in lieu of the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Natural Resources, the amendment in the nature of a substitute printed in part A of the Rules Committee report shall be considered as an original bill for the purpose of amendment and shall be considered as read.

5.             Waives all points of order against the amendment in the nature of a substitute printed in part A of the Rules Committee report except those arising under clause 10 of rule XXI. This waiver does not affect the point of order available under clause 9 of rule XXI (regarding earmark disclosure).

6.             Makes in order only those amendments printed in part B of the Rules Committee report accompanying the resolution.  Provides that the amendments made in order 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.

7.             Waives all points of order against the amendments printed in part B of the report except those arising under clause 9 or 10 of rule XXI.

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

9.             Provides that the Chair may entertain a motion that the Committee rise only if offered by the chair of the Committee on Natural Resources or a designee.

10.           Provides that the Chair may not entertain a motion to strike out the enacting words of the bill.

11.           Closed rule for consideration of H.R. 5851.

12.           Provides one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Education and Labor.

13.           Waives all points of consideration against the bill except those arising under clause 9 or 10 of rule XXI.

14.           Provides that the amendment printed in part C of the Rules Committee report accompanying the resolution shall be considered as adopted.

15.           Provides that the bill, as amended, shall be considered as read.

16.           Waives all points of order against the bill, as amended.  This waiver does not affect the point of order available under clause 9 of XXI (regarding earmark disclosure).

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

18.           Provides that in the engrossment of H.R. 3534, the Clerk shall add the text of H.R. 5851, as passed by the House, as new matter at the end of H.R. 3534.

19.           Provides that upon addition of the text of H.R. 5851 to the end of H.R. 3534, H.R. 5851 shall be laid on the table.                                          

 

                                                               RESOLUTION

 

                                Resolved, That at any time after the adoption of this resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule XVIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of the bill (H.R. 3534) to provide greater efficiencies, transparency, returns, and accountability in the administration of Federal mineral and energy resources by consolidating administration of various Federal energy minerals management and leasing programs into one entity to be known as the Office of Federal Energy and Minerals Leasing of the Department of the Interior, and for other purposes. The first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived except those arising under clause 9 or 10 of rule XXI. General debate shall be confined to the bill and amendments specified in this section and shall not exceed one hour, with 40 minutes equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Natural Resources and 20 minutes equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. After general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. In lieu of the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Natural Resources now printed in the bill, it shall be in order to consider as an original bill for the purpose of amendment under the five-minute rule the amendment in the nature of a substitute printed in part A of the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution. That amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be considered as read. All points of order against that amendment in the nature of a substitute are waived except those arising under clause 10 of rule XXI. Notwithstanding clause 11 of rule XVIII, no amendment to that amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be in order except those printed in part B of the report of the Committee on Rules. Each 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. All points of order against such amendments are waived except those arising under clause 9 or 10 of rule XXI. At the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment the Committee shall rise and report the bill to the House with such amendments as may have been adopted. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or without instructions.

Sec. 2. The Chair may entertain a motion that the Committee rise only if offered by the chair of the Committee on Natural Resources or his designee. The Chair may not entertain a motion to strike out the enacting words of the bill (as described in clause 9 of rule XVIII).

Sec. 3. Upon the adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 5851) to provide whistleblower protections to certain workers in the offshore oil and gas industry. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived except those arising under clause 9 or 10 of rule XXI. The amendment printed in part C of the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution shall be considered as adopted. The bill, as amended, shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions of the bill, as amended, are waived. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, to final passage without intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Education and Labor; and (2) one motion to recommit with or without instructions.

Sec. 4. (a) In the engrossment of H.R. 3534, the Clerk shall--


(1) add the text of H.R. 5851, as passed by the House, as new matter at the end of H.R. 3534;

(2) assign appropriate designations to provisions within the engrossment; and

(3) conform provisions for short titles within the engrossment.

(b) Upon the addition of the text of H.R. 5851 to the engrossment of H.R. 3534, H.R. 5851 shall be laid on the table.

 

 

 

 

SUMMARY OF AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE IN PART A PROPOSED TO BE CONSIDERED AS AN ORIGINAL BILL

(summaries derived from information provided by sponsors)

 

 

 

 

 Text of Part A

 

 

 

 

Amendment in the nature of a substitute that combines provisions of H.R. 3534, the "Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources Act of 2009," and H.R. 5629, the "Oil Spill Accountability and Environmental Protection Act of 2010."

 

 

 

SUMMARY OF AMENDMENTS IN PART B PROPOSED TO BE MADE IN ORDER
(summaries derived from information provided by sponsors)

Sponsor

#

Description

Debate Time

1. Rahall (WV)

#13

(REVISED) (1) Makes a technical change. (2) Strikes "biomass" from the Renewable Energy Resource definition. (3) Clarifies that the Secretary of the Interior may enter into cooperative education and training agreements with safety training firms in establishing the National Oil and Gas Health and Safety Academy. (4) Clarifies that the Secretary is permitted to consult with industry representatives regarding training program curricula, but is not authorized to utilize industry representatives as instructional personnel for the trainings. (5) Imposes civil penalties on CEO's who certify to false information about a company's capability to prevent or contain an oil spill. (6) Establishes a Citizen’s Advisory Committee composed of non-energy industry individuals to assist the Gulf Coast Restoration Task Force in its work. (7) Clarifies that the Regional Assessment and Regional Strategic Plan created by the Great Lakes Regional Coordination Council shall include only renewable and not non-renewable energy resources. (8) Ensures that Gulf residents would have the right of first refusal for processing the claims filed due to the oil spill. (9) Replaces the requirement for dispersant manufacturers to disclose their product's chemical formula with a requirement to disclose dispersant products' ingredients. (10) Provides that discharges resulting from salvage activities consistent with the National Contingency Plan or as directed by the President are exempt from liability under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. (11) Requires redundancy in accident and spill response plans as part of the permitting process under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. (12) Authorizes a study of the economic, safety, and environmental impacts of requiring a relief well be drilled in tandem with the drilling of some or all wells. (13) Requires the GAO to complete a study to determine whether the reforms to the Department of Interior mandated in this legislation have increased oversight and decreased conflicts of interest within the department. (14) Includes in the Environmental Study an analysis of the cumulative impact of drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf. (15) Requires oil and gas companies to pay royalties on all oil that is discharged from a well, including spilled oil. (16) Directs GAO to study the impact of assessing a fee on the processing of oil and gas leases and using the proceeds to fund the gathering of baseline environmental data necessary for the permitting process. (17) Directs the Secretary of the Interior to arrange with the National Academy of Engineering to study and report to the Secretary regarding whether the accuracy of collection of royalties on production of oil, condensate, and natural gas under leases of federal lands would be improved by implementing certain prescribed measures. (18) Amends the liability provisions in the Oil Pollution Act to protect claimants from signing broad liability releases, and to clarify that the new cause of action under OPA for damages to human health does not supersede remedies under other federal law.

(20 minutes)

2. Castle (DE)

#72

Would ensure there is no delay in the development of ocean renewable energy resources, including offshore wind, in the establishment of the new Bureau of Energy and Resource Management.

(10 minutes)

3. Kind (WI), Kratovil (MD), Heinrich (NM), Perriello (VA), Titus (NV), Kissell, Larry (NC), Arcuri (NY)

#59

(REVISED) Would require that no less than 1.5 percent of the Land and Water Conservation Fund each year go toward securing recreational public access to Federal Lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior for hunting, fishing, and other outdoor recreation.

 

(10 minutes)

4. Shea-Porter (NH)

#21

Would ensure that the ethics guidelines required for certain Department of Interior employees are updated at least every three years. The amendment would also ensure that the best available technology for oil spill response and mitigation, and the availability and accessibility of that technology is part of the Offshore Technology Research and Risk Assessment Program. Finally, the amendment would require that operators annually certify that their response and exploration plans include the best available technology and its availability.

(10 minutes)

5. Teague (NM), Jackson Lee (TX)

#85

Would allow a group of companies to cooperate to meet financial responsibility requirements by pooling of resources or joint insurance coverage.

(10 minutes)

6. Himes (CT)

#80

(REVISED) Would require, following initial clean-up of a spill, that the National Resources Damages Act trustee give equal and full consideration to all statutorily prescribed natural resource damage remedies to ensure that acquisition of non-impacted land is considered an equal remedy and not given lower priority as is currently provided in statute.

(10 minutes)

7. Connolly (VA), Holt (NJ), Welch (VT)

#9

(REVISED) Would prevent oil companies from shifting oil spill cleanup costs onto taxpayers by ensuring that Oil Pollution Act liabilities of an oil subsidiary will be inherited by the parent oil company in the event the subsidiary goes bankrupt and does not sell its assets. The amendment does not alter underlying liability provisions of OPA, and includes technical corrections from the Department of Justice.

(10 minutes)

8. Melancon (LA), Childers (MS)

#60

(REVISED) Would seek to end the federal moratorium on deepwater drilling. The moratorium would be prohibited from enforcement on those rigs that meet safety requirements set forth in NTL 05 and NTL 06.

(10 minutes)

9. Melancon (LA)

#58

 

 

 

 

 

 

(REVISED) Would create an additional civil penalty on Gulf Coast Oil Spills of more than 1 million barrels, and would direct those funds toward Gulf Coast environmental restoration projects.

(10 minutes)

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUMMARY OF AMENDMENT IN PART C PROPOSED TO BE CONSIDERED AS ADOPTED

 

Sponsor

#

Description

1. Miller, George (CA)

#1

Would make numerous technical changes to the bill, including reordering, for stylistic purposes, whistleblowers’ protected activities; conforming the language regarding causes of action to other accepted statutory language on the same subjects, particularly with respect to assigning court jurisdiction; clarifying that reporting to the employer or the government regarding the adequacy of an oil spill response plan is included among whistleblowers’ protected activities; and other technical corrections that do not alter the substance of the bill.