[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 922 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 922

 To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to make available for the Low-Income 
  Home Energy Assistance Program a specified percentage of the money 
    received by the United States from onshore Federal oil and gas 
                              development.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 21, 2001

  Mr. Schumer (for himself and Mrs. Clinton) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to make available for the Low-Income 
  Home Energy Assistance Program a specified percentage of the money 
    received by the United States from onshore Federal oil and gas 
                              development.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Low-Income Energy Assistance 
Reinvestment Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) high energy costs are causing hardship for families;
            (2) restructured energy markets have increased the need for 
        a higher and more consistent level of funding for low-income 
        energy assistance programs;
            (3) senior citizens, low-income individuals, and 
        individuals living on fixed incomes have been especially hurt 
        by higher energy costs;
            (4) high natural gas prices and unprecedented demand for 
        electricity are likely to keep electricity rates high across 
        the United States;
            (5) summer cooling requirements will only exacerbate the 
        problem of continued high electricity rates;
            (6) the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program 
        established under the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 
        1981 (42 U.S.C. 8621 et seq.), assists consumers in managing 
        increased costs and ensures that key investments are made in 
        weatherization; and
            (7) royalty revenues from oil produced from Federal land 
        should be used to help those suffering from the high costs of 
        restructured energy markets.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to provide additional 
assistance for home energy needs to individuals who are most affected 
by high energy prices.

SEC. 3. AVAILABILITY OF ONSHORE FEDERAL OIL AND GAS REVENUES FOR LOW-
              INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

    Section 35(a) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 191(a)) is 
amended in the first sentence--
            (1) by striking ``paid into the Treasury of the United 
        States;'' and inserting ``deposited in the Treasury of the 
        United States, of which 5 percent shall be available to the 
        Secretary of Health and Human Services for use in carrying out 
        the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 
        8621 et seq.);''; and
            (2) by striking ``per centum'' each place it appears and 
        inserting ``percent''.
                                 <all>