[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4043 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4043

 To provide for a report from the National Academy of Sciences on the 
    feasibility and design of a national strategic gasoline reserve.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 7, 2005

Mr. Issa (for himself, Mr. Conaway, Mr. Radanovich, Mrs. Bono, and Mr. 
  Doolittle) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide for a report from the National Academy of Sciences on the 
    feasibility and design of a national strategic gasoline reserve.

    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 ``Gasoline Assurance and Security 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The hurricanes of 2004 and 2005 heavily damaged 
        domestic petroleum infrastructure critical to the United States 
        economy.
            (2) Releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve have been 
        effective in mitigating supply shocks of crude oil but have 
        highlighted deficiencies in petroleum refining capacity.
            (3) The average pump price for September 6, 2005, was $3.07 
        per gallon, up $0.46 per gallon from the previous week--a 
        record weekly increase.
            (4) In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, 
        waivers of Clean Air Act requirements by the Environmental 
        Protection Agency were necessary to bring gasoline to market.
            (5) In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, to help meet demand 
        and mitigate potentially disastrous economic effects, the 
        United States had to rely on imports of gasoline from strategic 
        gasoline reserves in Europe.
            (6) Annual growth of domestic demand for gasoline outstrips 
        increases in United States refining capacity by 0.5 to 1.0 
        percent per year.
            (7) Imports of gasoline have increased 195 percent since 
        1995, with 12 percent of United States gasoline demand met by 
        imports in the summer of 2005.
            (8) In times of crisis, the speed at which foreign supplies 
        can be provided to meet a shortfall in domestic refining 
        production and the delivered price of imported supplies are of 
        grave concern.
            (9) No new domestic refineries are under construction, and 
        the tremendous requirements for capital investment, 
        construction, and engineering design cause lead-times of up to 
        5 years for completion of a new refinery.
            (10) It is necessary to find solutions for inadequate 
        supply of refined petroleum products during the aftermath of an 
        Act of God or national emergency.

SEC. 3. STUDY BY THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.

    The Secretary of Energy shall request the National Academy of 
Sciences to--
            (1) conduct a study to--
                    (A) determine what Federal action would be 
                necessary to improve the reserve supply of gasoline in 
                situations of severe gasoline supply interruption;
                    (B) determine the configuration and feasibility of 
                a Federal strategic national reserve for gasoline 
                taking into account--
                            (i) the needs of different regions of the 
                        country;
                            (ii) the likelihood that Clean Air Act 
                        waivers similar to those described in section 
                        2(4) would be issued with the release of 
                        gasoline from such a reserve; and
                            (iii) how such a reserve may affect the 
                        design and management of the Strategic 
                        Petroleum Reserve; and
                    (C) assess physical storage options on a scale 
                appropriate for a national reserve for gasoline, jet 
                fuel, diesel fuel, and natural gas, specifically 
                comparing the storage options for these fuels to that 
                of crude oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; and
            (2) not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, submit to Congress a report on the results of the 
        study.
                                 <all>