[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4479 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4479

 To repeal provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 8, 2005

   Mr. Higgins (for himself, Mr. Markey, Mr. Bishop of New York, Ms. 
DeLauro, Mr. Rush, and Mr. Israel) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the 
 Committees on Resources, Science, Energy and Commerce, Education and 
  the Workforce, and Small Business, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To repeal provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and for other 
                               purposes.

    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 ``Energy Consumer Relief Act of 
2005''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) During 2005, the price of crude oil reached a record 
        $70 a barrel, the price of gas at the pump reached a record 
        price of $3 per gallon, and the price of natural gas reached a 
        record of $14.75 per million BTUs on October 5, 2005.
            (2) Record highs in oil and natural gas prices have 
        resulted in record profits for oil and natural gas producers 
        and refiners. In October 2005, the five largest oil companies 
        reported a total of $32.7 billion in the third quarter profits, 
        a record increase of 52 percent over last year. Exxon Mobil 
        recorded $9.9 billion, a 75 percent increase in profits; 
        ChevronTexaco recorded $3.6 billion, a 13 percent increase in 
        profits; Conoco Phillips recorded $3.8 billion, an 89 percent 
        increase in profits; BP recorded $6.5 billion, a 34 percent 
        increase in profits; and Royal Dutch Shell recorded $9.03 
        billion, a 68 percent increase in profits. Over the first three 
        quarters of the year, the top five oil companies recorded a 
        combined total of $81 billion in profits.
            (3) Higher oil company profits have been accompanied by a 
        dramatic increase in pay and compensation for the senior 
        executives at major oil companies. The total 2004 direct 
        compensation for the top five oil and gas company executives, 
        as reported in a Wall Street Journal survey, averaged $16.5 
        million, double the prior year.
            (4) The CEO's of the top five oil companies stated at a 
        November 9, 2005, joint hearing of the Senate Energy and 
        Natural Resource Committee and the Senate Environment and 
        Public Works Committee that their respective companies did not 
        need the Federal tax incentives provided in the Energy Policy 
        Act of 2005.
            (5) The effective tax rates of the top five oil companies 
        averaged 13.3 percent over the three-year period 2001-2003, 
        well below the 35 percent rate, and in contrast to those in the 
        health care industry, the financial industry, the 
        pharmaceutical industry, the computer industry and the chemical 
        industry.
            (6) Oil prices are projected to remain high for the 
        foreseeable future, translating into continued high oil company 
        profits. According to the Administrator of the Energy 
        Information Administration, the Administration's 2006 Annual 
        Energy Outlook will forecast an oil price in 2025 that is 
        nearly $20 a barrel higher than the 2005 Outlook.
            (7) The Federal budget deficit this year was $319 billion, 
        the third largest in history, and the national debt is 
        currently above $8 trillion.
            (8) In light of the size of the Federal budget deficit and 
        the national debt, the record price of oil and natural gas, and 
        the historic profits earned by oil and natural gas producers, 
        there is no justification for granting such companies special 
        tax breaks and exemptions from paying royalties for drilling 
        for oil and natural gas on public lands, as was authorized in 
        the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
            (9) Home heating costs are expected to jump dramatically 
        this winter, even after consumers have paid hundred of dollars 
        more this year in gasoline costs. This is squeezing the 
        pocketbooks of millions of hard-working families. Americans who 
        heat their homes with natural gas could see their fuel costs 
        increase as much as 50 percent in some parts of the country. On 
        average, the more than half of all American households heating 
        with natural gas are expected to spend 38 percent more this 
        winter on fuel. Households heating with heating oil can expect 
        to pay 21 percent more this winter. The National Energy 
        Assistance Directors' Association reports that the average 
        family using heating oil will pay nearly three times the amount 
        families paid in 2001 to 2002.

SEC. 3. REPEAL OF CERTAIN TAX SUBSIDIES FOR THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY.

    (a) Repeal of Election to Expense Certain Refineries.--
            (1) In general.--Subparagraph (B) of section 179C(c)(1) of 
        such Code (relating to qualified refinery property) is amended 
        by striking ``January 1, 2012'' and inserting ``the date of the 
        enactment of the Energy Consumer Relief Act of 2005''.
            (2) Effective date.--The amendment made by paragraph (1) 
        shall apply to property placed in service after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act.
    (b) Repeal of Treatment of Natural Gas Distribution Lines as 15-
Year Property.--
            (1) In general.--Clause (viii) of section 168(e)(3)(E) of 
        such Code (relating to 15-year property) is amended by striking 
        ``January 1, 2011'' and inserting ``the Energy Consumer Relief 
        Act of 2005''.
            (2) Effective date.--The amendment made by paragraph (1) 
        shall apply to property placed in service after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act.
    (c) Repeal of Treatment of Natural Gas Gathering Lines as 7-Year 
Property.--
            (1) In general.--Clause (iv) of section 168(e)(3)(C) of 
        such Code (relating to 7-year property) is amended by inserting 
        ``and which is placed in service before the date of the 
        enactment of the Energy Consumer Relief Act of 2005'' after 
        ``April 11, 2005,''.
            (2) Effective date.--The amendment made by paragraph (1) 
        shall apply to property placed in service after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act.
    (d) Repeal of New Rule for Determining Small Refiner Exception to 
Oil Depletion Deduction.--
            (1) In general.--Paragraph (4) of section 613A(d) of such 
        Code (relating to certain refiners excluded) is amended to read 
        as follows:
            ``(4) Certain refiners excluded.--If the taxpayer or a 
        related person engages in the refining of crude oil, subsection 
        (c) shall not apply to such taxpayer if on any day during the 
        taxable year the refinery runs of the taxpayer and such person 
        exceed 50,000 barrels.''.
            (2) Effective date.--The amendment made by paragraph (1) 
        shall apply to taxable years beginning after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act.
    (e) Repeal of Amortization of Geological and Geophysical 
Expenditures.--
            (1) In general.--Section 167 of such Code (relating to 
        depreciation) is amended by striking subsection (h).
            (2) Conforming amendment.--Section 263A(c)(3) of such Code 
        is amended by striking ``167(h),''.
            (3) Effective date.--The amendments made by this subsection 
        shall apply to amounts paid or incurred after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. REPEAL OF CERTAIN OTHER PROVISIONS PROVIDING INCENTIVES FOR THE 
              OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY.

    The following provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public 
Law 109-58) are repealed:
            (1) Section 343 (relating to marginal property production 
        incentives).
            (2) Section 344 (relating to incentives for natural gas 
        production from deep wells in the shallow waters of the Gulf of 
        Mexico).
            (3) Section 345 (relating to royalty relief for deep water 
        production).
            (4) Section 346 (relating to Alaska offshore royalty 
        suspension).
            (5) Section 347 (relating to oil and gas leasing in the 
        National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska).
            (6) Section 351 (relating to preservation of geological and 
        geophysical data).
            (7) Section 357 (relating to a comprehensive inventory of 
        OCS oil and natural gas resources).
            (8) Section 362 (relating to management of Federal oil and 
        gas leasing programs).
            (9) Section 965 (relating to oil and gas research 
        programs).
            (10) Section 966 (relating to low-volume oil and gas 
        reservoir research program).
            (11) Subtitle J of title IX (relating to ultra-deepwater 
        and unconventional natural gas and other petroleum resources).

SEC. 5. REQUIREMENT TO SUSPEND ROYALTY RELIEF.

    (a) Requirement to Suspend.--The President shall suspend the 
application of any provision of Federal law under which any person is 
given relief from any requirement to pay royalty for production oil or 
natural gas from Federal lands (including submerge lands), for 
production occurring in any period with respect to which--
            (1) in the case of production of oil, the average price of 
        crude oil in the United States over the most recent 4 
        consecutive weeks is greater than $40 per barrel, or such 
        lesser amount as applies for such purpose under the lease under 
        which such production occurs; and
            (2) in the case of production of natural gas, the average 
        wellhead price of natural gas in the United States over the 
        most recent 4 consecutive weeks is greater than $5 per thousand 
        cubic feet, or such lesser amount as applies for such purpose 
        under the lease under which such production occurs.
    (b) Determination of Market Price.--The President shall determine 
average prices for purposes of subsection (a) based on the most recent 
data reported by the Energy Information Administration of the 
Department of Energy.

SEC. 6. EXPENDITURE OF ADDITIONAL REVENUE.

     Amounts equivalent to the increased revenues received in the 
Treasury as the result of the enactment of this Act (reduced by 
decreases in such revenues as the result of sections 7 and 8), up to a 
total of $2,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 and 2007, shall 
be directly available to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for 
obligation and expenditure for allotment under section 2604(e) of the 
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981. In making allotments of 
funds made available under this section, the Secretary shall give due 
regard to the most recent estimates available from the Department of 
Energy regarding anticipated energy prices during the heating and 
cooling seasons for which funds are being provided, and to the probable 
effect of those prices on the heating and cooling expenses of low-
income households.

SEC. 7. REFUNDABLE TAX CREDIT FOR ENERGY COST ASSISTANCE OF FARMERS AND 
              RANCHERS.

    (a) In General.--Subpart C of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to refundable credits) 
is amended by redesignating section 36 as section 37 and by inserting 
after section 35 the following new section:

``SEC. 36. CREDIT FOR ENERGY COST ASSISTANCE FOR FARMERS AND RANCHERS.

    ``(a) General Rule.--In the case of an eligible taxpayer, there 
shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed by this subtitle 
for the taxable year an amount equal to the lesser of--
            ``(1) 20 percent of the amount paid or incurred for 
        qualified energy costs, or
            ``(2) $1,500.
    ``(b) Eligible Taxpayer.--For purposes of this section, the term 
`eligible taxpayer' means any individual engaged in a farming business 
(as defined in section 263A(e)(4)).
    ``(c) Qualified Energy Costs.--For purposes of this section, the 
term `qualified energy costs' means the cost of any fuel, energy 
utility, natural gas, propane gas, LP gas, fertilizer, and heating oil 
used in the farming business of the taxpayer during the taxable year.
    ``(d) Termination.--This section shall not apply to qualified 
energy costs paid or incurred after December 31, 2005.''.
    (b) No Double Benefit.--Section 280C of the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(e) Energy Assistance for Farmers and Ranchers.--No deduction 
shall be allowed for that portion of the expenses otherwise allowable 
as a deduction for the taxable year which is equal to the amount of the 
credit determined under section 36(a).''.
    (c) Refundability.--Section 1324(b)(2) of title 31, United States 
Code, is amended by striking ``or'' before ``enacted'' and by inserting 
before the period at the end ``, or from section 36 of such Code''.
    (d) Clerical Amendments.--The table of sections for subpart C of 
part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by striking the item relating to section 35 and by 
adding at the end the following new items:

``Sec. 36. Credit for energy cost assistance for farmers and ranchers.
``Sec. 37. Overpayments of tax.''.
    (e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2004.

SEC. 8. SMALL BUSINESS ENERGY EMERGENCY GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Small Business Energy Emergency Grants.--The Small Business Act 
(15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating section 37 as section 38; and
            (2) by inserting after section 36 the following new section 
        37:

``SEC. 37. ENERGY EMERGENCY GRANT PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Establishment.--The Administrator shall establish and carry 
out an Energy Emergency Grant Program through which the Administrator 
may make a grant to a small business concern that the Administrator 
determines has suffered or is likely to suffer substantial economic 
injury as a result of a significant increase in the price of heating 
oil, natural gas, gasoline, transportation fuel, propane, or kerosene.
    ``(b) Amount of Grant.--
            ``(1) Limitation.--No grant under this section may exceed 
        $1,500.
            ``(2) Exception.--The Administrator may waive the 
        limitation under paragraph (1) for a small business concern if 
        the Administrator determines that the small business concern 
        constitutes a major source of employment in its surrounding 
        area.
    ``(c) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) The term `significant increase' means--
                    ``(A) with respect to the price of heating oil, 
                natural gas, gasoline, transportation fuel, or propane, 
                an increase of the current price index over the base 
                price index by not less than 30 percent; and
                    ``(B) with respect to the price of kerosene, any 
                increase which the Administrator, in consultation with 
                the Secretary of Energy, determines to be significant.
            ``(2) The term `current price index' means the moving 
        average of the closing unit price on the New York Mercantile 
        Exchange, for the 10 most recent trading days, for contracts to 
        purchase heating oil, natural gas, gasoline, transportation 
        fuel, or propane during the subsequent calendar month, commonly 
        known as the `front month'.
            ``(3) The term `base price index' means the moving average 
        of the closing unit price on the New York Mercantile Exchange 
        for heating oil, natural gas, gasoline, transportation fuel, or 
        propane for the 10 days, in each of the most recent 2 preceding 
        years, which correspond to the trading days described in 
        paragraph (2).''.
    (b) Effective Date.--Section 36 of the Small Business Act, as added 
by subsection (a), shall apply with respect to economic injury suffered 
on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>