[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1794 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1794

          To establish a Strategic Gasoline and Fuel Reserve.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 29, 2005

 Mr. Durbin (for himself and Mr. Obama) introduced the following bill; 
   which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
          To establish a Strategic Gasoline and Fuel 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 ``Strategic Gasoline and Fuel Reserve 
Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. STRATEGIC GASOLINE AND FUEL RESERVE.

    (a) In General.--Title I of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act 
(42 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating part E (42 U.S.C. 6251 et seq.) as 
        part F;
            (2) by redesignating section 191 (42 U.S.C. 6251) as 
        section 199; and
            (3) by inserting after part D (42 U.S.C. 6250 et seq.) the 
        following:

             ``PART E--STRATEGIC GASOLINE AND FUEL RESERVE

``SEC. 191. DEFINITIONS.

    ``In this part:
            ``(1) Gasoline.--The term `gasoline' means regular unleaded 
        gasoline.
            ``(2) Reserve.--The term `Reserve' means the Strategic 
        Gasoline and Fuel Reserve established under section 192(a).

``SEC. 192. ESTABLISHMENT.

    ``(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, 
the Secretary shall establish, maintain, and operate a Strategic 
Gasoline and Fuel Reserve.
    ``(b) Not Component of Strategic Petroleum Reserve.--The Reserve is 
not a component of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve established under 
part B.
    ``(c) Capacity.--The Reserve shall contain not more than--
            ``(1) 40,000,000 barrels of gasoline; and
            ``(2) 7,500,000 barrels of jet fuel.
    ``(d) Reserve Sites.--
            ``(1) Siting.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall determine not less 
        than 3 Reserve sites, and not more than 5 Reserve sites, 
        throughout the United States that are regionally strategic.
            ``(2) Operation.--The Reserve sites described in paragraph 
        (1) shall be operational not later than 2 years after the date 
        of enactment of this Act.
    ``(e) Security.--In establishing the Reserve under this section, 
the Secretary shall obtain the concurrence of the Secretary of Homeland 
Security with respect to physical design security and operational 
security.
    ``(f) Authority.--In carrying out this part, the Secretary may--
            ``(1) purchase, contract for, lease, or otherwise acquire, 
        in whole or in part, storage and related facilities and storage 
        services;
            ``(2) use, lease, maintain, sell, or otherwise dispose of 
        storage and related facilities acquired under this part;
            ``(3) acquire by purchase, exchange, lease, or other means 
        gasoline and fuel for storage in the Reserve;
            ``(4) store gasoline and fuel in facilities not owned by 
        the United States; and
            ``(5) sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of gasoline and 
        fuel from the Reserve, including to maintain--
                    ``(A) the quality or quantity of the gasoline or 
                fuel in the Reserve; or
                    ``(B) the operational capacity of the Reserve.
    ``(g) Fill Date.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
        Secretary shall complete the process of filling the Reserve 
        under this section by March 1, 2008.
            ``(2) Extensions.--The President may extend the deadline 
        established under paragraph (1) if--
                    ``(A) the President determines that filling the 
                Reserve within that deadline would cause an undue 
                economic burden on the United States; and
                    ``(B) the President receives approval from 
                Congress.

``SEC. 193. RELEASE OF GASOLINE AND FUEL.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall release gasoline or fuel 
from the Reserve only if--
            ``(1) the President finds that there is a severe fuel 
        supply disruption by finding that--
                    ``(A) a regional or national supply shortage of 
                gasoline or fuel of significant scope and duration has 
                occurred;
                    ``(B) a substantial increase in the price of 
                gasoline or fuel has resulted from the shortage;
                    ``(C) the price increase is likely to cause a 
                significant adverse impact on the national economy; and
                    ``(D) releasing gasoline or fuel from the Reserve 
                would assist directly and significantly in reducing the 
                adverse impact of the shortage; or
            ``(2)(A) the Governor of a State submits to the Secretary a 
        written request for a release from the Reserve that contains a 
        finding that--
                    ``(i) a regional or statewide supply shortage of 
                gasoline or fuel of significant scope and duration has 
                occurred;
                    ``(ii) a substantial increase in the price of 
                gasoline or fuel has resulted from the shortage; and
                    ``(iii) the price increase is likely to cause a 
                significant adverse impact on the economy of the State; 
                and
            ``(B) the Secretary concurs with the findings of the 
        Governor under subparagraph (A) and determines that--
                    ``(i) a release from the Reserve would mitigate 
                gasoline or fuel price volatility in the State;
                    ``(ii) a release from the Reserve would not have an 
                adverse effect on the long-term economic viability of 
                retail gasoline or fuel markets in the State and 
                adjacent States; and
                    ``(iii) a release from the Reserve would not 
                suppress prices below long-term market trend levels.
    ``(b) Procedure.--
            ``(1) Response of secretary.--The Secretary shall respond 
        to a request submitted under subsection (a)(2) not later than 5 
        days after receipt of the request by--
                    ``(A) approving the request;
                    ``(B) denying the request; or
                    ``(C) requesting additional supporting information.
            ``(2) Release.--The Secretary shall establish procedures 
        governing the release of gasoline or fuel from the Reserve in 
        accordance with this subsection.
            ``(3) Requirements.--
                    ``(A) Eligible entity.--In this paragraph, the term 
                `eligible entity' means an entity that is customarily 
                engaged in the sale or distribution of gasoline or 
                fuel.
                    ``(B) Sale or disposal from reserve.--The 
                procedures established under this subsection shall 
                provide that the Secretary may--
                            ``(i) sell gasoline or fuel from the 
                        Reserve to an eligible entity through a 
                        competitive process; or
                            ``(ii) enter into an exchange agreement 
                        with an eligible entity under which the 
                        Secretary receives a greater volume of gasoline 
                        or fuel as repayment from the eligible entity 
                        than the volume provided to the eligible 
                        entity.
    ``(c) Continuing Evaluation.--The Secretary shall conduct a 
continuing evaluation of the drawdown and sales procedures established 
under this section.

``SEC. 194. REPORTS.

    ``(a) Gasoline and Fuel.--Not later than 45 days after the date of 
enactment of this section, the Secretary shall submit to Congress and 
the President a plan describing--
            ``(1) the acquisition of storage and related facilities or 
        storage services for the Reserve, including the use of storage 
        facilities not currently in use or not currently used to 
        capacity;
            ``(2) the acquisition of gasoline and fuel for storage in 
        the Reserve;
            ``(3) the anticipated methods of disposition of gasoline 
        and fuel from the Reserve;
            ``(4) the estimated costs of establishment, maintenance, 
        and operation of the Reserve;
            ``(5) efforts that the Department will take to minimize any 
        potential need for future drawdowns from the Reserve; and
            ``(6) actions to ensure the quality of the gasoline and 
        fuel in the Reserve are maintained.
    ``(b) Natural Gas and Diesel.--Not later than 90 days after the 
date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall submit to 
Congress a report describing the feasibility of creating a natural gas 
and diesel reserve similar to the Reserve under this part.

``SEC. 195. STRATEGIC GASOLINE AND FUEL RESERVE FUND.

    ``(a) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury of the 
United States a revolving fund, to be known as the `Strategic Gasoline 
and Fuel Reserve Fund' (referred to in this section as the `Fund'), 
consisting of--
            ``(1) such amounts as are appropriated to the Fund under 
        subsection (b);
            ``(2) such amounts as are appropriated to the Fund under 
        section 196; and
            ``(3) any interest earned on investment of amounts in the 
        Fund under subsection (d).
    ``(b) Transfers to Fund.--There are appropriated to the Fund 
amounts equivalent to amounts collected as receipts and received in the 
Treasury from the sale, exchange, or other disposition of gasoline or 
fuel from the Reserve.
    ``(c) Expenditures From Fund.--On request by the Secretary and 
without the need for further appropriation, the Secretary of the 
Treasury shall transfer from the Fund to the Secretary such amounts as 
the Secretary determines are necessary to carry out activities under 
this part, to remain available until expended.
    ``(d) Investment of Amounts.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall 
        invest such portion of the Fund as is not, in the judgment of 
        the Secretary of the Treasury, required to meet current 
        withdrawals.
            ``(2) Interest-bearing obligations.--Investments may be 
        made only in interest-bearing obligations of the United States.
            ``(3) Acquisition of obligations.--For the purpose of 
        investments under paragraph (1), obligations may be acquired--
                    ``(A) on original issue at the issue price; or
                    ``(B) by purchase of outstanding obligations at the 
                market price.
            ``(4) Sale of obligations.--Any obligation acquired by the 
        Fund may be sold by the Secretary of the Treasury at the market 
        price.
            ``(5) Credits to fund.--The interest on, and the proceeds 
        from the sale or redemption of, any obligations held in the 
        Fund shall be credited to and form a part of the Fund.
    ``(e) Transfers of Amounts.--
            ``(1) In general.--The amounts required to be transferred 
        to the Fund under this section shall be transferred at least 
        monthly from the general fund of the Treasury to the Fund on 
        the basis of estimates made by the Secretary of the Treasury.
            ``(2) Adjustments.--Proper adjustment shall be made in 
        amounts subsequently transferred to the extent prior estimates 
        were in excess of or less than the amounts required to be 
        transferred.

``SEC. 196. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are 
necessary to carry out this part, to remain available until 
expended.''.

SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

    The table of contents for title I of the Energy Policy and 
Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6201 note) is amended by striking the 
matter relating to part D and inserting the following:

              ``Part D--Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve

        ``Sec. 181. Establishment.
        ``Sec. 182. Authority.
        ``Sec. 183. Conditions for release; plan.
        ``Sec. 184. Northeast home heating oil reserve account.
        ``Sec. 185. Exemptions.
        ``Sec. 186. Authorization of appropriations.
             ``Part E--Strategic Gasoline and Fuel Reserve

        ``Sec. 191. Definitions.
        ``Sec. 192. Establishment.
        ``Sec. 193. Release of gasoline and fuel.
        ``Sec. 194. Reports.
        ``Sec. 195. Strategic Gasoline and Fuel Reserve Fund.
        ``Sec. 196. Authorization of appropriations.
                          ``Part F--Expiration

        ``Sec. 199. Expiration.''.
                                 <all>