[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2264 Reported in House (RH)]






                                                  Union Calendar No. 96
110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2264

                          [Report No. 110-160]

 To amend the Sherman Act to make oil-producing and exporting cartels 
                                illegal.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 10, 2007

     Mr. Conyers (for himself, Mr. Chabot, and Ms. Zoe Lofgren of 
 California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

                              May 21, 2007

 Additional sponsors: Mr. Kagen, Mr. Hill, Mr. Cohen, Ms. Clarke, Mr. 
Arcuri, Mr. Space, Mr. Sestak, Mr. Kucinich, Mr. Murphy of Connecticut, 
                        and Mr. Hall of New York

                              May 21, 2007

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Sherman Act to make oil-producing and exporting cartels 
                                illegal.

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

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``No Oil Producing and 
Exporting Cartels Act of 2007 or `NOPEC'''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. SHERMAN ACT.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    The Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. 1 et seq.) is amended by adding 
after section 7 the following:</DELETED>

<DELETED>``SEC. 7A. OIL PRODUCING CARTELS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    ``(a) In General.--It shall be illegal and a violation of 
this Act for any foreign state, or any instrumentality or agent of any 
foreign state, to act collectively or in combination with any other 
foreign state, any instrumentality or agent of any other foreign state, 
or any other person, whether by cartel or any other association or form 
of cooperation or joint action--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) to limit the production or distribution of 
        oil, natural gas, or any other petroleum product;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) to set or maintain the price of oil, natural 
        gas, or any petroleum product; or</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) to otherwise take any action in restraint of 
        trade for oil, natural gas, or any petroleum product;</DELETED>
<DELETED>when such action, combination, or collective action has a 
direct, substantial, and reasonably foreseeable effect on the market, 
supply, price, or distribution of oil, natural gas, or other petroleum 
product in the United States.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(b) Sovereign Immunity.--A foreign state engaged in 
conduct in violation of subsection (a) shall not be immune under the 
doctrine of sovereign immunity from the jurisdiction or judgments of 
the courts of the United States in any action brought to enforce this 
section.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(c) Inapplicability of Act of State Doctrine.--No court 
of the United States shall decline, based on the act of state doctrine, 
to make a determination on the merits in an action brought under this 
section.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(d) Enforcement.--The Attorney General of the United 
States may bring an action to enforce this section in any district 
court of the United States as provided under the antitrust 
laws.''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 3. SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Section 1605(a) of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) in paragraph (6), by striking ``or'' after the 
        semicolon;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period and 
        inserting ``; or''; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) by adding at the end the following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(8) in which the action is brought under section 
        7A of the Sherman Act.''.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

     This Act may be cited as the ``No Oil Producing and Exporting 
Cartels Act of 2007'' or ``NOPEC''.

SEC. 2. SHERMAN ACT.

     The Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. 1 et seq.) is amended by adding after 
section 7 the following:
    ``Sec. 7A. (a) It shall be illegal and a violation of this Act for 
any foreign state, or any instrumentality or agent of any foreign 
state, to act collectively or in combination with any other foreign 
state, any instrumentality or agent of any other foreign state, or any 
other person, whether by cartel or any other association or form of 
cooperation or joint action--
            ``(1) to limit the production or distribution of oil, 
        natural gas, or any other petroleum product;
            ``(2) to set or maintain the price of oil, natural gas, or 
        any petroleum product; or
            ``(3) to otherwise take any action in restraint of trade 
        for oil, natural gas, or any petroleum product;
when such action, combination, or collective action has a direct, 
substantial, and reasonably foreseeable effect on the market, supply, 
price, or distribution of oil, natural gas, or other petroleum product 
in the United States.
    ``(b) A foreign state engaged in conduct in violation of subsection 
(a) shall not be immune under the doctrine of sovereign immunity from 
the jurisdiction or judgments of the courts of the United States in any 
action brought to enforce this section.
    ``(c) No court of the United States shall decline, based on the act 
of state doctrine, to make a determination on the merits in an action 
brought under this section.
    ``(d) The Attorney General of the United States may bring an action 
to enforce this section in any district court of the United States as 
provided under the antitrust laws.''.

SEC. 3. SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY.

     Section 1605(a) of title 28, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (6), by striking ``or'' after the 
        semicolon;
            (2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period and inserting 
        ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(8) in which the action is brought under section 7A of 
        the Sherman Act.''.
                                                  Union Calendar No. 96

110th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 2264

                          [Report No. 110-160]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 To amend the Sherman Act to make oil-producing and exporting cartels 
                                illegal.

_______________________________________________________________________

                              May 21, 2007

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed