[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6724 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6724

 To terminate prohibitions on expenditures for, and withdrawals from, 
 offshore oil and gas leasing off the coast of Virginia, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 31, 2008

   Mr. Cantor (for himself, Mrs. Drake, and Mr. Wittman of Virginia) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
 Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation 
 and Infrastructure, 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 terminate prohibitions on expenditures for, and withdrawals from, 
 offshore oil and gas leasing off the coast of Virginia, 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 ``Drill Offshore to Pay Less Act''.

SEC. 2. TERMINATION OF PROHIBITIONS ON EXPENDITURES FOR, AND 
              WITHDRAWALS FROM, OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASING OFF THE 
              COAST OF VIRGINIA.

    (a) Prohibitions on Expenditures.--Except as provided in subsection 
(c), all provisions of Federal law that prohibit the expenditure of 
appropriated funds to conduct oil and natural gas leasing and 
preleasing activities shall have no force or effect with respect to any 
area of the Outer Continental Shelf off the coast of Virginia.
    (b) Withdrawals.--Except as provided in subsection (c), all 
withdrawals of Federal submerged lands of the Outer Continental Shelf 
off the coast of Virginia from leasing, including withdrawals by the 
President under the authority of section 12(a) of the Outer Continental 
Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1341(a)), are hereby revoked and are no 
longer in effect with respect to the leasing of areas for exploration 
for, and development and production of, oil and natural gas.
    (c) Areas Within 50 Miles of the Coastline.--Subsections (a) and 
(b) shall not apply with respect to any area of the Outer Continental 
Shelf located less than 50 miles from the coastline of the United 
States.

SEC. 3. STATE REQUEST FOR LEASING REQUIRED.

    Any area of the Outer Continental Shelf off the coast of Virginia 
shall not be available for leasing for exploration for, or the 
development or production of, oil or natural gas unless the Governor of 
Virginia, with the concurrence of the Virginia State legislature, has 
submitted to the Secretary of the Interior a request that the Secretary 
make such area available for such leasing.

SEC. 4. PROTECTION OF FISH AND WILDLIFE, HABITAT, SUBSISTENCE 
              RESOURCES, AND THE ENVIRONMENT.

    The Secretary of the Interior shall take such actions as are 
necessary to ensure that oil and gas exploration, development, and 
production activities under Federal leases of areas that are off the 
coast of Virginia will result in no significant adverse effect on fish 
and wildlife, their habitat, subsistence resources, and the 
environment, including by requiring the application of the best 
commercially available technology for oil and gas exploration, 
development, and production to all such activities in a manner that 
ensures the receipt by the public of the fair market value of the 
mineral resources that are subject to such leases.

SEC. 5. USE OF REVENUES.

    (a) In General.--Amounts received by the United States in the form 
of bonus bids, rents, and royalties for oil and gas leases for areas of 
the Outer Continental Shelf off the coast of Virginia issued after the 
date of the enactment of this Act shall be deposited into a separate 
account in the Treasury and available for use in accordance with this 
section.
    (b) Allocation.--Of the amount deposited under this section each 
fiscal year--
            (1) 20 percent shall be deposited in a separate account in 
        the Treasury that shall be administered by the Secretary of the 
        Treasury and available to mitigate any environmental damages 
        that occur as a result of exploration, development, or 
        production of oil and gas under leases for areas of the Outer 
        Continental Shelf off the coast of Virginia, including damage 
        caused by human error or natural disasters; and
            (2) 80 percent shall be paid by the Secretary of the 
        Treasury to the State of Virginia to administer cleanup of the 
        Chesapeake Bay and watersheds in Virginia.

SEC. 6. LIMITATION ON CONFLICT WITH MILITARY OPERATIONS.

    No person may engage in any exploration, development, or production 
of oil or natural gas off the coast of Virginia that would conflict 
with any military operation, as determined by the Secretary of Defense.

SEC. 7. OFF THE COAST OF VIRGINIA DEFINED.

    For purposes of this Act--
            (1) subject to paragraph (2), the term ``off the coast of 
        Virginia'' means the area for which the laws of the State of 
        Virginia are declared to be the law of the United States under 
        section 4(a)(2)(A) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 
        U.S.C. 1333(a)(2)(A)); and
            (2) the extended boundaries referred to in that section are 
        deemed for purposes of paragraph (1) to be as indicated on the 
        map entitled ``Atlantic OCS Region State Adjacent Zones and OCS 
        Planning Areas'', dated September 2005 and on file in the 
        Office of the Director, Minerals Management Service.
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