[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2927 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2927

 To increase the supply and lower the cost of petroleum by temporarily 
  suspending the acquisition of petroleum for the Strategic Petroleum 
Reserve and to amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to include 
          additional acquisition requirements for the Reserve.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 28, 2008

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To increase the supply and lower the cost of petroleum by temporarily 
  suspending the acquisition of petroleum for the Strategic Petroleum 
Reserve and to amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to include 
          additional acquisition requirements for the 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 ``Government Oil Acquisition Financial 
Accountability and Consumer Relief Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. SUSPENSION OF PETROLEUM ACQUISITION FOR STRATEGIC PETROLEUM 
              RESERVE.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, during 
any period in which the conditions described in subsection (b) are not 
met, the Secretary of Energy shall suspend acquisition of petroleum for 
the Strategic Petroleum Reserve through the royalty-in-kind program or 
any other acquisition method.
    (b) Resumption.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary may resume acquisition of 
        petroleum for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve through the 
        royalty-in-kind program or any other acquisition method under 
        subsection (a) not earlier than 30 days after the date on which 
        the Secretary notifies Congress that the Secretary has 
        determined that, for the most recent consecutive 4-week 
        period--
                    (A) the weighted average price of retail, regular, 
                all formulations gasoline in the United States is $2.50 
                or less per gallon (as adjusted under paragraph (2)); 
                or
                    (B) the weighted average price of retail, No. 2 
                diesel in the United States is $2.75 or less per gallon 
                (as adjusted under paragraph (2)).
            (2) Adjustment.--For fiscal year 2009 and each subsequent 
        fiscal year, the prices described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) 
        of paragraph (1) for the preceding fiscal year shall be 
        adjusted to reflect changes for the 12-month period ending the 
        preceding November 30 in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban 
        Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the 
        Department of Labor.

SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL ACQUISITION REQUIREMENTS.

    Section 160 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 
6240) is amended by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
    ``(d) Additional Acquisition Requirements.--
            ``(1) In general.--To the maximum extent practicable, any 
        acquisitions made by the Secretary for the Reserve shall 
        reflect a steady monthly dollar value of oil acquired through 
        the royalty-in-kind program or any other acquisition method 
        allowed by law.
            ``(2) Particular inclusion.--
                    ``(A) Definition of heavy crude oil.--In this 
                paragraph, the term `heavy crude oil' means oil with a 
                gravity index of not more than 22 degrees.
                    ``(B) Requirement.--To the extent technologically 
                feasible, financially beneficial for the Treasury of 
                the United States, and compatible with domestic 
                refining requirements, the Secretary shall include at 
                least 10 percent heavy crude oil in making any 
                acquisitions of crude oil for the Reserve.
            ``(3) Negotiation of delivery dates.--Nothing in this 
        subsection limits the ability of the Secretary to negotiate 
        delivery dates for crude oil acquired for the Reserve.
            ``(4) National security needs.--The Secretary may waive any 
        requirement under this subsection if the Secretary determines 
        that the requirement is inconsistent with the national security 
        needs of the United States.''.
                                 <all>