1.Minerals Management Service
(a)In this section:
(1)The term Department means the
Department of the Interior.
(2)The term Director means the
Director of the Service.
(3)The term royalty-in-kind
program means the program established under—
(A)section 342 of the Energy Policy Act of
2005 (42 U.S.C. 15902);
(B)section 36 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30
U.S.C. 192);
(C)section 27 of the Outer Continental Shelf
Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1353); or
(D)any other similar provision of law.
(4)The term Secretary means the
Secretary of the Interior.
(5)The term Service means the
Minerals Management Service.
(b)The Secretary shall—
(1)establish and maintain within the
Department the Minerals Management Service; and
(2)assign to the Service such functions as the
Secretary considers appropriate.
(c)The Service shall be headed by a Director
who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of
the Senate.
(d)
(1)The Director shall
ensure that the Service implements a comprehensive program of financial audits
of royalty payments and adjustments, including physical on-site audits, on the
basis of risk and statistical samples.
(2)Not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director shall promulgate regulations that—
(A)require that all employees of the Service
that conduct audits and compliance reviews meet professional auditor
qualifications that are consistent with the latest revision of the Government
Auditing Standards published by the Government Accountability Office;
and
(B)ensure that all audits conducted by the
Service are performed in accordance with the standards.
(3)The Inspector General of the Department
shall—
(A)conduct, annually and as necessary, audits
of activities of the Service, including leasing and royalty activities;
and
(B)report the results of the audits of
activities of the Service (including leasing and royalty activities) and the
certifications required under subsection (e) to—
(i)the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources of the Senate;
(ii)the Committee on Natural Resources of the
House of Representatives; and
(iii)the Secretary.
(e)Royalties-in-kind program
(1)Subject to paragraph (3), not later than 60
days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to
Congress a certification that all of the recommendations made by the Office of
the Inspector General of the Department as the result of investigations that
culminated in a memorandum dated September 9, 2008, and a report dated May 2008
(C–EV–MMS–001–2008), with respect to the royalty-in-kind program have been
implemented.
(2)Subject to paragraph (3), not later than 1
year after the date of enactment of this Act and each year thereafter, the
Secretary shall submit to Congress a certification that the royalty-in-kind
program is in full compliance with Federal law (including regulations)
governing procurement and ethics.
(3)Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
if the Secretary fails to make a certification required under paragraph (1) or
(2), the authority of the Secretary to carry out each royalty-in-kind program
is suspended during the period—
(A)beginning on the day after the deadline for
the certification under that paragraph; and
(B)ending on the date the Secretary makes the
certification required under that paragraph.