[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3008 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3008

   To establish a National Strategic Gasoline Reserve, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 23, 2009

 Mr. Kissell introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To establish a National Strategic Gasoline Reserve, 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 ``National Strategic Gasoline Reserve 
for Purposes of National Security Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. STRATEGIC GASOLINE RESERVE.

    (a) Establishment.--
            (1) Authority.--The Secretary of Energy shall establish a 
        Strategic Gasoline Reserve system (in this section referred to 
        as the ``Gasoline Reserve'') with a total capacity of 
        10,000,000 barrels of regular unleaded gasoline.
            (2) Reserve locations.--No later than 1 year after the date 
        of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall determine 
        strategic locations for no less than three and no more than 
        five Gasoline Reserve sites, each located in a different 
        geographical region of the United States. When determining site 
        locations, the Secretary shall consider all factors, including 
        seasonal and regional variations in gasoline, cost, regional 
        population, accessibility for distribution, and the region's 
        vulnerability to natural disasters and acts of terrorism. The 
        Secretary shall endeavor to find the most affordable method for 
        storage and, when possible, should consult the methodology used 
        for the creation of the Home Heating Oil Reserve and the 
        Strategic Petroleum Reserves. Such reserve site locations shall 
        be operational within 2 years after the date of enactment of 
        this Act.
            (3) Onsite protection.--In establishing the Gasoline 
        Reserve under this section, the Secretary shall confer with the 
        Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of Homeland 
        Security with respect to physical structures' security, the 
        transportation security, and operational security.
    (b) Transportation.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall transmit to the 
Congress, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Governor of each 
State in which a Gasoline Reserve will be sited a plan for the 
transportation of the contents of the Gasoline Reserve under this 
section to wholesale or retail markets in the event of an emergency 
sale under subsection (d).
    (c) Capacity.--The Secretary of Energy shall complete the process 
of filling the Gasoline Reserve to a minimum of 90 percent within 2 
years of submitting a transportation plan to the Congress.
    (d) Aging Supply.--The Secretary shall conduct an annual review of 
the gasoline supply to ensure the reserves in the Gasoline Reserve do 
not exceed their shelf life. The Secretary shall have in place within 2 
years of enactment of this Act a plan for assuring that the inventory 
is sold and replaced in a manner that assures the integrity of the 
product at all times. The Secretary shall have the authority to 
exchange an aging supply of reserve gasoline through private sales or 
by utilizing the fuel for military or government use. The Secretary 
shall seek the best means to minimize transaction expense.
    (e) Requests for Emergency Sale Authorization.--The Secretary of 
Energy shall sell gasoline from the Gasoline Reserve if--
            (1) the Governor of an affected State submits a written 
        request that--
                    (A) provides sufficient evidence that the sale or 
                supply of gasoline in the region in which such State is 
                located has been severely disrupted, caused by, but not 
                limited to, an interruption in the normal distribution 
                or availability of gasoline which dramatically affects 
                the price of gasoline; and
                    (B) provides sufficient evidence that the State 
                would experience further adverse effects without the 
                sale of gasoline from the Gasoline Reserve; and
            (2) the President issues an Executive order requiring 
        immediate release from any or all Gasoline Reserves at any time 
        that the President determines that the conditions specified in 
        paragraph (1)(A) are satisfied.
    (f) Procedure.--
            (1) Secretary's response.--The Secretary of Energy shall 
        respond to a request transmitted under subsection (e) within 7 
        days of receipt of a request through a written response, 
        regardless of the decision.
            (2) Additional information.--The Secretary may request 
        additional information if the Secretary concludes there are 
        insufficient reasons provided for the sale of gasoline from the 
        Gasoline Reserve system.
    (g) Purchase.--The Secretary of Energy is authorized to conduct 
purchases and sales of gasoline at wholesale for maintenance of the 
Gasoline Reserve system. In conducting these transactions, the 
Secretary shall--
            (1) ensure that the overall supply returns to a minimum 90 
        percent capacity in a timely manner following a sizeable 
        depletion due to an emergency; and
            (2) assess market conditions to avoid, to the extent 
        possible, when prices appear to be at higher levels unlikely to 
        be sustained, or when purchases of gasoline are likely to 
        significantly raise gasoline prices in the market served by a 
        particular Gasoline Reserve for purchases consistent with the 
        need for timely replenishment of the Reserve after emergency or 
        nonemergency sales.
    (h) Annual Report.--At a specified date as determined by the 
Secretary of Energy, the Secretary shall submit to the President, the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, and 
to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report 
on the status of the Strategic Gasoline Reserve outlining the Reserve's 
current capacity, emergency sales from the previous year, any security 
threats in the previous year, and the current condition of the storage 
facilities. The Secretary shall also in the report include any 
recommendations for improvements in the efficiency of the purchase, 
transportation, sale, and storage of gasoline in the Gasoline Reserves.
    (i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary of Energy such sums as may be necessary 
for construction and operation of the Gasoline Reserve system for 
fiscal years 2009 through 2015.
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