[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5519 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5519

 To terminate the moratorium on deepwater drilling and to require the 
 Secretary of the Interior to ensure the safety of deepwater drilling 
                              operations.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 14, 2010

  Mr. Cassidy (for himself, Mr. Cao, Mr. Boustany, Mr. Alexander, Mr. 
    Scalise, Mr. Fleming, Mr. Melancon, Mr. Griffith, Mr. Rogers of 
Alabama, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Cole, Mr. Boren, Mr. Shadegg, Mr. Pence, Mr. 
Young of Alaska, Mr. Chaffetz, Mr. Marchant, Mr. Culberson, Mr. Lucas, 
   Mr. Cuellar, Mr. Guthrie, Mr. McCaul, Mr. Franks of Arizona, Mrs. 
 Capito, Mr. Conaway, Mr. Harper, Mr. Olson, Mr. Hensarling, Mr. Price 
of Georgia, Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania, Mr. Poe of Texas, Mr. Burton 
of Indiana, and Mr. Hall of Texas) introduced the following bill; which 
           was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To terminate the moratorium on deepwater drilling and to require the 
 Secretary of the Interior to ensure the safety of deepwater drilling 
                              operations.

    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 ``Gulf Coast Jobs Preservation Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Approximately one-third of the oil produced by the 
        United States, and 10 percent of the natural gas, comes from 
        the Gulf of Mexico.
            (2) Eighty percent of the oil from the Gulf of Mexico, and 
        45 percent of the natural gas, comes from deepwater drilling 
        operations in more than 1,000 feet of water.
            (3) As a result of the Six-Month Deepwater Moratorium 
        placed by the Secretary of the Interior on deepwater drilling, 
        33 floating drilling rigs will be idled or removed from the 
        Gulf of Mexico for six months or longer, at a cost of between 
        $250,000 and $500,000 per day for each idled rig.
            (4) The moratorium puts tens of thousands of jobs at risk, 
        as each drilling rig employs an average of 180 to 280 
        employees, and each exploration and production job supports 
        four other jobs.
            (5) The total amount of wages lost due to the moratorium 
        could equal between $165,000,000 and $330,000,000 per month for 
        all 33 drilling rigs.
            (6) The moratorium will impact numerous suppliers and 
        others providing support services, including welders, 
        pipefitters, divers, and transportation providers.
            (7) As a result of the moratorium, the Federal Government 
        and State and local governments will experience a loss of 
        revenue from oil production, including a loss of oil revenue 
        dedicated to the restoration and protection of coastline.
            (8) According to independent estimates, the drilling 
        moratorium will cause the amount of oil and gas production from 
        deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico to be reduced by 
        46,000 barrels per day in 2010 and 193,000 barrels per day in 
        2011.
            (9) The Energy Information Administration has estimated 
        that the ``total cumulative reductions in the output of crude 
        oil from the deepwater Gulf of Mexico [will equal] 2.4 million 
        barrels in 2010 and 25 million barrels in 2011 because of the 
        recently-imposed 6-month drilling moratorium.''

SEC. 3. TERMINATION OF MORATORIUM ON DEEPWATER DRILLING.

    The moratorium set forth in the Minerals Management Service Notice 
to Lessees No. 2010-N04, dated May 30, 2010, and any suspension of 
operations issued in connection with the moratorium, shall have no 
force or effect.

SEC. 4. SAFETY MEASURES.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior shall expeditiously 
act to ensure that all deepwater drilling operations are conducted in 
compliance with Federal law.
    (b) Identification of Additional Safety Measures.--The Secretary of 
the Interior shall identify additional measures to ensure the safety of 
deepwater drilling, based on the most accurate information available 
about the Deepwater Horizon oil spill incident.
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