I 111th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5519 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.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Gulf Coast Jobs Preservation Act.

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.

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.

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.