1.Short title; table of
contents
(a)This Act may be cited
as the Affordable Gas Price
Act
.
(b)
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Termination of restrictions on oil and natural gas
development on Federal lands.
Sec. 4. Limitation of suits under National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969.
Sec. 5. Incentives for investment in oil
refineries.
Sec. 6. Suspension of fuel taxes on highway motor fuels when
weekly United States retail gasoline prices exceed benchmark.
Sec. 7. Increase in mileage reimbursement rates.
Sec. 8. Termination of application of title IV of the Trade Act
of 1974 to the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan.
2.Congress finds the following:
(1)High fuel costs
retard economic growth and diminish the quality of life for all
Americans.
(2)The trucking
industry is particularly hard hit by high fuel prices.
(3)Attempts to
address the issue of high gasoline costs by increasing government involvement
in the market through measures such as price controls will only lead to
shortages, rationing, and a return of gasoline lines.
(4)The Federal regulations restricting
drilling impose prohibitive costs on the development of new sources of energy,
artificially inflating the price of gas.
(5)Federal gas taxes
increase the price of oil thus burdening American families, business, and
truckers.
(6)Allowing private
parties to delay, or even halt, the construction of new refineries through
litigation over the National Environmental Protection Act’s Environmental
Impact Statement requirement reduces the supply of gas thus raising gas
prices.
(7)The so-called
Jackson-Vanik (freedom-of-emigration
) amendment (section 402 of
the Trade Act of 1974) was a United States reaction to the Soviet Union’s
highly restrictive emigration policy of the time.
(8)By 2005, some 15
years after the end of communist rule over the Soviet Union, successor states
Russia and Kazakhstan allow their citizens the right and opportunity to
emigrate, free of any heavy tax on the visas or other documents required for
emigration and free of any other tax, levy, fine, fee, or other charge on any
citizens as a consequence of the desire of such citizens to emigrate to the
country of their choice.
(9)Elimination of the
Jackson-Vanik amendment’s threat of trade-restricting provisions would increase
the United States access to oil supplies from non-Arab countries, thus lowering
gas prices.
3.Termination of
restrictions on oil and natural gas development on Federal lands
(a)
(1)Termination of
laws prohibiting expenditures for natural gas leasing and preleasing
activitiesAll provisions of existing Federal law prohibiting the
spending of appropriated funds to conduct oil or natural gas leasing and
preleasing activities for any area of the Outer Continental Shelf shall have no
force or effect.
(2)Revocation of
existing Presidential withdrawalsAll existing withdrawals by the
President under the authority of section 12 of the Outer Continental Shelf
Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1341) are hereby revoked and are no longer in effect with
respect to the leasing of areas for exploration for, and development and
production of, oil or natural gas.
(b)Sections 1002(i) and 1003 of the Alaska National Interest
Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3142(i) and 3143) are repealed.
4.Limitation of
suits under National Environmental Policy Act of 1969Section 102 of the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332) is amended by inserting (a)
In
general.—
before the first sentence, and by adding at
the end the following:
(b)A statement required under subsection (a)(2)(C) is not
subject to judicial
review.
.
5.Incentives for
investment in oil refineries
(a)Increase of
expensing for refineriesSubsection (a) of section 179C of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to election to expense certain
refineries) is amended by striking 50 percent
and inserting
100 percent
.
(b)Class life for
refineries
(1)Subparagraph (B) of section 168(e)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to 5-year property) is amended by striking
and
at the end of clause (vi), by striking the period at the end
of clause (vii) and inserting , and
, and by inserting after
clause (vii) the following new clause:
(viii)any petroleum
refining
property.
.
(2)Section 168(i) of such Code is amended by adding
at the end the following new paragraph:
(20)Petroleum
refining property
(A)The term petroleum refining property means
any asset for petroleum refining, including assets used for the distillation,
fractionation, and catalytic cracking of crude petroleum into gasoline and its
other components.
(B)Asset must meet
environmental lawsSuch term shall not include any asset which
does not meet all applicable environmental laws in effect on the date such
asset was placed in service. For purposes of the preceding sentence, a waiver
under the Clean Air Act shall not be taken into account in determining whether
the applicable environmental laws have been met.
(C)Special rule for
mergers and acquisitionsSuch term shall not include any asset
with respect to which a deduction was taken under subsection (e)(3)(B) by any
other taxpayer in any preceding
year.
.
(3)
(A)The amendments made by this subsection shall apply to
refineries placed in service after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
(B)The
amendments made by this section shall not apply to any refinery with respect to
which the taxpayer has entered into a binding contract for the construction
thereof on or before the date of the enactment of this Act.
6.Suspension of
fuel taxes on highway motor fuels when weekly United States retail gasoline
prices exceed benchmark
(a)Section 4081 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
(relating to imposition of tax on motor and aviation fuels) is amended by
adding at the end the following new subsection:
(f)Suspension of
highway motor fuel taxes when retail gasoline exceeds benchmark
(1)During any suspension period, the tax imposed by this
section and section 4041 on highway motor fuel shall be suspended.
(2)Definitions and
special ruleFor purposes of this subsection—
(A)The term suspension period means the
period—
(i)beginning on the date on which the weekly
United States retail gasoline price, regular grade (as published by the Energy
Information Administration, Department of Energy), inclusive of such tax, is
greater than $3.00 per gallon, and
(ii)ending on the
date on which such price (as so published), without regard to this subsection,
does not exceed $3.00 per gallon.
(B)The term highway motor fuel means any fuel
subject to tax under this section or section 4041 other than aviation gasoline
and aviation-grade
kerosene.
.
(b)Maintenance of
trust funds deposits; amounts appropriated to trust funds treated as
taxes
(1)There is hereby
appropriated (out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated) to
each trust fund which would (but for this subsection) receive reduced revenues
as a result of a suspension in a rate of tax by reason of section 4081(f) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as added by this section) an amount equal to
such reduction in revenues. Amounts appropriated by the preceding sentence to
any trust fund—
(A)shall be transferred from the general fund
at such times and in such manner as to replicate to the extent possible the
transfers which would have occurred had such section 4081(f) not been enacted,
and
(B)shall be treated
for all purposes of Federal law as taxes received under the appropriate section
referred to in such section 4081(f).
(c)The amendment made by this section shall take effect on the
date of the enactment of this Act.
(d)
(1)If—
(A)before the tax
suspension date, tax has been imposed under section 4081 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 on any highway motor fuel, and
(B)on such date such
fuel is held by a dealer and has not been used and is intended for sale,
there shall
be credited or refunded (without interest) to the person who paid such tax
(hereafter in this subsection referred to as the taxpayer
) an
amount equal to the excess of the tax paid by the taxpayer over the tax which
would be imposed on such fuel had the taxable event occurred on such
date.(2)No credit or refund shall be allowed or made under this
subsection unless—
(A)claim therefor is filed with the Secretary
of the Treasury before the date which is 6 months after the tax suspension date
based on a request submitted to the taxpayer before the date which is 3 months
after the tax suspension date by the dealer who held the highway motor fuel on
such date, and
(B)the taxpayer has
repaid or agreed to repay the amount so claimed to such dealer or has obtained
the written consent of such dealer to the allowance of the credit or the making
of the refund.
(3)Exception for
fuel held in retail stocksNo credit or refund shall be allowed
under this subsection with respect to any highway motor fuel in retail stocks
held at the place where intended to be sold at retail.
(4)For
purposes of this subsection—
(A)The term tax suspension date means the first
day of any suspension period in effect under section 4081(f) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 (as added by subsection (a) of this section).
(B)The terms dealer and held by a
dealer have the respective meanings given to such terms by section 6412
of such Code.
(5)Rules similar to the rules of subsections (b) and (c) of
section 6412 of such Code shall apply for purposes of this subsection.
(e)
(1)In the case of any
highway motor fuel which is held on the tax restoration date by any person,
there is hereby imposed a floor stocks tax equal to the excess of the tax which
would be imposed on such fuel had the taxable event occurred on such date over
the tax (if any) previously paid (and not credited or refunded) on such
fuel.
(2)Liability for
tax and method of payment
(A)The person holding highway motor fuel on the tax restoration
date to which the tax imposed by paragraph (1) applies shall be liable for such
tax.
(B)The tax imposed by paragraph (1) shall be paid in such
manner as the Secretary shall prescribe.
(C)The tax imposed by paragraph (1) shall be paid on or
before the 45th day after the tax restoration date.
(3)For
purposes of this subsection—
(A)The term tax restoration date means the first
day after the suspension period (as defined in section 4081(f) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986).
(B)The term highway motor fuel has the meaning
given to such term by section 4081(f) of such Code.
(C)A highway motor fuel shall be considered as held by a
person if title thereto has passed to such person (whether or not delivery to
the person has been made).
(D)The
term Secretary means the Secretary of the Treasury or the
Secretary’s delegate.
(4)Exception for
exempt usesThe tax imposed by paragraph (1) shall not apply to
any highway motor fuel held by any person exclusively for any use to the extent
a credit or refund of the tax is allowable for such use.
(5)Exception for
certain amounts of fuel
(A)No tax shall be imposed by paragraph (1) on any highway
motor fuel held on the tax restoration date by any person if the aggregate
amount of such highway motor fuel held by such person on such date does not
exceed 2,000 gallons. The preceding sentence shall apply only if such person
submits to the Secretary (at the time and in the manner required by the
Secretary) such information as the Secretary shall require for purposes of this
subparagraph.
(B)For purposes of subparagraph (A), there shall not be taken
into account any highway motor fuel held by any person which is exempt from the
tax imposed by paragraph (1) by reason of paragraph (4).
(C)For purposes of this subsection—
(i)
(I)All persons treated as a controlled group shall be
treated as 1 person.
(II)The term controlled group has the meaning
given to such term by subsection (a) of section 1563 of such Code; except that
for such purposes the phrase more than 50 percent
shall be
substituted for the phrase at least 80 percent
each place it
appears in such subsection.
(ii)Nonincorporated
persons under common controlUnder regulations prescribed by the
Secretary, principles similar to the principles of subparagraph (A) shall apply
to a group of persons under common control if 1 or more of such persons is not
a corporation.
(6)All provisions of law, including penalties, applicable
with respect to the taxes imposed by section 4081 of such Code shall, insofar
as applicable and not inconsistent with the provisions of this subsection,
apply with respect to the floor stock taxes imposed by paragraph (1) to the
same extent as if such taxes were imposed by such section.
7.Increase in
mileage reimbursement rates
(a)For
purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the optional standard mileage rates to be used for computing the
deductible costs of operating an automobile for business purposes shall be not
less than 70 cents per mile.
(b)Medical, moving,
and charitable contribution ratesFor any day during the period
under which highway motor fuel taxes are suspended under section 4081(f) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986—
(1)the optional
standard mileage rates to be used for computing the deductible costs of
operating an automobile for medical, moving, and charitable purposes shall be
the same rate which is in effect for such day for business purposes, and
(2)the rate under
section 170(i) shall not apply.
8.Termination of
application of title IV of the Trade Act of 1974 to the Russian Federation and
Kazakhstan
(a)Presidential
Determinations and Extensions of Nondiscriminatory TreatmentNotwithstanding any provision of title IV
of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2431 et seq.), the President may—
(1)determine that such title should no longer
apply to both the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan; and
(2)after making a
determination under paragraph (1) with respect to the Russian Federation and
Kazakhstan, proclaim the extension of nondiscriminatory treatment (normal trade
relations treatment) to the products of those countries.
(b)Termination of
Application of Title IVOn
and after the effective date of the extension under subsection (a)(2) of
nondiscriminatory treatment to the products of the Russian Federation and
Kazakhstan, title IV of the Trade Act of 1974 shall cease to apply to those
countries.