[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 142 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 142

          To establish a national Strategic Gasoline Reserve.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 5, 2011

 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.

    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 2011''.

SEC. 2. STRATEGIC GASOLINE RESERVE.

    (a) Establishment.--
            (1) Authority.--The Secretary of Energy shall establish a 
        Strategic Gasoline Reserve (in this section referred to as the 
        ``Gasoline Reserve'') system 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, 
        but not limited to, 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 consider the methodology used for the creation 
        of the Home Heating Oil Reserve and the Strategic Petroleum 
        Reserve. Gasoline 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 of Energy 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 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 
(e).
    (c) Capacity.--The Secretary of Energy shall complete the process 
of filling the Gasoline Reserve to a minimum of 90 percent within 2 
years after submitting a transportation plan to the Congress under 
subsection (b).
    (d) Aging Supply.--The Secretary shall conduct an annual review of 
the Gasoline Reserve supply to ensure that reserves do not exceed their 
shelf-life. The Secretary shall have in place within 2 years after the 
date of enactment of this Act a plan for ensuring that the inventory of 
the Gasoline Reserve is sold and replaced in a manner that ensures 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 has been severely 
                disrupted caused in significant part by 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 reserves after determining 
        that the conditions specified in paragraph (1) are satisfied.
    (f) Procedure.--
            (1) Secretary's response.--The Secretary of Energy shall 
        respond to a request transmitted under subsection (e)(1) within 
        7 days of receipt of the 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 in a request for the sale of 
        gasoline from the Gasoline Reserve.
    (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 purchases 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 Reserve, consistent with the need for 
        timely replenishment of the Reserves after emergency or non-
        emergency 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 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 include in the report any 
recommendations for improvements in the efficiency of the purchase, 
transportation, sale, and storage of 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 for fiscal years 
2011 through 2015.
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