[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2375 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2375

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to identify high-potential oil 
    and gas leases located on Federal land, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 24, 2011

   Mr. Coffman of Colorado introduced the following bill; which was 
             referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to identify high-potential oil 
    and gas leases located on Federal land, 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 ``Facilitating American Security 
Through Energy Resources Act'' or the ``FASTER Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Obama Administration has restricted access to 
        potential onshore Federal energy resources.
            (2) The non-partisan Congressional Research Service 
        reported that the combined recoverable oil, natural gas, and 
        coal resources of the United States is 1,300,000,000,000 
        barrels of oil equivalent, the largest barrel equivalent in the 
        world, much of which is located on Federal lands.
            (3) In 2008 there were 2,416 new oil and natural gas leases 
        issued on Bureau of Land Management land and 2,600,000 acres 
        leased. In 2010, under the Obama Administration, the number of 
        new leases issued dropped to 1,308 and the number of acres 
        leased dropped to 1,300,000.
            (4) Oil and natural gas jobs pay an average salary of 
        $84,500 and are important sources of opportunity to rural 
        communities, yet the Western Energy Alliance estimates that 
        16,200 jobs have been prevented in the American West due to 
        policies that restrict energy resource development on public 
        lands.
            (5) After the Internal Revenue Service, the oil and natural 
        gas industry is the second largest source of Federal revenue. 
        The industry averages a 40:1 return on royalties and leasing 
        revenue for every dollar spent on administering Federal oil and 
        natural gas programs. These revenues and royalties not only 
        help balance the Federal budget, but are shared with states, 
        and assist in funding of education, infrastructure, and public 
        safety.
            (6) Increasing oil and natural gas production by the 
        equivalent 1,000,000 barrels a day would generate 225,000 jobs, 
        $36,300,000,000 in gross domestic product, and $3,900,000,000 
        in revenue and royalties.
            (7) In 2007, the Energy Information Administration 
        projected that the 2010 total oil production on Federal lands 
        would be 850,000,000 barrels, while current production on 
        Federal lands is 714,000,000 barrels, which is a 16 percent 
        decline from that projection.
            (8) Approximately one-half of nonproducing leases are 
        waiting to complete environmental review and obtain permits to 
        drill, and the Obama Administration has added new delays of 
        additional regulations and hurdles to slow this process.
            (9) The Bureau of Land Management has acknowledged a 206-
        day average processing time for Applications for Permits to 
        Drill, but the actual time from when a company submits an 
        Application for Permit to Drill to final approval is close to 2 
        years in some field offices.
            (10) Congress should act to increase the approval of oil 
        and gas production on Federal land.

SEC. 3. REPORT ON POTENTIAL PRODUCTION OF OIL AND GAS LEASES ON FEDERAL 
              LAND.

    (a) Assessment.--The Secretary of the Interior (hereinafter 
referred to as the ``Secretary''), in consultation with lease holders, 
shall identify on an annual basis 200 non-producing oil and gas leases 
held for onshore Federal land that--
            (1) have the highest potential for oil and gas production; 
        and
            (2) for which the Department of the Interior has already 
        received an Application for Permit to Drill.
    (b) Report Required.--Not less than 60 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Sectretary shall submit to Congress a report 
including all findings and determinations of the assessment under 
subsection (a).

SEC. 4. PERMIT ISSUANCE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF OIL AND GAS LEASES ON 
              FEDERAL LAND.

    (a) Permit Issuance.--Not later than 180 days after issuing the 
report under section 3(b), the Secretary of the Interior shall issue 
permits to drill on the 200 leases identified in the assessment under 
section 3(a).
    (b) Other Permits.--Issuing permits under subsection (a) shall not 
delay, reduce, or defer action upon, any other permitting processes.
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