[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2986 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2986

    To require the Secretary of the Interior to assemble a team of 
technical, policy, and financial experts to address the energy needs of 
the insular areas of the United States and the Freely Associated States 
   through the development of energy action plans aimed at promoting 
  access to affordable, reliable energy, including increasing use of 
       indigenous clean-energy resources, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            December 4, 2014

  Mr. Schatz introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To require the Secretary of the Interior to assemble a team of 
technical, policy, and financial experts to address the energy needs of 
the insular areas of the United States and the Freely Associated States 
   through the development of energy action plans aimed at promoting 
  access to affordable, reliable energy, including increasing use of 
       indigenous clean-energy resources, 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. STUDY OF ELECTRIC RATES IN THE INSULAR AREAS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Comprehensive energy plan.--The term ``comprehensive 
        energy plan'' means a comprehensive energy plan prepared and 
        updated under subsections (c) and (e) of section 604 of the Act 
        entitled ``An Act to authorize appropriations for certain 
        insular areas of the United States, and for other purposes'', 
        approved December 24, 1980 (48 U.S.C. 1492).
            (2) Energy action plan.--The term ``energy action plan'' 
        means the plan required by subsection (d).
            (3) Freely associated states.--The term ``Freely Associated 
        States'' means the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic 
        of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.
            (4) Insular areas.--The term ``insular areas'' means 
        American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
        Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands.
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            (6) Team.--The term ``team'' means the team established by 
        the Secretary under subsection (b).
    (b) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall, within the Empowering 
Insular Communities activity, establish a team of technical, policy, 
and financial experts--
            (1) to develop an energy action plan addressing the energy 
        needs of each of the insular areas and Freely Associated 
        States; and
            (2) to assist each of the insular areas and Freely 
        Associated States in implementing such plan.
    (c) Participation of Regional Utility Organizations.--In 
establishing the team, the Secretary shall consider including regional 
utility organizations.
    (d) Energy Action Plan.--In accordance with subsection (b), the 
energy action plan shall include--
            (1) recommendations, based on the comprehensive energy plan 
        where applicable, to--
                    (A) reduce reliance and expenditures on fuel 
                shipped to the insular areas and Freely Associated 
                States from ports outside the United States;
                    (B) develop and utilize domestic fuel energy 
                sources; and
                    (C) improve performance of energy infrastructure 
                and overall energy efficiency;
            (2) a schedule for implementation of such recommendations 
        and identification and prioritization of specific projects;
            (3) a financial and engineering plan for implementing and 
        sustaining projects; and
            (4) benchmarks for measuring progress toward 
        implementation.
    (e) Reports to Secretary.--Not later than 1 year after the date on 
which the Secretary establishes the team and annually thereafter, the 
team shall submit to the Secretary a report detailing progress made in 
fulfilling its charge and in implementing the energy action plan.
    (f) Annual Reports to Congress.--Not later than 30 days after the 
date on which the Secretary receives a report submitted by the team 
under subsection (e), the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate 
committees of Congress a summary of the report of the team.
    (g) Approval of Secretary Required.--The energy action plan shall 
not be implemented until the Secretary approves the energy action plan.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSOLIDATED NATURAL RESOURCES ACT.

    Section 6 of Public Law 94-241 (90 Stat. 263; 122 Stat. 854) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ``December 31, 2014, 
        except as provided in subsections (b) and (d)'' and inserting 
        ``December 31, 2019''; and
            (2) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) in the third sentence of paragraph (2), by 
                striking ``not to extend beyond December 31, 2014, 
                unless extended pursuant to paragraph 5 of this 
                subsection'' and inserting ``ending on December 31, 
                2019'';
                    (B) by striking paragraph (5); and
                    (C) by redesignating paragraph (6) as paragraph 
                (5).
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