[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8224 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8224

To require the Secretary of the Interior to carry out certain offshore 
  oil and gas lease sales and finalize the next offshore oil and gas 
                leasing program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 24, 2022

Mrs. Boebert (for herself, Mr. Rosendale, Mr. Tiffany, Mr. Gohmert, Mr. 
 Gosar, Mr. Nehls, Mr. Biggs, and Mr. Perry) introduced the following 
     bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Secretary of the Interior to carry out certain offshore 
  oil and gas lease sales and finalize the next offshore oil and gas 
                leasing program, 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 ``Fueling American Prosperity Act''.

SEC. 2. DEADLINE FOR CERTAIN OFFSHORE LEASE SALES.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, by not 
later than June 30, 2022, the Secretary of the Interior shall hold the 
following lease sales, as provided under the 2017-2022 Outer 
Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Final Program (November 
2016):
            (1) Lease Sale 258, relating to the Cook Inlet Planning 
        Area.
            (2) Lease Sales 259 and 261, relating to the Gulf of Mexico 
        Region.
    (b) NEPA Exemption.--Any lease sale held under this section shall 
not be considered a major Federal action under section 102(2)(C) of the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)).

SEC. 3. DEADLINE TO FINALIZE OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASING PROGRAM.

    (a) Deadline.--Not later than June 30, 2022, the Secretary of the 
Interior shall, under section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 
Act (43 U.S.C. 1344), finalize an offshore oil and gas leasing program 
for 2022 through 2027.
    (b) Lease Sales.--The program finalized under subsection (a) shall 
provide for at least 11 oil and gas lease sales.
    (c) NEPA Exemption.--The finalization of an offshore oil and gas 
leasing program under this section shall not be considered a major 
Federal action under section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)).

SEC. 4. ONSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASING.

    (a) Requirement To Immediately Resume Onshore Oil and Gas Lease 
Sales.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of the Interior shall 
        immediately resume onshore oil and gas lease sales in 
        compliance with the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et 
        seq.).
            (2) Requirement.--The Secretary of the Interior shall 
        ensure that any oil and gas lease sale pursuant to paragraph 
        (1) is conducted immediately on completion of all applicable 
        scoping, public comment, and environmental analysis 
        requirements under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et 
        seq.) and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
        U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
    (b) Annual Lease Sales.--
            (1) In general.--In accordance with the Mineral Leasing Act 
        (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), beginning in fiscal year 2022, the 
        Secretary of the Interior shall annually conduct a minimum of 
        four oil and gas lease sales in each of the following States:
                    (A) Wyoming.
                    (B) New Mexico.
                    (C) Colorado.
                    (D) Utah.
                    (E) Montana.
                    (F) North Dakota.
                    (G) Oklahoma.
                    (H) Nevada.
                    (I) Any other State in which there is land 
                available for oil and gas leasing under the Mineral 
                Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) or any other 
                mineral leasing law.
            (2) Requirement.--In conducting a lease sale under 
        paragraph (1) in a State described in that paragraph, the 
        Secretary of the Interior shall offer all parcels eligible for 
        oil and gas exploration, development, and production under the 
        resource management plan in effect for the State.
            (3) Replacement sales.--If, for any reason, a lease sale 
        under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year is canceled, delayed, or 
        deferred, including for a lack of eligible parcels, the 
        Secretary of the Interior shall conduct a replacement sale 
        during the same fiscal year.
    (c) Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Delays.--Section 17 of the Mineral 
Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(q) Unreasonable Delays.--
            ``(1) In general.--The President shall not, through 
        Executive order or any other administrative procedure, 
        unreasonably pause, cancel, delay, defer, or otherwise impede 
        or circumvent any Federal energy mineral leasing processes 
        under this Act, or a related rulemaking process required by 
        subchapter II of chapter 5, and chapter 7, of title 5, United 
        States Code (commonly known as the `Administrative Procedure 
        Act'), without congressional approval.
            ``(2) Rebuttable presumption.--There shall be a rebuttable 
        presumption that any attempt by the President to pause, cancel, 
        delay, defer, or otherwise impede or circumvent any Federal 
        energy mineral leasing process, or a related rulemaking 
        process, described in paragraph (1), without congressional 
        approval, is considered unreasonable for purposes of paragraph 
        (1).''.

SEC. 5. EFFECT OF GASOLINE PRICE INCREASES ON ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS.

    (a) Deadline for Certain Environmental Reviews.--During any period 
of time in which the national average price of a gallon of gas is 
greater than $3.99 per gallon (as determined by the Energy Information 
Administration)--
            (1) any environmental assessment required pursuant to the 
        National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
        seq.) during such period of time shall be finalized by not 
        later than 1 year after the date on which a Federal agency 
        begins preparing such environmental assessment; and
            (2) any environmental impact statement required pursuant to 
        the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 
        et seq.) during such period of time shall be finalized by not 
        later than 2 years after the date on which a Federal agency 
        begins preparing such environmental impact statement.
    (b) Effect of Deadline on NEPA.--If an environmental assessment or 
environmental impact statement described in subsection (a) is not 
finalized by the applicable deadline provided in such subsection, then 
the major Federal action that is the subject of the environmental 
assessment or environmental impact statement shall not be subject to 
the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
    (c) Applicability of Requirement.--This section shall not apply to 
any environmental assessment or environmental impact statement 
finalized before the date of enactment of this section.

SEC. 6. HIRING FREEZE AND OTHER LIMITATIONS.

    (a) In General.--If each of the requirements under sections 2, 3, 
and 4(a) of this Act are not met on or before June 30, 2022, during the 
period beginning on July 1, 2022, and ending on the date that each of 
such requirement is met--
            (1) no individual may be appointed to any position within 
        the Department of the Interior;
            (2) no new position may be established at the Department;
            (3) no officer or employee of the Department on July 1, 
        2022, may be assigned any duties not assigned to that employee 
        on that date; and
            (4) except as provided in subsection (b), no officer or 
        employee of the Department may be transferred to a duty station 
        other than the duty station applicable to such officer or 
        employee on July 1, 2022.
    (b) Exception.--During the period any limitation on transfer is in 
effect under subsection (a)(4), an officer or employee of the Bureau of 
Land Management whose duty station is in Washington, DC, may be 
transferred to a duty station in Grand Junction, Colorado.
    (c) Limitation on Funds.--No Federal funds may be obligated or 
expended to pay the salaries or expenses of any individual appointed, 
assigned duties, or transferred in contravention of subsections (a) and 
(b).
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