[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 123 (Friday, July 25, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7483-S7485]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           TEXT OF AMENDMENTS

  SA 5247. Mr. DeMINT submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to 
amendment SA 5135 submitted by Mr. Bingaman (for himself, Mr. Reid, Mr. 
Schumer, Mr. Salazar, Mr. Dorgan, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Kerry, Ms. Stabenow, 
Mr. Whitehouse, Mrs. Clinton, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Nelson of 
Florida, and Ms. Klobuchar) and intended to be proposed to the bill S. 
3268, to amend the Commodity Exchange Act, to prevent excessive price 
speculation with respect to energy commodities, and for other purposes; 
which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the end of subtitle A of title II, add the following:

[[Page S7484]]

     SEC. 205. EFFECT OF SUBMISSION OF COMPLETE APPLICATION FOR 
                   PERMIT TO PRODUCE OIL OR NATURAL GAS.

       (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     this Act, the lessee of any lease that authorizes exploration 
     for, or production of, oil or natural gas under a provision 
     of law described in subsection (b) shall be held harmless--
       (1) if the lessee submits to the Secretary of the Interior 
     1 or more complete applications for a permit to produce oil 
     or natural gas under the lease; and
       (2) until--
       (A) each of the applications is accepted or denied by the 
     Secretary; and
       (B) until all actions filed against the lessee for the 
     exploration or production under the lease are resolved.
       (b) Covered Provisions.--Subsection (a) shall apply to--
       (1) section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226);
       (2) the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands (30 U.S.C. 
     351 et seq.);
       (3) the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 
     et seq.); and
       (4) any other law that authorizes the issuance of oil or 
     gas leases on Federal land or submerged land.
                                 ______
                                 
  SA 5248. Mr. CRAIG submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to 
amendment SA 5097 submitted by Mr. Coleman and intended to be proposed 
to the bill S. 3268, to amend the Commodity Exchange Act, to prevent 
excessive price speculation with respect to energy commodities, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. __. MORATORIUM OF OIL AND GAS LEASING IN CERTAIN AREAS 
                   OF GULF OF MEXICO.

       (a) In General.--Section 104(a) of the Gulf of Mexico 
     Energy Security Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 1331 note; Public Law 
     109-432) is amended--
       (1) by striking paragraph (1);
       (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``125 miles'' and 
     inserting ``50 miles'';
       (3) in paragraph (3), by striking ``100 miles'' each place 
     it appears and inserting ``50 miles''; and
       (4) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs 
     (1) and (2), respectively.
       (b) Regulations.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary of the Interior shall 
     promulgate regulations that establish appropriate 
     environmental safeguards for the exploration and production 
     of oil and natural gas on the outer Continental Shelf.
       (2) Minimum requirements.--At a minimum, the regulations 
     shall include--
       (A) provisions requiring surety bonds of sufficient value 
     to ensure the mitigation of any foreseeable incident;
       (B) provisions assigning liability to the leaseholder in 
     the event of an incident causing damage or loss, regardless 
     of the negligence of the leaseholder or lack of negligence;
       (C) provisions no less stringent than those contained in 
     the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure regulations 
     promulgated under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 
     2701 et seq.);
       (D) provisions ensuring that--
       (i) no facility for the exploration or production of 
     resources is visible to the unassisted eye from any shore of 
     any coastal State; and
       (ii) the impact of offshore production facilities on 
     coastal vistas is otherwise mitigated;
       (E) provisions to ensure, to the maximum extent 
     practicable, that exploration and production activities will 
     result in no significant adverse effect on fish or wildlife 
     (including habitat), subsistence resources, or the 
     environment; and
       (F) provisions that will impose seasonal limitations on 
     activity to protect breeding, spawning, and wildlife 
     migration patterns.
       (c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 105 of the Department of 
     the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies 
     Appropriations Act, 2006 (Public Law 109-54; 119 Stat. 521) 
     (as amended by section 103(d) of the Gulf of Mexico Energy 
     Security Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 1331 note; Public Law 109-
     432)) is amended by inserting ``and any other area that the 
     Secretary of the Interior may offer for leasing, preleasing, 
     or any related activity under section 104 of that Act'' after 
     ``2006)''.

     SEC. __. DISPOSITION OF REVENUES FROM NEW PRODUCING AREAS OF 
                   THE EASTERN GULF OF MEXICO.

       The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et 
     seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``SEC. 32. DISPOSITION OF REVENUES FROM NEW PRODUCING AREAS 
                   OF THE EASTERN GULF OF MEXICO.

       ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) Coastal political subdivision.--The term `coastal 
     political subdivision' means a political subdivision of an 
     Eastern Gulf producing State any part of which political 
     subdivision is--
       ``(A) within the coastal zone (as defined in section 304 of 
     the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453)) of 
     the Eastern Gulf producing State as of the date of enactment 
     of this section; and
       ``(B) not more than 200 nautical miles from the geographic 
     center of any leased tract.
       ``(2) Eastern gulf producing state.--The term `Eastern Gulf 
     producing State' means each of the States of Alabama, 
     Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.
       ``(3) Moratorium area.--The term `moratorium area' means an 
     area covered by section 104(a) of the Gulf of Mexico Energy 
     Security Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 1331 note; Public Law 109-
     432) (as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of 
     this section).
       ``(4) New producing area.--The term `new producing area' 
     means any moratorium area beyond the submerged land of a 
     State that is located greater than 50 miles from the 
     coastline of the State of Florida.
       ``(5) Qualified outer continental shelf revenues.--The term 
     `qualified outer Continental Shelf revenues' means all 
     rentals, royalties, bonus bids, and other sums due and 
     payable to the United States from leases entered into on or 
     after the date of enactment of this section for new producing 
     areas.
       ``(b) Petition for Leasing New Producing Areas.--
       ``(1) In general.--Beginning on the date on which the 
     President delineates projected State lines under section 
     4(a)(2)(A)(ii), the Governor of a State, with the concurrence 
     of the legislature of the State, with a new producing area 
     within the offshore administrative boundaries beyond the 
     submerged land of the State may submit to the Secretary a 
     petition requesting that the Secretary make the new producing 
     area available for oil and gas leasing.
       ``(2) Action by secretary.--Notwithstanding section 18, as 
     soon as practicable after receipt of a petition under 
     paragraph (1), the Secretary shall approve the petition if 
     the Secretary determines that leasing the new producing area 
     would not create an unreasonable risk of harm to the marine, 
     human, or coastal environment.
       ``(c) Disposition of Qualified Outer Continental Shelf 
     Revenues From New Producing Areas.--
       ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding section 9 and subject to 
     the other provisions of this subsection, for each applicable 
     fiscal year, the Secretary of the Treasury shall deposit--
       ``(A) 50 percent of qualified outer Continental Shelf 
     revenues in the general fund of the Treasury; and
       ``(B) 50 percent of qualified outer Continental Shelf 
     revenues in a special account in the Treasury from which the 
     Secretary shall disburse--
       ``(i) 75 percent to Eastern Gulf producing States in 
     accordance with paragraph (2); and
       ``(ii) 25 percent to provide financial assistance to States 
     in accordance with section 6 of the Land and Water 
     Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l -8), which 
     shall be considered income to the Land and Water Conservation 
     Fund for purposes of section 2 of that Act (16 U.S.C. 460l-
     5).
       ``(2) Allocation to eastern gulf producing states and 
     coastal political subdivisions.--
       ``(A) Allocation to eastern gulf producing states.--
     Effective for fiscal year 2009 and each fiscal year 
     thereafter, the amount made available under paragraph 
     (1)(B)(i) shall be allocated to each Eastern Gulf producing 
     State in amounts (based on a formula established by the 
     Secretary by regulation) that are inversely proportional to 
     the respective distances between the point on the coastline 
     of each Eastern Gulf producing State that is closest to the 
     geographic center of the applicable leased tract and the 
     geographic center of the leased tract.
       ``(B) Payments to coastal political subdivisions.--
       ``(i) In general.--The Secretary shall pay 20 percent of 
     the allocable share of each Eastern Gulf producing State, as 
     determined under subparagraph (A), to the coastal political 
     subdivisions of the Eastern Gulf producing State.
       ``(ii) Allocation.--The amount paid by the Secretary to 
     coastal political subdivisions shall be allocated to each 
     coastal political subdivision in accordance with 
     subparagraphs (B) and (C) of section 31(b)(4).
       ``(3) Minimum allocation.--The amount allocated to an 
     Eastern Gulf producing State each fiscal year under paragraph 
     (2)(A) shall be at least 10 percent of the amounts available 
     under paragraph (1)(B)(i).
       ``(4) Timing.--The amounts required to be deposited under 
     subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) for the applicable fiscal 
     year shall be made available in accordance with that 
     subparagraph during the fiscal year immediately following the 
     applicable fiscal year.
       ``(5) Authorized uses.--
       ``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), each 
     Eastern Gulf producing State and coastal political 
     subdivision shall use all amounts received under paragraph 
     (2) in accordance with all applicable Federal and State laws, 
     only for 1 or more of the following purposes:
       ``(i) Projects and activities for the purposes of coastal 
     protection, including conservation, coastal restoration, 
     hurricane protection, and infrastructure directly affected by 
     coastal wetland losses.
       ``(ii) Mitigation of damage to fish, wildlife, or natural 
     resources.
       ``(iii) Implementation of a federally approved marine, 
     coastal, or comprehensive conservation management plan.
       ``(iv) Mitigation of the impact of outer Continental Shelf 
     activities through the funding of onshore infrastructure 
     projects.
       ``(v) Planning assistance and the administrative costs of 
     complying with this section.
       ``(B) Limitation.--Not more than 3 percent of amounts 
     received by an Eastern Gulf producing State or coastal 
     political subdivision under paragraph (2) may be used for the 
     purposes described in subparagraph (A)(v).

[[Page S7485]]

       ``(6) Administration.--Amounts made available under 
     paragraph (1)(B) shall--
       ``(A) be made available, without further appropriation, in 
     accordance with this subsection;
       ``(B) remain available until expended; and
       ``(C) be in addition to any amounts appropriated under--
       ``(i) other provisions of this Act;
       ``(ii) the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 
     U.S.C. 460l-4 et seq.); or
       ``(iii) any other provision of law.''.

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