[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 17 (Thursday, January 28, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S365]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 3082. Mr. BARRASSO (for himself, Mr. Enzi, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Daines, 
Mr. Blunt, Mr. Gardner, Mr. Hatch, and Mr. Lee) submitted an amendment 
intended to be proposed to amendment SA 2953 proposed by Ms. Murkowski 
to the bill S. 2012, to provide for the modernization of the energy 
policy of the United States, and for other purposes; which was ordered 
to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the end of subtitle E of title III, add the following:

     SEC. 34__. CERTIFICATION PRIOR TO ROYALTY RATE INCREASE.

       Section 7 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 207) is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(d) Certification Prior to Royalty Rate Increase.--The 
     Secretary of the Interior may not increase the royalty rate 
     on coal under subsection (a) until the Secretary of the 
     Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy and 
     the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, certifies that the 
     increased royalty rate would not--
       ``(1) contribute to higher electricity prices for consumers 
     and businesses in the United States; and
       ``(2) adversely impact the reliability of the bulk-power 
     system of the United States.''.
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