[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 133 (Tuesday, September 6, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H5069-H5070]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1730
INNOVATION IN OFFSHORE LEASING ACT
Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the
rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5577) to amend the Outer Continental
Shelf Lands Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct
offshore oil and gas lease sales through Internet-based live lease
sales, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5577
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 ``Innovation in Offshore
Leasing Act''.
SEC. 2. INTERNET-BASED OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASE SALES.
(a) Authorization.--Section 8 of the Outer Continental
Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
``(q) Internet-Based Oil and Gas Lease Sales.--
``(1) In general.--In order to modernize the Nation's
offshore leasing program to ensure the best return to the
Federal taxpayer, reduce fraud, and ensure a fair and
competitive leasing process, the Secretary may conduct lease
sales under this section through Internet-based, sealed-
bidding methods.
``(2) Sale requirements.--Sales conducted under paragraph
(1) shall ensure--
``(A) a publicly and freely accessible digital delivery of
the bid reading process, such as live Internet streaming, and
an option for bidders to submit bids electronically;
``(B) a bidder verification process that discloses to
bidders, by no later than 5 p.m. Central Time of the day
before each sale, a list of all bids submitted (including the
person submitting each bid) on each lease tract without
disclosing bid amounts;
``(C) the ability for a bidder to correct a possible
misreading of a submitted bid;
``(D) a designee from within the Office of the Solicitor of
the Department of the Interior to act as an independent,
third-party observer who will be present during the bid
reading process to prevent wrongdoing, independently certify
the bidding process, and maintain transparency;
``(E) data security measures to ensure bidder data is kept
secure; and
``(F) a participant survey soliciting voluntary feedback
from bidders on the bidding process.
``(3) Transparency in sale-day statistics.--
``(A) Requirement.--The Secretary shall publicly disclose
statistical data regarding each lease sale under this
subsection, on the day the sale is executed.
``(B) Included data.--Among data disclosed, the Secretary
shall include--
``(i) the total value of high bids;
``(ii) the number of tracts offered;
``(iii) the number of acres offered;
``(iv) the number of tracts receiving bids;
``(v) the number of acres receiving bids;
``(vi) the total number of bids;
``(vii) the average number of bids per tract;
``(viii) the total number of bidders participating;
``(ix) bidding statistics by water depth;
``(x) the name of the entity that submitted each bid, the
amount of the bid, and the tract for which the bid was
submitted;
``(xi) of tracts receiving bids, the number of bids per
tract by water depth;
``(xii) the tract receiving the greatest number of bids;
``(xiii) the tract receiving the highest bid; and
``(xiv) any other statistical data that may be disclosed in
accordance with this Act.
``(C) Data transparency.--The Secretary shall ensure all
data regarding lease sales under this subsection is publicly
available and easily accessible, free of charge, on the
Internet, including for download and aggregation in machine-
readable format.''.
(b) Modernizing Leasing Through Collaboration.--
(1) In general.--Before conducting the first Internet-based
lease sale under the amendment made by this section, the
Secretary of the Interior shall issue a request for
information from each company present for bidding at the ten
most recent oil and gas lease sales conducted by the
Secretary under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, in
order to provide the bidding public sufficient opportunity to
share innovative ideas, methods, and concerns regarding
Internet-based leasing.
(2) Integration of information.--The Secretary shall
review, evaluate, and integrate suggestions and concerns
collected under paragraph (1) as the Secretary works to
modernize the offshore leasing process through Internet-based
leasing options.
(3) User workshop.--The Secretary shall conduct not less
than one user workshop with viable bidders prior to
conducting an Internet-based lease sale to provide the
bidding public with an opportunity to beta test any prototype
of an Internet-based leasing platform.
(c) Deadline for Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale.--Not later than
18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of the Interior shall conduct at least one
Internet-based lease sale under the amendment made by
subsection (a) for leasable acreage in the Gulf of Mexico.
(d) Evaluating Internet-Based Offshore Leasing.--Not later
than 90 days after the third Internet-based lease sale
conducted under the amendment made by subsection (a), the
Secretary of the Interior shall analyze all such Internet-
based lease sales and transmit to Congress a thorough
analysis of the sales. The analysis shall include--
(1) estimates of increases or decreases in such lease
sales, compared to sales conducted by non-Internet-based
bidding, in--
(A) the number of bidders;
(B) the average amount of bids;
(C) the highest bid; and
(D) the lowest bid;
[[Page H5070]]
(2) an estimate of the total cost or savings to the
Department of the Interior as a result of such sales,
compared to sales conducted by non-Internet-based bidding;
(3) voluntary and anonymous feedback from persons
participating in such sales, on the Internet-based leasing
process and potential areas for improvement in such sales;
and
(4) an evaluation of the demonstrated or expected
effectiveness of different structures for lease sales that
may provide an opportunity to better maximize bidder
participation, ensure the highest return to the Federal
taxpayers, minimize opportunities for fraud or collusion, and
ensure the security and integrity of the leasing process.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Beyer)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania.
General Leave
Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent
that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
There was no objection.
Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time
as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5577, introduced by Congressman Garret Graves, will
increase transparency and efficiency regarding the Federal Government's
current process for conducting lease sales while also saving Federal
tax dollars in the development of oil and gas on the Outer Continental
Shelf.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman
from Louisiana (Mr. Graves), the author of the bill.
Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman
for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, my fourth grader's homework is online. We go up on a Web
site and pull down homework. My ninth grader can check out books from
the library and download it to his Kindle. Our 6-year-old takes my
iPhone and sends text messages, unbeknownst to me, to her aunts and
uncles. Everything is now evolving to online--everything is.
Mr. Speaker, the reality is that there is this reputation that the
Federal Government has that we are incredibly inefficient and behind
the times, and unfortunately that reality is well earned. Everything is
going online now. We can go on different Web sites and have things
delivered to our homes the same day or the next day. We can order
things online and go to stores and go pick them up. That is how the
world is evolving, and what the online presence does is it provides for
transparency.
Now, this bill addresses offshore lease sales. What are offshore
lease sales? That is the second largest revenue stream for the United
States Treasury after taxes. It is a huge revenue stream. By some
estimates, it has exceeded $200 billion in revenues for the United
States Treasury.
What this bill is designed to do is to bring us into the 21st
century, to allow for potential bidders to go online to broaden access,
to allow for the taxpayer's resource, the American public's resource,
to have more bidders, to have more competition to ultimately make sure
that the full value of that resource is realized by taxpayers.
I very much appreciate the gentleman from California (Mr. Lowenthal),
my good friend, being our lead cosponsor on this bill, showing that
this is a bipartisan bill, that we have strong support from very
diverse ideologies across the country.
Mr. Speaker, I just want to reiterate the fact that this simply puts
it online. It simply allows for better access for information. This is
an asset that belongs to the American public. It is worth billions and
billions of dollars. It should have transparency in how the process
takes place, in the amount that bidders put forth, the amount that
bidders bid for different auctions or lease sales. I think it is very
important.
Lastly, Mr. Speaker, I also want to make note of this. What this
does, this whole transparency and openness and improved value and
competition, it complements the public process because, Mr. Speaker,
related to this last lease sale, lease sale 248, there were 18
opportunities for public participation, public comment, public
meetings, 18 separate opportunities through the development of the
lease sale, the development of the EIS, the development of the 5-year
plan. So this complements all of that transparency and doesn't allow
this to be done only by folks who can afford to go buy a plane ticket
and go down into this facility, but that everyone can participate; and
it allows for that public access to this last stage in the process that
complements this very open and transparent process that takes place
prior to.
So, Mr. Speaker, I want to urge support for H.R. 5577. I think this
is in the best interest of taxpayers. This is in the best interest of
transparency and, certainly, the public.
Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
H.R. 5577 is a bipartisan bill, introduced by two of my colleagues on
the Committee on Natural Resources, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr.
Graves), and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lowenthal). It really
would bring the offshore oil and gas leasing system into the 21st
century.
Last month the Department of the Interior took one step in that
direction by streaming the opening of leasing bids live on the Web.
However, companies still submitted their bids by sticking them in an
envelope and mailing them. This bill would direct Interior to start
moving that process online and to provide much more transparency by
ensuring that the public has access to all the data from these sales in
machine-readable and downloadable format.
H.R. 5577 will also ensure that people across the country can follow
these sales in real time. I commend the sponsor of this bill for their
efforts to improve government operations.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, once again, I urge passage
of this measure.
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5577, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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