[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 158 (Tuesday, September 25, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H8792-H8794]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE REFORM ACT

  Mr. BARTON. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 6511) to authorize the Secretary of Energy to carry out a 
program to lease underutilized Strategic Petroleum Reserve facilities, 
and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 6511

       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 ``Strategic Petroleum Reserve 
     Reform Act''.

     SEC. 2. USE OF UNDERUTILIZED STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE 
                   FACILITIES.

       Section 168 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 
     U.S.C. 6247a) is amended to read as follows:

     ``SEC. 168. USE OF UNDERUTILIZED FACILITIES.

       ``(a) Authority.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     this title, the Secretary may establish and carry out a 
     program to lease underutilized Strategic Petroleum Reserve 
     storage facilities and related facilities to the private 
     sector, or a foreign government or its representative. 
     Petroleum products stored under this section are not part of 
     the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
       ``(b) Protection of Facilities.--Any lease entered into 
     under the program established under subsection (a) shall 
     contain provisions providing for fees to fully compensate the 
     United States for all related costs of storage and removals 
     of petroleum products (including the proportionate cost of 
     replacement facilities necessitated as a result of any 
     withdrawals) incurred by the United States as a result of 
     such lease.
       ``(c) Access by the United States.--The Secretary shall 
     ensure that leasing of facilities under the program 
     established under subsection (a) does not impair the ability 
     of the United States to withdraw, distribute, or sell 
     petroleum products from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in 
     response to an energy emergency or to the obligations of the 
     United States under the Agreement on an International Energy 
     Program.
       ``(d) National Security.--The Secretary shall ensure that 
     leasing of facilities under the program established under 
     subsection (a) to a foreign government or its representative 
     will not impair national security.
       ``(e) Deposits of Amounts Received.--
       ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
     amounts received through the leasing of facilities under the 
     program established under subsection (a) shall be deposited 
     in the general fund of the Treasury during the fiscal year in 
     which such amounts are received.
       ``(2) Costs.--The Secretary may use for costs described in 
     subsection (b) (other than costs described in subsection 
     (f)), without further appropriation, amounts received through 
     the leasing of facilities under the program established under 
     subsection (a).
       ``(f) Preparation of Facilities.--The Secretary shall only 
     use amounts available in the Energy Security and 
     Infrastructure Modernization Fund established by section 404 
     of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 for costs described in 
     subsection (b) of this section that relate to addition of 
     facilities or changes to facilities or facility operations 
     necessary to lease such facilities, including costs related 
     to acquisition of land, acquisition of ancillary facilities 
     and equipment, and site development, and other necessary 
     costs related to capital improvement.''.

     SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM TO LEASE STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE 
                   FACILITIES.

       (a) In General.--Part B of title I of the Energy Policy and 
     Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6231 et seq.) is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:

     ``SEC. 170. PILOT PROGRAM TO LEASE STORAGE AND RELATED 
                   FACILITIES.

       ``(a) Establishment.--In carrying out section 168 and not 
     later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the 
     Strategic Petroleum Reserve Reform Act, the Secretary shall 
     establish and carry out a pilot program to make available for 
     lease--
       ``(1) capacity for storage of up to 200,000,000 barrels of 
     petroleum products at Strategic Petroleum Reserve storage 
     facilities; and
       ``(2) related facilities.
       ``(b) Contents.--In carrying out the pilot program 
     established under subsection (a), the Secretary shall--
       ``(1) identify appropriate Strategic Petroleum Reserve 
     storage facilities and related facilities to lease, in order 
     to make maximum use of such facilities;

[[Page H8793]]

       ``(2) identify and implement any changes to facilities or 
     facility operations necessary to so lease such facilities, 
     including any such changes necessary to ensure the long-term 
     structural viability and use of the facilities for purposes 
     of this part and part C;
       ``(3) make such facilities available for lease; and
       ``(4) identify environmental effects, including benefits, 
     of leasing storage facilities and related facilities.
       ``(c) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Reform Act, the 
     Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the status of 
     the pilot program established under subsection (a).''.
       (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents for the 
     Energy Policy and Conservation Act is amended by adding after 
     the item relating to section 169 the following:

``Sec. 170. Pilot program to lease storage and related facilities.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Barton) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BARTON. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert 
extraneous materials in the Record on this bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BARTON. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, in 1995, President Ford signed a bill to ban the sale 
of crude oil overseas. Two years ago, we repealed that ban, and, last 
month, we were exporting some days 3 million barrels of oil per day.

                              {time}  1545

  We have gone from a nation that was importing up to 80 percent of our 
oil to a nation that, today, if we absolutely had to, could be totally 
energy independent.
  Because of the Arab oil embargo in the early 1970s, a little before 
President Ford signed the bill that said you couldn't export crude oil, 
we established a Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The idea was that we 
wanted to store oil in underground caverns--crude oil--so that, if 
there were another supply disruption, we would have the crude oil even 
if the OPEC cartel cut off oil shipments to the United States.
  We have authorized up to a billion barrels of crude oil in this 
reserve, and there is currently a little under 700 million barrels. 
But, Madam Speaker, we don't need 700 million barrels of crude oil 
today because, as I have just pointed out, when we allowed crude oil to 
be exported, we unleashed a drilling boom in the United States that has 
driven our oil production on a daily basis from around 6 million 
barrels of oil per day to, this past month, 11 million barrels of oil 
per day.
  So, hence, the idea embodied in H.R. 6511, cosponsored by my good 
friend from Chicago, Democrat  Bobby Rush. It is pretty 
straightforward.
  We have quite a bit of excess capacity right now in the Strategic 
Petroleum Reserve. We have authorized the sale of about 300 million 
barrels between now and 2028. If that oil is actually sold, we will 
have almost half of the SPR without any crude oil in it. So why not set 
up a program and authorize the Department of Energy to put that vacant 
space up for bid?
  Oil producers all over the United States are scrambling for ways to 
store all the oil that we are producing while it is waiting to be 
refined or shipped overseas.
  This is not a mandatory program. We are not mandating that the 
private sector has to lease the space. What we are saying is, if the 
private sector wants to negotiate with the Strategic Petroleum Reserve 
managers, and it is a good deal for both sides, they can.
  We currently--now, this number may not be exactly right, Madam 
Speaker, but we spend about $200 million a year, I believe, to store 
the oil that we are storing in the reserve, that is owned by the 
taxpayers.
  If you have vacant space and you allow the private sector to use that 
vacant space and you charge whatever the market rate is for the private 
sector to put oil in the reserve for a short term, those funds will 
offset the cost of storing the government-owned oil. They will also 
offset the cost of maintaining the reserve, and they will offset the 
cost of improving the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
  Again, this is not a mandatory program, so we believe that this bill, 
H.R. 6511, is a win-win. It helps the taxpayers because it might 
generate some revenue that could be used to offset the cost of 
maintaining the reserve as it exists. It might save the private sector 
some money if they decide to utilize it.
  And it might--and I would say, probably will--make our energy sector 
more efficient because the private sector, should they choose to 
participate in this program, doesn't have to go out and build above-
ground storage and maintain the above-ground storage. They can use the 
existing capacity that has already been hollowed out on the Gulf Coast 
of the United States that is very conveniently located adjacent to our 
refineries and/or to our export terminals; and that will, overall, 
lower costs of the whole system and end up being a win for the consumer 
both in the United States and overseas. So I would hope that, when the 
time comes later today, we will pass this unanimously.
  I want to thank, again, my original Democratic sponsor, Congressman 
Rush of Chicago, Illinois. I want to thank the subcommittee chairman, 
Fred Upton of Michigan; the full committee chairman,  Greg Walden of 
Oregon; and the full committee ranking member, who is on the floor, Mr. 
Pallone of New Jersey.
  We have all worked on a bipartisan basis to pass this, and we think 
that is why we have put it on the suspension calendar.
  As you know, Madam Speaker, suspension bills have to get a two-thirds 
vote, and I am hoping that this bill gets a 100 percent vote. It is a 
good bill. It is a win-win.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6511, the Strategic 
Petroleum Reserve Reform Act. This bill would set up a pilot program to 
facilitate the leasing of unused storage space in the Strategic 
Petroleum Reserve, or SPR, while attempting to ensure that the 
government and taxpayers benefit from these leases. This is a worthy 
cause, and I commend Representatives Barton and Rush for their efforts.
  In recent years, Congress has turned to the SPR repeatedly as an 
offset for deficits, transportation funding, and other items. In fact, 
it has been used far more in recent years for those purposes than for 
energy security. And these SPR sales, which will occur over the next 
several years, will free up a great deal of physical space in the 
reserve. This bill puts that empty space to good use.
  The bill is part of our committee's ongoing efforts to modernize the 
SPR. Going forward, we need to rethink its whole structure, including 
exploring the authorization of regional refined product reserves.
  Today, there are two regional supply reserves, both serving the 
Northeastern States: The Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve and the 
Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve.
  The Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve was created by our committee 
in the Energy Act of 2000; and the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve 
was created by President Obama and Energy Secretary Moniz in the wake 
of Hurricane Sandy, using authorities provided to the Secretary in 
section 171 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act.
  President Trump has proposed eliminating the Northeast Gasoline 
Supply Reserve, and I think that is a mistake. I remain committed to 
authorizing the existing gasoline reserve in statute, and I am 
convinced that regional reserves are a critical component of any SPR 
modernization effort.

  Madam Speaker, I believe other regions should benefit, or could 
benefit greatly, from having a refined product reserve. This is 
particularly true for the Southeast, which is extremely supply 
constrained. A Southeast regional reserve could provide relief and 
flexibility in the event of a natural disaster in the region itself or 
in the Gulf States that supply the Southeast region with refined 
product.
  Now, expanding the number of regional reserves is something that we 
must do in the future, but I believe this legislation is a good step 
forward on

[[Page H8794]]

the road to SPR modernization, and so I do urge my colleagues to 
support this bill.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BARTON. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Madam Speaker, I have been in Congress for 34 years. I am about to 
retire at the end of this session. I have been on the House floor with 
many tumultuous battles. I have watched the fight over the Keystone 
pipeline, drilling in ANWR up in Alaska. My good friend, Senator Markey 
of Massachusetts, when he was in the House, would come to the floor 
with his chart, an oil well drilling into the Social Security trust 
fund.
  It is refreshing, Madam Speaker, to be on the floor today in the 
spirit of bipartisanship where we are all for something which I think 
really is good for the American people, good for the taxpayer, and good 
for the consumer.
  This is on suspension, so, obviously, we have to have a huge vote. I 
hope we get it. It looks like we will since we don't have any other 
speakers.
  I would urge a ``yes'' vote, Madam Speaker. Let's do something good 
for America. Let's vote for this bill. Please vote ``yes'' on H.R. 6511 
when the vote is called.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALDEN. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6511, the 
Strategic Petroleum Reserve Reform Act. This bill is another product of 
the Energy and Commerce Committee's ongoing and bipartisan work to 
modernize the Department of Energy.
  The Committee's DOE modernization efforts are focused on ensuring the 
Department can more ably address current and future domestic and 
international energy and security challenges. These challenges range 
from maintaining nuclear safety and security to protecting the reliable 
supply and delivery of energy, and they require a DOE that has the 
appropriate organization, management focus, and authorities to succeed.
  H.R. 6511 was developed by Vice Chairman Barton and Ranking Member 
Rush to modernize the forty-year-old Strategic Petroleum Reserve, so 
it's prepared to protect our Nation from energy disruptions in the 
decades ahead.
  H.R. 6511 authorizes DOE to lease underutilized storage capacity, 
which will become available in increasing amounts as DOE conducts 
mandated drawdowns over the next several years. Rather than have DOE 
maintain empty caverns at considerable taxpayer expense, H.R. 6511 will 
allow DOE to develop the spare capacity, attracting much needed capital 
investments for additional improvements. H.R. 6511 will preserve the 
SPR's existing capacity, generate revenue for upgrades and maintenance, 
and improve the operational readiness of the entire SPR complex. H.R. 
6511 is truly a win-win, and a perfect example of our bipartisan DOE 
modernization effort.
  I especially want to thank Mr. Barton for his work on this bill. He 
has been at the forefront of so many defining moments relating to 
energy security. From his leadership as Chairman of the Energy and 
Commerce Committee during passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, to 
his tireless efforts to repeal the ban on crude oil exports, his work 
on this bill contributes to the great legacy he leaves behind at the 
Energy and Commerce Committee--and in the United States Congress. I 
urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 6511.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 6511, 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.

                          ____________________