[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 9780-9786]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

  By Mr. DODD (for himself, Mr. Cochran, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Menendez, 
Mr. Inouye, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Smith, Ms. Mikulski, Mrs. Lincoln, Mr. 
Casey, Mr. Bayh, Mr. Rockefeller, and Mr. Whitehouse):
  S. 3037. A bill to amend the National and Community Service Act of 
1990 to improve the educational awards provided for national service, 
and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 
and Pensions.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today with Senator Cochran and others 
to introduce legislation that will build on one of the best service 
success stories of the last quarter century: AmeriCorps. Fifteen years 
ago, as he swore in the first class of AmeriCorps members, President 
Bill Clinton said, ``When it is all said and done, it comes down to 
three simple questions: What is right? What is wrong? And what are we 
going to do about it?''
  Since that time, more than a half-million AmeriCorps members have 
taken it upon themselves to try and answer those questions in 
communities across this country.
  They have done so by serving in a variety of settings from senior 
centers and veterans' hospitals to schools and afterschool programs. 
They have helped clean up our neighborhoods and rebuilt our houses. 
These members have sacrificed their time and energy to meet the 
fundamental needs of our nation.
  Last year alone, 75,000 AmeriCorps members gave back to our 
communities, serving in over 4,000 schools, faith-based and community 
organizations, and nonprofits across the country. They also brought 
reinforcements--recruiting another 1.7 million community volunteers to 
work alongside them. Because of AmeriCorps, our communities have been 
strengthened, and our democracy fortified.
  Unfortunately, as the hours AmeriCorps members have contributed to 
our communities have increased, the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award 
created to help members pay for their college tuition has remained flat 
at $4,725. Meanwhile, the average college tuition has skyrocketed. The 
education award previously paid for two years of college, but currently 
it does not even cover the cost of a single year. I am introducing the 
AmeriCorps: Together Improving Our Nation Act, ACTION, in part, to 
update the education award to keep pace with 15 years of tuition 
increases.
  The ACTION Act will raise the education award to $6,185 and increase 
the award annually to match the average tuition at a 4-year public 
university. That figure, $6,185 is the average cost of tuition at a 
four-year public university according to the College Board. The act 
will also make the education award tax exempt to ensure that students 
are able to use their entire award to advance their education.
  In addition, to recognize service as a national priority, this 
legislation promotes the position of Executive Director of the 
Corporation for National and Community Service to Cabinet status and 
reestablishes the Corporation for National and Community Service's 
authority to partner with other Federal agencies. As partners of equal 
status, Federal Departments will be able to coordinate their priorities 
and have AmeriCorps members work to meet their needs.
  For example, the Department of Education could use volunteers to help 
solve the ``Dropout Crisis'' and the Environmental Protection Agency 
could use volunteers to increase our energy efficiency.
  As a former Peace Corps volunteer, I know that national service ought 
not to simply be virtuous, but rather, a resource with which we can 
carry out our most urgent national priorities, from tackling poverty to 
making our communities cleaner and more vibrant. We need to recognize 
service as a national priority, and with passage of the ACTION Act, we 
will.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. FEINGOLD (for himself and Mr. Hagel):
  S. 3041. A bill to establish the Foreign Intelligence and Information 
Commission to assess needs and provide recommendations to improve 
foreign intelligence and information collection, analysis, and 
reporting and for other purposes; to the Select Committee on 
Intelligence.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, today I am introducing legislation with 
the senior Senator from Nebraska, Senator Hagel, to establish an 
independent commission to address long-standing, systemic problems in 
the collection, reporting, and analysis of foreign intelligence as well 
as diplomatic reporting and open source information. First, as the DNI 
has testified, we continue to direct ``disproportionate'' resources 
toward current crises, rather than toward long-term strategic issues 
and emerging threats. Second, we don't have the geographic distribution 
of resources needed to anticipate threats around the world. The lack of 
``global reach'' has also been acknowledged by the Intelligence 
Community leadership. And third, we lack a comprehensive strategic 
approach to the collection of information by the entire U.S. 
Government, including not only the Intelligence Community, but also 
State Department and other Government officers who are based in our 
embassies.
  To put it simply, the Government does not have a process for asking 
the following questions: What do we need to know, not only today but in 
the future? Who is best suited to get that information and where do 
they need to be? Is our analysis up to the task? And how do we allocate 
resources, across agencies, so that these requirements are met with 
adequate funding? These big strategic questions are critical to our 
national security, yet they don't get asked, much less answered. These 
problems extend well beyond the authorities of the DNI and the 
jurisdiction of any one congressional committee. That is why we need an 
independent commission to finally address them comprehensively and to 
make recommendations for the executive branch and for Congress.
  There are concrete reasons why this is so important. Around the 
world, including in Africa, South and Southeast Asia, there are current 
and potential terrorist safe havens. There is also the potential for 
instability and the persistence of political, economic and social 
conditions that can result in a crisis that threatens our national 
security. Do we need more clandestine collectors in these parts of the 
world? Do we need more embassy political officers doing more diplomatic 
reporting? After all, information gleaned from conversations with 
government officials, civil society and tribal and religious leaders 
can be critical to understanding potential terrorist safe havens and 
can often be obtained more effectively than through the IC. What about 
other U.S. Government officials based overseas, such as FBI officers? 
What mix of these personnel is appropriate? What does a U.S. Embassy in 
one of these countries look like, from an interagency collection and 
reporting perspective? Are more consulates and out-of-embassy posts 
part of the solution? And how do we connect the requirements of our 
embassies overseas to Washington, where administration budget requests 
and congressional budgetary allocations and appropriations should 
reflect a broad, multi-year interagency collection strategy?
  An independent commission will be able to answer these questions. It 
will be able to look at the Intelligence Community, the State 
Department, and other departments and agencies to ensure that strategic 
and budgetary planning is not only consistent with national 
requirements, but is part of a larger, interagency process. The 
commission will consider the role of the National Security Council and 
the OMB in this process. It will look at the problem from top to 
bottom, interviewing NSC officials in Washington and visiting country 
missions overseas. This would not be a confrontational or accusatory 
investigation. It is an inquiry intended to produce concrete 
recommendations to fix long-standing

[[Page 9781]]

problems. Those recommendations will be of enormous benefit to whoever 
the next president is. It will help Congress as it conducts oversight 
and considers the role of the Intelligence Community, the DNI, the 
State Department, and other agencies in the context of broader 
interagency strategies.
  This legislation has been endorsed by a broad range of people, 
including Zbigniew Brzezinski, Donald Gregg, Carl Ford, Larry 
Wilkerson, David Kay, Gayle Smith and Rand Beers. I am pleased that the 
Intelligence Committee approved the legislation earlier this month as 
an amendment to the fiscal year 2009 intelligence authorization bill. I 
will continue working with Senator Hagel to ensure that this important 
legislation is enacted.
  Mr. HAGEL. Mr. President, the Feingold-Hagel bill establishes an 
independent Foreign Intelligence and Information Commission, appointed 
by Congress, to review strategies for collection, analysis, and 
reporting of intelligence and diplomatic information from our outposts 
around the world. The Commission would have a 2-year lifespan.
  We must ensure that the United States is prepared to face the 
challenges of the 21st Century. Our intelligence agencies and 
diplomatic outposts must provide policymakers with information that 
helps anticipate threats before they loom large, and our efforts must 
not be focused solely on the ``threat of the day.''
  As observers and veterans of the intelligence community--including 
the
9/11 Commission--have noted, the U.S. Government and intelligence 
community obviously have to focus on current threats, many times at the 
expense of having the ``strategic depth'' to analyze and anticipate 
potential threats and surprises lurking over the horizon. The focus 
mainly on current reporting has been cited within the Intelligence 
Community as inhibiting its ability to forecast significant longer term 
problems.
  With the creation of the Director of National Intelligence, DNI, and 
the National Counterterrorism Center, NCTC, Congress helped move the 
Intelligence Community in the right direction, but we need strategic 
intelligence not just on terrorism, but many other threats that our 
intelligence agencies and policymakers must anticipate.
  This bi-partisan Commission would enhance--not supplant--the Senate 
Select Committee on Intelligence's oversight of intelligence.
  ``Strategic depth'' in collection and analysis is an issue that cuts 
across the oversight responsibilities of both the Senate's Intelligence 
and Foreign Relations Committees. This Commission would examine 
diplomatic as well as intelligence reporting, which would help provide 
an in-depth analysis of issues that are not entirely within the scope 
of responsibilities of the DNI. The Commission would be able to probe 
these areas in depth and would have two years to issue its final 
report.
  We have seen how Commission reports can be useful tools to both 
Congress and the Executive branch to highlight needed reforms. For 
instance, the 2001 Carlucci Commission report on ``State Department 
Reform'' proved to be a tremendous resource for Secretary Colin Powell 
as he developed an action program to revitalize the State Department 
and make needed reforms. Secretary Powell studied the findings and 
recommendations of this and other panels. He met extensively with 
Carlucci and other members of various commissions, and relied on their 
detailed insights in formulating his reform efforts.
  The Feingold-Hagel legislation's commission report would help the 
next administration evaluate and improve the effectiveness of key 
instruments underlying our national power. The Commission would provide 
recommendations on how to improve collection strategy, analysis, 
interagency information sharing, and language training.
  A bipartisan group of respected intelligence and national security 
experts have endorsed the Commission, including former National 
Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski; Donald Gregg, former Ambassador 
and National Security Advisor to Vice President George H. W. Bush, and 
Larry Wilkerson, former Chief of Staff to Secretary Colin Powell. 
Earlier this month, in a bipartisan vote, the Senate Intelligence 
Committee endorsed the Feingold-Hagel legislation setting up this 
commission.
  This Commission would help Congress and the Executive to better 
position our intelligence agencies and diplomats to provide the 
information the United States Government needs to anticipate future 
strategic challenges, and I urge my colleagues to support this measure.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mrs. McCASKILL (for herself and Mr. Hatch):
  S. 3043. A bill to improve Federal land management, resource 
conservation, environmental protection, and use of Federal real 
property, by requiring the Secretary of the Interior to develop a 
multipurpose cadastre of Federal and real property and identifying 
inaccurate, duplicate, and out-of-date Federal land inventories, and 
for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mrs. McCASKILL. Mr. President, have you ever flown over the heartland 
of the United States and wondered how the Midwest and West got its 
distinctive and remarkable checkerboard pattern?
  The reason for that extraordinary system is a law enacted on this 
date in 1785. On May 20, 1785, Congress enacted a bill that laid the 
foundation for American land policy. The Land Ordinance of 1785 
provided that from a point of beginning in East Liverpool, Ohio, the 
new Northwest Territory was to be systematically surveyed and the lands 
subdivided into settlements and townships. Of the thirty-six sections 
of 640 acres in each township, the sixteenth was reserved ``for the 
maintenance of public schools.'' Congress began an extraordinary 
process of inventorying the lands to the west, providing for settlement 
and homesteads, surveying and subdividing the lands, and providing land 
for Revolutionary War soldiers, as payment in lieu of compensation to 
relieve the new Republic of its war debts to those who fought for our 
freedom.
  But while these early Acts of Congress, beginning with the Land 
Ordinance of 1785, the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, through the 
Homestead Act of 1862 and the more recent Federal Land Policy and 
Management Act FLPMA in 1976, all contributed to the inventorying, 
surveying, preservation, disposal and settlement of lands of the West, 
to this day the United States does not have a current, accurate 
inventory of the lands the Federal government owns.
  The fact is, the Federal Government does not know what it owns, where 
it owns it, what condition it is in, what its characteristics are, or 
what its designated use should be. This is the third consecutive 
Congress in which Congress's watchdog agency, the Government 
Accountability Office placed `Managing Federal Real Property' in the 
High-Risk Series, a category describing those activities with the 
highest risk of waste, fraud or abuse.
  The GAO, GAO-03-122, found over 30 Federal agencies control hundreds 
of thousands of real property assets worldwide, including facilities 
and land. However, the portfolio is not well managed, many assets are 
no longer consistent with agency mission or needs, and many assets are 
in an alarming state of disrepair. Also, GAO, GAO-T-RCED-95-117, told 
Congress, ``The General Services Administration, GSA, publishes 
statistics on the amount of land managed by each federal agency. 
However, we found this information was not current or reliable.''
  To remedy the lack of a current accurate inventory of all Federal 
real property, and the duplication and inefficiency of the many 
property databases the government does maintain, I am today introducing 
the Federal Land Asset Inventory Reform, FLAIR, Act, along with my 
colleague Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah. Our bill is a companion to H.R. 
5532, introduced in the House on a bipartisan basis by Representative 
Kind of Wisconsin and Representative Cannon of Utah.

[[Page 9782]]

  There is no reason for the Government to lack a current, accurate 
inventory of all the land it has been entrusted to manage for the 
citizens of the United States. With the technology available, it should 
not happen that then-Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton would 
testify before the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee on March 
2, 2005 that ``The Department currently uses 26 different financial 
management systems and over 100 different property systems. Employees 
must enter procurement transactions multiple times in different systems 
so that the data are captured in real property inventories, financial 
systems, and acquisition systems. This fractured approach is both 
costly and burdensome to manage.''
  It is time the U.S. Government invested in a methodology and 
technology to identify and inventory its land holdings. Such a system 
can help enhance the Federal land management, resource conservation, 
environmental protection, and use of Federal real property. We should 
not be creating multiple inventories when today's technology permits us 
to do it once and use it many times. Gathering information to solve 
national problems should not require an Act of Congress, particularly 
when a few keystrokes on a computer will do the job.
  Although the Bush administration took a step toward solving this 
problem when President Bush issued Executive Order 13327 in 2004, the 
resulting GSA inventory is neither GIS-based nor includes public lands. 
Unfortunately, this means that more than 300 million acres are exempt 
from the inventory currently maintained by GSA.
  Since 1980, the National Academy of Sciences has been calling for the 
development of a multipurpose cadastre, or land registry, in its 
report, ``Need for a Multipurpose Cadastre.'' The report said, ``There 
is a critical need for a better land-information system in the United 
States to improve land-conveyance procedures, furnish a basis for 
equitable taxation, and provide much- needed information for resource 
management and environmental planning.'' In 2007, the Academy renewed 
this effort and recommended the idea of the FLAIR Act, in its report, 
``National Land Parcel Data: A Vision for the Future.''
  This Federal effort will also help State and local agencies verify 
their ongoing efforts to identify what each level of government owns, 
and permit the fair, efficient and equitable taxation of private 
property. This will enable government at all levels to find missing 
lands through a gap analysis that identifies properties on which taxes 
are not being collected due to the inefficiencies in our systems. For 
example, when the State of Wyoming used a GIS to audit the mass 
appraisal process, it found that approximately 250,000 parcels were not 
on the tax rolls.
  Over the past decade, nearly 30 Governors and State Legislatures have 
created State land inventories. Let me give you a few examples of what 
some States have found.
  In California, an inventory discovered that in 1955, the State 
purchased a golf course in Oakland to make way for a highway. The road 
was never built, and the State still owns the land, unbeknownst to any 
State agency.
  In South Carolina, a State commission found the University of South 
Carolina, a State university, still owned Wedge Plantation, a 1,500 
acre tract valued at $5 million, originally used for research of 
insect-borne diseases, but now leased to a half-dozen hunters who pay 
no rent.
  While serving as Missouri State Auditor, my office issued a report 
noting that the Missouri Department of Transportation lacked accurate 
and reliable records of excess property and property being held for 
future projects. The best MoDOT could do was estimate the amount and 
value of the land they held.
  The FLAIR Act addresses the twin problems of a lack of a single, 
interoperable, current and accurate Federal land inventory, and the 
proliferation of inefficient, duplicative, costly, inaccurate and out-
of-date inventories by authorizing the Department of the Interior to 
develop and manage a single multipurpose, uniform Federal GIS database 
to track and account for all Federal Real Property, as called for by 
GAO and recommended by the National Academy.
  Waste and duplication can be avoided if the Government knew what 
inventories it had. The FLAIR Act also authorizes the Secretary of the 
Interior to conduct an ``inventory of inventories'' to identify all 
inventory databases, whether efficient or inefficient. The efficient 
databases will be merged into a single multipurpose cadastre while the 
inefficient databases are repealed, thus preventing waste and 
duplication from continuing. By integrating the efficient databases, 
redundancy can be identified and eliminated. Resources can be applied 
to gaps in data rather than duplicative data.
  Once a multipurpose inventory is complete, the government can become 
a better real property asset manager, and a responsible steward of its 
land holdings. This will result in more efficient land management, 
again providing savings. That is what the FLAIR Act provides.
  I urge my colleagues to join Senator Hatch and myself in enacting 
this good-government bill.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. REID (for himself, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Brown, Mr. Cardin, Mr. 
        Conrad, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Kennedy, Ms. 
        Klobuchar, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Levin, Mrs. 
        McCaskill, Ms. Mikulski, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Reed, Mr. Schumer, 
        Ms. Stabenow, and Mr. Whitehouse):
  S. 3044. A bill to provide energy price relief and hold oil companies 
and other entities accountable for their actions with regard to high 
energy prices, and for other purposes; read the first time.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the 
bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 3044

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Consumer-
     First Energy Act of 2008''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act 
     is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.

             TITLE I--TAX PROVISIONS RELATED TO OIL AND GAS

Sec. 101. Denial of deduction for major integrated oil companies for 
              income attributable to domestic production of oil, gas, 
              or primary products thereof.
Sec. 102. Elimination of the different treatment of foreign oil and gas 
              extraction income and foreign oil related income for 
              purposes of the foreign tax credit.
Sec. 103. Windfall profits tax.
Sec. 104. Energy Independence and Security Trust Fund.

                        TITLE II--PRICE GOUGING

Sec. 201. Short title.
Sec. 202. Definitions.
Sec. 203. Energy emergency and additional price gouging enforcement.
Sec. 204. Presidential declaration of energy emergency.
Sec. 205. Enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission.
Sec. 206. Enforcement by State attorneys general.
Sec. 207. Penalties.
Sec. 208. Effect on other laws.

                 TITLE III--STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE

Sec. 301. Suspension of petroleum acquisition for Strategic Petroleum 
              Reserve.

            TITLE IV--NO OIL PRODUCING AND EXPORTING CARTELS

Sec. 401. No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act of 2008.

                      TITLE V--MARKET SPECULATION

Sec. 501. Speculative limits and transparency for off-shore oil 
              trading.
Sec. 502. Margin level for crude oil.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that--
       (1) excessive prices for petroleum products have created, 
     or imminently threaten to create, severe economic 
     dislocations and hardships, including the loss of jobs, 
     business failures, disruption of economic activity,

[[Page 9783]]

     curtailment of vital public services, and price increases 
     throughout the economy;
       (2) those hardships and dislocations jeopardize the normal 
     flow of commerce and constitute a national energy and 
     economic crisis that is a threat to the public health, 
     safety, and welfare of the United States;
       (3) consumers, workers, small businesses, and large 
     businesses of the United States are particularly vulnerable 
     to those price increase due to the failure of the President 
     to aggressively develop alternatives to petroleum and 
     petroleum products and to promote efficiency and 
     conservation;
       (4) reliable and affordable supplies of crude oil and 
     products refined from crude oil (including gasoline, diesel 
     fuel, heating oil, and jet fuel) are vital to the economic 
     and national security of the United States given current 
     energy infrastructure and technology;
       (5) the price of crude oil and products refined from crude 
     oil (including gasoline, diesel fuel, heating oil, and jet 
     fuel) have skyrocketed to record levels and are continuing to 
     rise;
       (6) since 2001, oil prices have increased from $29 per 
     barrel to levels near $120 per barrel and gasoline prices 
     have more than doubled from $1.47 per gallon to more than 
     $3.50 per gallon;
       (7) the record prices for crude oil and products refined 
     from crude oil (including gasoline, diesel fuel, heating oil, 
     and jet fuel)--
       (A) are hurting millions of consumers, workers, small 
     businesses, and large businesses of the United States, and 
     threaten long-term damage to the economy and security of the 
     United States;
       (B) are partially due to--
       (i) the declining value of the dollar and a widespread lack 
     of confidence in the management of economic and foreign 
     policy by the President;
       (ii) the accumulation of national debt and growing budget 
     deficits under the failed economic policies of the President; 
     and
       (iii) high levels of military expenditures under the failed 
     policies of the President in Iraq; and
       (C) are no longer justified by traditional forces of supply 
     and demand;
       (8) rampant speculation in the markets for crude oil and 
     products refined from crude oil has magnified the price 
     increases and market volatility resulting from those 
     underlying causes of price increases; and
       (9) Congress must take urgent action to protect consumers, 
     workers, and businesses of the United States from rampant 
     speculation in the energy markets and the price increases 
     resulting from the failed domestic and foreign policies of 
     the President.

             TITLE I--TAX PROVISIONS RELATED TO OIL AND GAS

     SEC. 101. DENIAL OF DEDUCTION FOR MAJOR INTEGRATED OIL 
                   COMPANIES FOR INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO DOMESTIC 
                   PRODUCTION OF OIL, GAS, OR PRIMARY PRODUCTS 
                   THEREOF.

       (a) In General.--Subparagraph (B) of section 199(c)(4) 
     (relating to exceptions) is amended by striking ``or'' at the 
     end of clause (ii), by striking the period at the end of 
     clause (iii) and inserting ``, or'', and by inserting after 
     clause (iii) the following new clause:
       ``(iv) in the case of any major integrated oil company (as 
     defined in section 167(h)(5)(B)), the production, refining, 
     processing, transportation, or distribution of oil, gas, or 
     any primary product thereof during any taxable year described 
     in section 167(h)(5)(B).''.
       (b) Primary Product.--Section 199(c)(4)(B) is amended by 
     adding at the end the following flush sentence:

     ``For purposes of clause (iv), the term `primary product' has 
     the same meaning as when used in section 927(a)(2)(C), as in 
     effect before its repeal.''.
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 
     2008.

     SEC. 102. ELIMINATION OF THE DIFFERENT TREATMENT OF FOREIGN 
                   OIL AND GAS EXTRACTION INCOME AND FOREIGN OIL 
                   RELATED INCOME FOR PURPOSES OF THE FOREIGN TAX 
                   CREDIT.

       (a) In General.--Subsections (a) and (b) of section 907 of 
     the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to special rules 
     in case of foreign oil and gas income) are amended to read as 
     follows:
       ``(a) Reduction in Amount Allowed as Foreign Tax Under 
     Section 901.--In applying section 901, the amount of any 
     foreign oil and gas taxes paid or accrued (or deemed to have 
     been paid) during the taxable year which would (but for this 
     subsection) be taken into account for purposes of section 901 
     shall be reduced by the amount (if any) by which the amount 
     of such taxes exceeds the product of--
       ``(1) the amount of the combined foreign oil and gas income 
     for the taxable year,
       ``(2) multiplied by--
       ``(A) in the case of a corporation, the percentage which is 
     equal to the highest rate of tax specified under section 
     11(b), or
       ``(B) in the case of an individual, a fraction the 
     numerator of which is the tax against which the credit under 
     section 901(a) is taken and the denominator of which is the 
     taxpayer's entire taxable income.
       ``(b) Combined Foreign Oil and Gas Income; Foreign Oil and 
     Gas Taxes.--For purposes of this section--
       ``(1) Combined foreign oil and gas income.--The term 
     `combined foreign oil and gas income' means, with respect to 
     any taxable year, the sum of--
       ``(A) foreign oil and gas extraction income, and
       ``(B) foreign oil related income.
       ``(2) Foreign oil and gas taxes.--The term `foreign oil and 
     gas taxes' means, with respect to any taxable year, the sum 
     of--
       ``(A) oil and gas extraction taxes, and
       ``(B) any income, war profits, and excess profits taxes 
     paid or accrued (or deemed to have been paid or accrued under 
     section 902 or 960) during the taxable year with respect to 
     foreign oil related income (determined without regard to 
     subsection (c)(4)) or loss which would be taken into account 
     for purposes of section 901 without regard to this 
     section.''.
       (b) Recapture of Foreign Oil and Gas Losses.--Paragraph (4) 
     of section 907(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
     (relating to recapture of foreign oil and gas extraction 
     losses by recharacterizing later extraction income) is 
     amended to read as follows:
       ``(4) Recapture of foreign oil and gas losses by 
     recharacterizing later combined foreign oil and gas income.--
       ``(A) In general.--The combined foreign oil and gas income 
     of a taxpayer for a taxable year (determined without regard 
     to this paragraph) shall be reduced--
       ``(i) first by the amount determined under subparagraph 
     (B), and
       ``(ii) then by the amount determined under subparagraph 
     (C).

     The aggregate amount of such reductions shall be treated as 
     income (from sources without the United States) which is not 
     combined foreign oil and gas income.
       ``(B) Reduction for pre-2008 foreign oil extraction 
     losses.--The reduction under this paragraph shall be equal to 
     the lesser of--
       ``(i) the foreign oil and gas extraction income of the 
     taxpayer for the taxable year (determined without regard to 
     this paragraph), or
       ``(ii) the excess of--

       ``(I) the aggregate amount of foreign oil extraction losses 
     for preceding taxable years beginning after December 31, 
     1982, and before January 1, 2008, over
       ``(II) so much of such aggregate amount as was 
     recharacterized under this paragraph (as in effect before and 
     after the date of the enactment of the Consumer-First Energy 
     Act of 2008) for preceding taxable years beginning after 
     December 31, 1982.

       ``(C) Reduction for post-2008 foreign oil and gas losses.--
     The reduction under this paragraph shall be equal to the 
     lesser of--
       ``(i) the combined foreign oil and gas income of the 
     taxpayer for the taxable year (determined without regard to 
     this paragraph), reduced by an amount equal to the reduction 
     under subparagraph (A) for the taxable year, or
       ``(ii) the excess of--

       ``(I) the aggregate amount of foreign oil and gas losses 
     for preceding taxable years beginning after December 31, 
     2008, over
       ``(II) so much of such aggregate amount as was 
     recharacterized under this paragraph for preceding taxable 
     years beginning after December 31, 2008.

       ``(D) Foreign oil and gas loss defined.--
       ``(i) In general.--For purposes of this paragraph, the term 
     `foreign oil and gas loss' means the amount by which--

       ``(I) the gross income for the taxable year from sources 
     without the United States and its possessions (whether or not 
     the taxpayer chooses the benefits of this subpart for such 
     taxable year) taken into account in determining the combined 
     foreign oil and gas income for such year, is exceeded by
       ``(II) the sum of the deductions properly apportioned or 
     allocated thereto.

       ``(ii) Net operating loss deduction not taken into 
     account.--For purposes of clause (i), the net operating loss 
     deduction allowable for the taxable year under section 172(a) 
     shall not be taken into account.
       ``(iii) Expropriation and casualty losses not taken into 
     account.--For purposes of clause (i), there shall not be 
     taken into account--

       ``(I) any foreign expropriation loss (as defined in section 
     172(h) (as in effect on the day before the date of the 
     enactment of the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1990)) for the 
     taxable year, or
       ``(II) any loss for the taxable year which arises from 
     fire, storm, shipwreck, or other casualty, or from theft,

     to the extent such loss is not compensated for by insurance 
     or otherwise.
       ``(iv) Foreign oil extraction loss.--For purposes of 
     subparagraph (B)(ii)(I), foreign oil extraction losses shall 
     be determined under this paragraph as in effect on the day 
     before the date of the enactment of the Consumer-First Energy 
     Act of 2008.''.
       (c) Carryback and Carryover of Disallowed Credits.--Section 
     907(f) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to 
     carryback and carryover of disallowed credits) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``oil and gas extraction taxes'' each place 
     it appears and inserting ``foreign oil and gas taxes'', and

[[Page 9784]]

       (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(4) Transition rules for pre-2009 and 2009 disallowed 
     credits.--
       ``(A) Pre-2009 credits.--In the case of any unused credit 
     year beginning before January 1, 2009, this subsection shall 
     be applied to any unused oil and gas extraction taxes carried 
     from such unused credit year to a year beginning after 
     December 31, 2008--
       ``(i) by substituting `oil and gas extraction taxes' for 
     `foreign oil and gas taxes' each place it appears in 
     paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), and
       ``(ii) by computing, for purposes of paragraph (2)(A), the 
     limitation under subparagraph (A) for the year to which such 
     taxes are carried by substituting `foreign oil and gas 
     extraction income' for `foreign oil and gas income' in 
     subsection (a).
       ``(B) 2009 credits.--In the case of any unused credit year 
     beginning in 2009, the amendments made to this subsection by 
     the Consumer-First Energy Act of 2008 shall be treated as 
     being in effect for any preceding year beginning before 
     January 1, 2009, solely for purposes of determining how much 
     of the unused foreign oil and gas taxes for such unused 
     credit year may be deemed paid or accrued in such preceding 
     year.''.
       (d) Conforming Amendment.--Section 6501(i) of the Internal 
     Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ``oil and gas 
     extraction taxes'' and inserting ``foreign oil and gas 
     taxes''.
       (e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 
     2008.

     SEC. 103. WINDFALL PROFITS TAX.

       (a) In General.--Subtitle E of the Internal Revenue Code of 
     1986 (relating to alcohol, tobacco, and certain other excise 
     taxes) is amended by adding at the end thereof the following 
     new chapter:

              ``CHAPTER 56--WINDFALL PROFITS ON CRUDE OIL

``Sec. 5896. Imposition of tax.
``Sec. 5897. Windfall profit; qualified investment.
``Sec. 5898. Special rules and definitions.

     ``SEC. 5896. IMPOSITION OF TAX.

       ``(a) In General.--In addition to any other tax imposed 
     under this title, there is hereby imposed on any applicable 
     taxpayer an excise tax in an amount equal to 25 percent of 
     the excess of--
       ``(1) the windfall profit of such taxpayer, over
       ``(2) the excess of--
       ``(A) the amount of the qualified investments of such 
     applicable taxpayer for such taxable year, over
       ``(B) the average of the qualified investment of such 
     applicable taxpayer for taxable years beginning during the 
     2002-2006 taxable year period.
       ``(b) Applicable Taxpayer.--For purposes of this chapter, 
     the term `applicable taxpayer' means any major integrated oil 
     company (as defined in section 167(h)(5)(B)).

     ``SEC. 5897. WINDFALL PROFIT; QUALIFIED INVESTMENT.

       ``(a) General Rule.--For purposes of this chapter, the term 
     `windfall profit' means the excess of the adjusted taxable 
     income of the applicable taxpayer for the taxable year over 
     the reasonably inflated average profit for such taxable year.
       ``(b) Adjusted Taxable Income.--For purposes of this 
     chapter, with respect to any applicable taxpayer, the 
     adjusted taxable income for any taxable year is equal to the 
     taxable income for such taxable year (within the meaning of 
     section 63 and determined without regard to this 
     subsection)--
       ``(1) increased by any interest expense deduction, 
     charitable contribution deduction, and any net operating loss 
     deduction carried forward from any prior taxable year, and
       ``(2) reduced by any interest income, dividend income, and 
     net operating losses to the extent such losses exceed taxable 
     income for the taxable year.

     In the case of any applicable taxpayer which is a foreign 
     corporation, the adjusted taxable income shall be determined 
     with respect to such income which is effectively connected 
     with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States.
       ``(c) Reasonably Inflated Average Profit.--For purposes of 
     this chapter, with respect to any applicable taxpayer, the 
     reasonably inflated average profit for any taxable year is an 
     amount equal to the average of the adjusted taxable income of 
     such taxpayer for taxable years beginning during the 2002-
     2006 taxable year period (determined without regard to the 
     taxable year with the highest adjusted taxable income in such 
     period) plus 10 percent of such average.
       ``(d) Qualified Investment.--For purposes of this chapter, 
     the term `qualified investment' means, with respect to any 
     applicable taxpayer, means any amount paid or incurred with 
     respect to--
       ``(1) any qualified facility described in paragraph (1), 
     (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), or (9) of section 45(d) 
     (determined without regard to any placed in service date), or
       ``(2) any facility for the production renewable fuel or 
     advanced biofuel (as defined in section 211(o) of the Clean 
     Air Act 942 U.S.C. 7545).

     ``SEC. 5898. SPECIAL RULES AND DEFINITIONS.

       ``(a) Withholding and Deposit of Tax.--The Secretary shall 
     provide such rules as are necessary for the withholding and 
     deposit of the tax imposed under section 5896.
       ``(b) Records and Information.--Each taxpayer liable for 
     tax under section 5896 shall keep such records, make such 
     returns, and furnish such information as the Secretary may by 
     regulations prescribe.
       ``(c) Return of Windfall Profit Tax.--The Secretary shall 
     provide for the filing and the time of such filing of the 
     return of the tax imposed under section 5896.
       ``(d) Crude Oil.--The term `crude oil' includes crude oil 
     condensates and natural gasoline.
       ``(e) Businesses Under Common Control.--For purposes of 
     this chapter, all members of the same controlled group of 
     corporations (within the meaning of section 267(f)) and all 
     persons under common control (within the meaning of section 
     52(b) but determined by treating an interest of more than 50 
     percent as a controlling interest) shall be treated as 1 
     person.
       ``(f) Regulations.--The Secretary shall prescribe such 
     regulations as may be necessary or appropriate to carry out 
     the purposes of this chapter.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of chapters for subtitle 
     E of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding 
     at the end the following new item:

             ``Chapter 56. Windfall Profit on Crude Oil.''.

       (c) Deductibility of Windfall Profit Tax.--The first 
     sentence of section 164(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
     1986 (relating to deduction for taxes) is amended by 
     inserting after paragraph (5) the following new paragraph:
       ``(6) The windfall profit tax imposed by section 5896.''.
       (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 
     2007.

     SEC. 104. ENERGY INDEPENDENCE AND SECURITY TRUST FUND.

       (a) Establishment.--Subchapter A of chapter 98 of the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to trust fund code) 
     is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

     ``SEC. 9511. ENERGY INDEPENDENCE AND SECURITY TRUST FUND.

       ``(a) Creation of Trust Fund.--There is established in the 
     Treasury of the United States a trust fund to be known as 
     `Energy Independence and Security Trust Fund' (referred to in 
     this section as the `Trust Fund'), consisting of such amounts 
     as may be appropriated or credited to the Trust Fund as 
     provided in this section or section 9602(b).
       ``(b) Transfers to Trust Fund.--There is hereby 
     appropriated to the Trust Fund an amount equivalent to the 
     increase in the revenues received in the Treasury as the 
     result of the amendments made by sections 101, 102, and 103 
     of the Consumer-First Energy Act of 2008.
       ``(c) Distribution of Amounts in Trust Fund.--Amounts in 
     the Trust Fund shall be available, as provided by 
     appropriation Acts, for the purposes of reducing the 
     dependence of the United States on foreign and unsustainable 
     energy sources and reducing the risks of global warming 
     through programs and measures that--
       ``(1) reduce the burdens on consumers of rising energy 
     prices;
       ``(2) diversify and expand the use of secure, efficient, 
     and environmentally-friendly energy supplies and 
     technologies;
       ``(3) result in net reductions in emissions of greenhouse 
     gases; and
       ``(4) prevent energy price gouging, profiteering, and 
     market manipulation.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for 
     subchapter A of chapter 98 of such Code is amended by adding 
     at the end the following new item:

``Sec. 9511. Energy Independence and Security Trust Fund.''.
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.

                        TITLE II--PRICE GOUGING

     SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

       This title may be cited as the ``Petroleum Consumer Price 
     Gouging Protection Act''.

     SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS.

       In this title:
       (1) Affected area.--The term ``affected area'' means an 
     area covered by a Presidential declaration of energy 
     emergency.
       (2) Supplier.--The term ``supplier'' means any person 
     engaged in the trade or business of selling or reselling, at 
     retail or wholesale, or distributing crude oil, gasoline, 
     petroleum distillates, or biofuel.
       (3) Price gouging.--The term ``price gouging'' means the 
     charging of an unconscionably excessive price by a supplier 
     in an affected area.
       (4) Unconscionably excessive price.--The term 
     ``unconscionably excessive price'' means an average price 
     charged during an energy emergency declared by the President 
     in an area and for a product subject to the declaration, 
     that--
       (A)(i)(I) constitutes a gross disparity from the average 
     price at which it was offered for sale in the usual course of 
     the supplier's business during the 30 days prior to the 
     President's declaration of an energy emergency; and

[[Page 9785]]

       (II) grossly exceeds the prices at which the same or 
     similar crude oil, gasoline, petroleum distillates, or 
     biofuel was readily obtainable by purchasers from other 
     suppliers in the same relevant geographic market within the 
     affected area; or
       (ii) represents an exercise of unfair leverage or 
     unconscionable means on the part of the supplier, during a 
     period of declared energy emergency; and
       (B) is not attributable to increased wholesale or 
     operational costs, including replacement costs, outside the 
     control of the supplier, incurred in connection with the sale 
     of crude oil, gasoline, petroleum distillates, or biofuel, 
     and is not attributable to local, regional, national, or 
     international market conditions.
       (5) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
     Trade Commission.

     SEC. 203. ENERGY EMERGENCY AND ADDITIONAL PRICE GOUGING 
                   ENFORCEMENT.

       (a) In General.--During any energy emergency declared by 
     the President under section 204 of this title, it is unlawful 
     for any supplier to sell, or offer to sell crude oil, 
     gasoline, petroleum distillates, or biofuel subject to that 
     declaration in, or for use in, the area to which that 
     declaration applies at an unconscionably excessive price.
       (b) Factors Considered.--In determining whether a violation 
     of subsection (a) has occurred, there shall be taken into 
     account, among other factors, whether--
       (1) the price charged was a price that would reasonably 
     exist in a competitive and freely functioning market; and
       (2) the amount of gasoline, other petroleum distillates, or 
     biofuel the seller produced, distributed, or sold during the 
     period the Proclamation was in effect increased over the 
     average amount during the preceding 30 days.

     SEC. 204. PRESIDENTIAL DECLARATION OF ENERGY EMERGENCY.

       (a) In General.--If the President finds that the health, 
     safety, welfare, or economic well-being of the citizens of 
     the United States is at risk because of a shortage or 
     imminent shortage of adequate supplies of crude oil, 
     gasoline, petroleum distillates, or biofuel due to a 
     disruption in the national distribution system for crude oil, 
     gasoline, petroleum distillates, or biofuel (including such a 
     shortage related to a major disaster (as defined in section 
     102(2) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
     Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122(2))), or significant 
     pricing anomalies in national energy markets for crude oil, 
     gasoline, petroleum distillates, or biofuel the President may 
     declare that a Federal energy emergency exists.
       (b) Scope and Duration.--The emergency declaration shall 
     specify--
       (1) the period, not to exceed 30 days, for which the 
     declaration applies;
       (2) the circumstance or condition necessitating the 
     declaration; and
       (3) the area or region to which it applies which may not be 
     limited to a single State; and
       (4) the product or products to which it applies.
       (c) Extensions.--The President may--
       (1) extend a declaration under subsection (a) for a period 
     of not more than 30 days;
       (2) extend such a declaration more than once; and
       (3) discontinue such a declaration before its expiration.

     SEC. 205. ENFORCEMENT BY THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION.

       (a) Enforcement.--This title shall be enforced by the 
     Federal Trade Commission in the same manner, by the same 
     means, and with the same jurisdiction as though all 
     applicable terms of the Federal Trade Commission Act were 
     incorporated into and made a part of this title. In enforcing 
     section 203 of this title, the Commission shall give priority 
     to enforcement actions concerning companies with total United 
     States wholesale or retail sales of crude oil, gasoline, 
     petroleum distillates, and biofuel in excess of $500,000,000 
     per year but shall not exclude enforcement actions against 
     companies with total United States wholesale sales of 
     $500,000,000 or less per year.
       (b) Violation Is Treated as Unfair or Deceptive Act or 
     Practice.--The violation of any provision of this title shall 
     be treated as an unfair or deceptive act or practice 
     proscribed under a rule issued under section 18(a)(1)(B) of 
     the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)).
       (c) Commission Actions.--Following the declaration of an 
     energy emergency by the President under section 204 of this 
     title, the Commission shall--
       (1) maintain within the Commission--
       (A) a toll-free hotline that a consumer may call to report 
     an incident of price gouging in the affected area; and
       (B) a program to develop and distribute to the public 
     informational materials to assist residents of the affected 
     area in detecting, avoiding, and reporting price gouging;
       (2) consult with the Attorney General, the United States 
     Attorney for the districts in which a disaster occurred (if 
     the declaration is related to a major disaster), and State 
     and local law enforcement officials to determine whether any 
     supplier in the affected area is charging or has charged an 
     unconscionably excessive price for crude oil, gasoline, 
     petroleum distillates, or biofuel in the affected area; and
       (3) conduct investigations as appropriate to determine 
     whether any supplier in the affected area has violated 
     section 203 of this title, and upon such finding, take any 
     action the Commission determines to be appropriate to remedy 
     the violation.

     SEC. 206. ENFORCEMENT BY STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL.

       (a) In General.--A State, as parens patriae, may bring a 
     civil action on behalf of its residents in an appropriate 
     district court of the United States to enforce the provisions 
     of section 203 of this title, or to impose the civil 
     penalties authorized by section 207 for violations of section 
     203, whenever the attorney general of the State has reason to 
     believe that the interests of the residents of the State have 
     been or are being threatened or adversely affected by a 
     supplier engaged in the sale or resale, at retail or 
     wholesale, or distribution of crude oil, gasoline, petroleum 
     distillates, or biofuel in violation of section 203 of this 
     title.
       (b) Notice.--The State shall serve written notice to the 
     Commission of any civil action under subsection (a) prior to 
     initiating the action. The notice shall include a copy of the 
     complaint to be filed to initiate the civil action, except 
     that if it is not feasible for the State to provide such 
     prior notice, the State shall provide such notice immediately 
     upon instituting the civil action.
       (c) Authority to Intervene.--Upon receiving the notice 
     required by subsection (b), the Commission may intervene in 
     the civil action and, upon intervening--
       (1) may be heard on all matters arising in such civil 
     action; and
       (2) may file petitions for appeal of a decision in such 
     civil action.
       (d) Construction.--For purposes of bringing any civil 
     action under subsection (a), nothing in this section shall 
     prevent the attorney general of a State from exercising the 
     powers conferred on the Attorney General by the laws of such 
     State to conduct investigations or to administer oaths or 
     affirmations or to compel the attendance of witnesses or the 
     production of documentary and other evidence.
       (e) Venue; Service of Process.--In a civil action brought 
     under subsection (a)--
       (1) the venue shall be a judicial district in which--
       (A) the defendant operates;
       (B) the defendant was authorized to do business; or
       (C) where the defendant in the civil action is found;
       (2) process may be served without regard to the territorial 
     limits of the district or of the State in which the civil 
     action is instituted; and
       (3) a person who participated with the defendant in an 
     alleged violation that is being litigated in the civil action 
     may be joined in the civil action without regard to the 
     residence of the person.
       (f) Limitation on State Action While Federal Action Is 
     Pending.--If the Commission has instituted a civil action or 
     an administrative action for violation of this title, a State 
     attorney general, or official or agency of a State, may not 
     bring an action under this section during the pendency of 
     that action against any defendant named in the complaint of 
     the Commission or the other agency for any violation of this 
     title alleged in the Commission's civil or administrative 
     action.
       (g) No Preemption.--Nothing contained in this section shall 
     prohibit an authorized State official from proceeding in 
     State court to enforce a civil or criminal statute of that 
     State.

     SEC. 207. PENALTIES.

       (a) Civil Penalty.--
       (1) In general.--In addition to any penalty applicable 
     under the Federal Trade Commission Act, any supplier--
       (A) that violates section 203 of this title is punishable 
     by a civil penalty of not more than $1,000,000; and
       (B) that violates section 203 of this title is punishable 
     by a civil penalty of--
       (i) not more than $500,000, in the case of an independent 
     small business marketer of gasoline (within the meaning of 
     section 324(c) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7625(c))); and
       (ii) not more than $5,000,000 in the case of any other 
     supplier.
       (2) Method.--The penalties provided by paragraph (1) shall 
     be obtained in the same manner as civil penalties imposed 
     under section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 
     U.S.C. 45).
       (3) Multiple offenses; mitigating factors.--In assessing 
     the penalty provided by subsection (a)--
       (A) each day of a continuing violation shall be considered 
     a separate violation; and
       (B) the court shall take into consideration, among other 
     factors, the seriousness of the violation and the efforts of 
     the person committing the violation to remedy the harm caused 
     by the violation in a timely manner.
       (b) Criminal Penalty.--Violation of section 203 of this 
     title is punishable by a fine of not more than $5,000,000, 
     imprisonment for not more than 5 years, or both.

     SEC. 208. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.

       (a) Other Authority of the Commission.--Nothing in this 
     title shall be construed to limit or affect in any way the 
     Commission's authority to bring enforcement actions or take 
     any other measure under the Federal

[[Page 9786]]

     Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) or any other 
     provision of law.
       (b) State Law.--Nothing in this title preempts any State 
     law.

                 TITLE III--STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE

     SEC. 301. SUSPENSION OF PETROLEUM ACQUISITION FOR STRATEGIC 
                   PETROLEUM RESERVE.

       (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b) and 
     notwithstanding any other provision of law, during the period 
     beginning on the date of enactment of this Act and ending on 
     December 31, 2008--
       (1) the Secretary of the Interior shall suspend acquisition 
     of petroleum for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve through the 
     royalty-in-kind program; and
       (2) the Secretary of Energy shall suspend acquisition of 
     petroleum for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve through any 
     other acquisition method.
       (b) Resumption.--Not earlier than 30 days after the date on 
     which the President notifies Congress that the President has 
     determined that the weighted average price of petroleum in 
     the United States for the most recent 90-day period is $75 or 
     less per barrel--
       (1) the Secretary of the Interior may resume acquisition of 
     petroleum for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve through the 
     royalty-in-kind program; and
       (2) the Secretary of Energy may resume acquisition of 
     petroleum for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve through any 
     other acquisition method.
       (c) Existing Contracts.--In the case of any oil scheduled 
     to be delivered to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve pursuant 
     to a contract entered into by the Secretary of Energy prior 
     to, and in effect on, the date of enactment of this Act, the 
     Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, negotiate 
     a deferral of the delivery of the oil for a period of not 
     less than 1 year, in accordance with procedures of the 
     Department of Energy in effect on the date of enactment of 
     this Act for deferrals of oil.

            TITLE IV--NO OIL PRODUCING AND EXPORTING CARTELS

     SEC. 401. NO OIL PRODUCING AND EXPORTING CARTELS ACT OF 2008.

       (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``No Oil 
     Producing and Exporting Cartels Act of 2008'' or ``NOPEC''.
       (b) Sherman Act.--The Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. 1 et seq.) is 
     amended by adding after section 7 the following:

     ``SEC. 7A. OIL PRODUCING CARTELS.

       ``(a) In General.--It shall be illegal and a violation of 
     this Act for any foreign state, or any instrumentality or 
     agent of any foreign state, to act collectively or in 
     combination with any other foreign state, any instrumentality 
     or agent of any other foreign state, or any other person, 
     whether by cartel or any other association or form of 
     cooperation or joint action--
       ``(1) to limit the production or distribution of oil, 
     natural gas, or any other petroleum product;
       ``(2) to set or maintain the price of oil, natural gas, or 
     any petroleum product; or
       ``(3) to otherwise take any action in restraint of trade 
     for oil, natural gas, or any petroleum product;

     when such action, combination, or collective action has a 
     direct, substantial, and reasonably foreseeable effect on the 
     market, supply, price, or distribution of oil, natural gas, 
     or other petroleum product in the United States.
       ``(b) Sovereign Immunity.--A foreign state engaged in 
     conduct in violation of subsection (a) shall not be immune 
     under the doctrine of sovereign immunity from the 
     jurisdiction or judgments of the courts of the United States 
     in any action brought to enforce this section.
       ``(c) Inapplicability of Act of State Doctrine.--No court 
     of the United States shall decline, based on the act of state 
     doctrine, to make a determination on the merits in an action 
     brought under this section.
       ``(d) Enforcement.--The Attorney General of the United 
     States may bring an action to enforce this section in any 
     district court of the United States as provided under the 
     antitrust laws.''.
       (c) Sovereign Immunity.--Section 1605(a) of title 28, 
     United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (6), by striking ``or'' after the 
     semicolon;
       (2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period and inserting 
     ``; or''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(8) in which the action is brought under section 7A of 
     the Sherman Act.''.

                      TITLE V--MARKET SPECULATION

     SEC. 501. SPECULATIVE LIMITS AND TRANSPARENCY FOR OFF-SHORE 
                   OIL TRADING.

       Section 4 of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 6) is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(e) Foreign Boards of Trade.--
       ``(1) In general.--In the case of any foreign board of 
     trade for which the Commission has granted or is considering 
     an application to grant a board of trade located outside of 
     the United States relief from the requirement of subsection 
     (a) to become a designated contract market, derivatives 
     transaction execution facility, or other registered entity, 
     with respect to an energy commodity that is physically 
     delivered in the United States, prior to continuing to or 
     initially granting the relief, the Commission shall determine 
     that the foreign board of trade--
       ``(A) applies comparable principles or requirements 
     regarding the daily publication of trading information and 
     position limits or accountability levels for speculators as 
     apply to a designated contract market, derivatives 
     transaction execution facility, or other registered entity 
     trading energy commodities physically delivered in the United 
     States; and
       ``(B) provides such information to the Commission regarding 
     the extent of speculative and nonspeculative trading in the 
     energy commodity that is comparable to the information the 
     Commission determines necessary to publish a Commitment of 
     Traders report for a designated contract market, derivatives 
     transaction execution facility, or other registered entity 
     trading energy commodities physically delivered in the United 
     States.
       ``(2) Existing foreign boards of trade.--During the period 
     beginning 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
     subsection and ending 18 months after the date of enactment 
     of this subsection, the Commission shall determine whether to 
     continue to grant relief in accordance with paragraph (1) to 
     any foreign board of trade for which the Commission granted 
     relief prior to the date of enactment of this subsection.''.

     SEC. 502. MARGIN LEVEL FOR CRUDE OIL.

       (a) In General.--Section 2(a)(1) of the Commodity Exchange 
     Act (7 U.S.C. 2(a)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:
       ``(G) Margin level for crude oil.--Not later than 90 days 
     after the date of enactment of this subparagraph, the 
     Commission shall promulgate regulations to set a substantial 
     increase in margin levels for crude oil traded on any trading 
     facility or as part of any agreement, contract, or 
     transaction covered by this Act in order to reduce excessive 
     speculation and protect consumers.''.
       (b) Studies.--
       (1) Study relating to effect of certain regulations.--Not 
     later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 
     the Commodity Futures Trading Commission shall submit to the 
     appropriate committees of Congress a report describing the 
     effect of the amendment made by subsection (a) on any trading 
     facilities and agreements, contracts, and transactions 
     covered by the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1 et seq.).
       (2) Study relating to effects of changes in margin 
     levels.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 
     of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
     shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a 
     report describing the effect (including any effect relating 
     to trade volume or volatility) of any change of a margin 
     level that occurred during the 10-year period ending on the 
     date of enactment of this Act.

                          ____________________