[House Report 112-392]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


112th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     112-392
======================================================================
 
       PROTECTING INVESTMENT IN OIL SHALE THE NEXT GENERATION OF 

            ENVIRONMENTAL, ENERGY, AND RESOURCE SECURITY ACT

                                _______
                                

February 9, 2012.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Hastings of Washington, from the Committee on Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following


                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                            DISSENTING VIEWS

                        [To accompany H.R. 3408]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 3408) to set clear rules for the development of 
United States oil shale resources, to promote shale technology 
research and development, and for other purposes, having 
considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment 
and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Investment in Oil Shale the 
Next Generation of Environmental, Energy, and Resource Security Act'' 
or the ``PIONEERS Act''.

SEC. 2. EFFECTIVENESS OF OIL SHALE REGULATIONS, AMENDMENTS TO RESOURCE 
                    MANAGEMENT PLANS, AND RECORD OF DECISION.

  (a) Regulations.--Notwithstanding any other law or regulation to the 
contrary, the final regulations regarding oil shale management 
published by the Bureau of Land Management on November 18, 2008 (73 
Fed. Reg. 69,414) are deemed to satisfy all legal and procedural 
requirements under any law, including the Federal Land Policy and 
Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the Endangered Species 
Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and the Energy Policy Act of 2005 
(Public Law 109-58), and the Secretary of the Interior shall implement 
those regulations, including the oil shale leasing program authorized 
by the regulations, without any other administrative action necessary.
  (b) Amendments to Resource Management Plans and Record of Decision.--
Notwithstanding any other law or regulation to the contrary, the 
November 17, 2008 U.S. Bureau of Land Management Approved Resource 
Management Plan Amendments/Record of Decision for Oil Shale and Tar 
Sands Resources to Address Land Use Allocations in Colorado, Utah, and 
Wyoming and Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement are 
deemed to satisfy all legal and procedural requirements under any law, 
including the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 
1701 et seq.), the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 
seq.), the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq.), and the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-58), and the 
Secretary of the Interior shall implement the oil shale leasing program 
authorized by the regulations referred to in subsection (a) in those 
areas covered by the resource management plans amended by such 
amendments, and covered by such record of decision, without any other 
administrative action necessary.

SEC. 3. OIL SHALE LEASING.

  (a) Additional Research and Development Lease Sales.--The Secretary 
of the Interior shall hold a lease sale within 180 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act offering an additional 10 parcels for lease 
for research, development, and demonstration of oil shale resources, 
under the terms offered in the solicitation of bids for such leases 
published on January 15, 2009 (74 Fed. Reg. 10).
  (b) Commercial Lease Sales.--No later than January 1, 2016, the 
Secretary of the Interior shall hold no less than 5 separate commercial 
lease sales in areas considered to have the most potential for oil 
shale development, as determined by the Secretary, in areas nominated 
through public comment. Each lease sale shall be for an area of not 
less than 25,000 acres, and in multiple lease blocs.

SEC. 4. POLICIES REGARDING BUYING, BUILDING, AND WORKING FOR AMERICA.

  (a) Congressional Intent.--It is the intent of the Congress that--
          (1) this Act will support a healthy and growing United States 
        domestic energy sector that, in turn, helps to reinvigorate 
        American manufacturing, transportation, and service sectors by 
        employing the vast talents of United States workers to assist 
        in the development of energy from domestic sources;
          (2) to ensure a robust oil shale industry and ensure that the 
        benefits of development support local communities, under this 
        Act, the Secretary shall make every effort to promote the 
        development of oil shale in a manner that will support the 
        long-term commercial development of oil shale, and shall take 
        into consideration the socioeconomic impacts, infrastructure 
        requirements, and fiscal stability for local communities 
        located within areas containing oil shale resources; and
          (3) the Congress will monitor the deployment of personnel and 
        material onshore to encourage the development of American 
        technology and manufacturing to enable United States workers to 
        benefit from this Act through good jobs and careers, as well as 
        the establishment of important industrial facilities to support 
        expanded access to American resources.
  (b) Requirement.--The Secretary of the Interior shall when possible, 
and practicable, encourage the use of United States workers and 
equipment manufactured in the United States in all construction related 
to mineral resource development under this Act.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 3408, as ordered reported, is to set 
clear rules for the development of United States oil shale 
resources and to promote shale technology research and 
development.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    H.R. 3408 would facilitate the production of our Nation's 
oil shale to create American jobs and advance our Nation's 
energy security. The bill would direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to conduct both commercial and research, development, 
and demonstration leasing sales for oil shale. It also codifies 
the 2008 Bureau of Land Management Final Programmatic 
Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) and Resource Management 
Plan (RMP) amendments that allow for oil shale development on 
public land.

American Resources

    The lower 48 States contain nearly 75 percent of the 
world's recoverable oil shale resources. U.S. oil shale holds 
tremendous promise for domestic energy production, the creation 
of American jobs, and decreasing dependence on foreign oil. 
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the western United 
States may hold more than 1.5 trillion barrels of oil--six 
times Saudi Arabia's proven resources, and enough to provide 
the United States with energy for the next 200 years. The U.S. 
western oil shales are more concentrated on a resource per acre 
basis than Alaskan North Slope oil or Alberta's tar sands. The 
largest known deposits of oil shale are located in a 16,000-
square mile area in the Green River formation in Colorado, Utah 
and Wyoming. Additionally, the development of American oil 
shale has the potential to create hundreds of thousands of 
American jobs.
    While the Congressional Budget Office estimated that H.R. 
3408 would not generate any new revenue to the federal 
government, it is important to note that the PIONEERS Act would 
begin to create American jobs shortly after its enactment. 
While CBO estimates that in the ten year baseline budget H.R. 
3408 would not create new revenue, it would ensure increased 
revenue earlier in the budget than originally projected. This 
means that the federal government will both receive these 
revenues sooner and, most importantly, thousands of jobs will 
start to be created now rather than far off into the future. 
Creating jobs now and boosting the federal budget sooner has 
tremendous positive economic impacts on these states and the 
nation as whole. In contrast, this Administration is rewriting 
regulations and imposing policies that will block and delay job 
creation and oil shale development. The Administration is 
actively working to close prime areas in the West from leasing 
for oil shale development and to inject uncertainty and risk to 
job creators through new oil shale regulations. This bill sets 
a clear path, a clear plan and provides real opportunities for 
job creation, domestic investment and energy production that 
does not currently exist in law.

Oil Shale Development

    Although Brazil, China, and Estonia have substantial oil 
shale industries, the U.S. does not. Beginning in 1912, when 
the Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves Program was 
established, oil shale development in the United States has 
traditionally been subject to a ``boom and bust'' cycle of 
development. This has been due to inconsistent U.S. resources 
directed towards oil shale due to the fluctuating global price 
of traditional crude oil with which it competes. However, 
because of traditional crude price increases, decreasing global 
supply, increasing energy demand, and the need for energy 
production to ensure our energy security, oil shale development 
is once again becoming a focal point of an ever-expanding 
domestic energy portfolio.
    In addition, inconsistent and combative federal policies 
regarding leasing and land development have also hindered the 
commercial development of oil shale. The Department of the 
Interior owns and manages about 73 percent of the lands that 
contain significant oil shale deposits in the West. Federal 
lands contain about 80 percent of the known recoverable 
resource in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. Unfortunately, an 
executive order signed by President Hoover prohibits the 
leasing of federal oil shale lands. The ban can only be lifted 
by the Secretary of the Interior. This has occurred only twice 
since 1930--once in the early 1970s when the Federal Prototype 
Oil Shale leasing Program was established and once after the 
Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-58) required leasing 
of oil shale lands for experimental purposes. Accordingly, in 
2007, six 160-acre tracts were leased to three companies. Each 
developer has ten years to successfully verify that its 
technology is technically viable, environmentally acceptable 
and sustainable before expanding each lease to as much as 5,120 
acres for commercial production. In 2008, the Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) published a Final PEIS that expanded the 
acreage potentially available for commercial tar-sands leasing 
and amended eight RMPs in Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming to make 
approximately 1.9 million acres of public lands potentially 
available for commercial oil shale development.

Recent Administration Actions

    Under the Obama Administration, the Department of the 
Interior has essentially withdrawn its support of the 
provisions in Energy Policy Act of 2005 that supported the 
commercial leasing of oil shale and has made little progress on 
the industry's advancement. Admittedly in 2009, the Bureau of 
Land Management (BLM) solicited a second round of 160-acre oil 
shale Research Demonstration and Development (RD&D); however, 
the lease terms were less than favorable to oil shale 
production. The initial potential for 5,120 acres of commercial 
development pending a successful project was decreased to 480 
acres. Because of this, there was a lack of interest in the 
second round of BLM leases as many firms believed a commercial 
project could not be established on such a small footprint. 
Therefore, it is not surprising that only two proposals were 
submitted. These RD&D leases have yet to be issued, as BLM 
continues to hold public meetings and conduct reviews on the 
proposals and has not indicated when a decision will be made.
    Additionally, as a result of a legal settlement, in 
February the Obama Administration announced it would be re-
reviewing the Bush Administration era rules for commercial oil 
shale leasing, adding further delays to an already unreasonably 
prolonged process. H.R. 3408 codifies the Bush Administration's 
oil shale leasing regulations to provide certainty and allow 
oil shale development in the United States to move forward. As 
a result of the current Administration's delays and 
inconsistent policies regarding oil shale, companies continue 
to invest in oil shale research and development, but in foreign 
nations rather than here in the United States. Ensuring that 
there are clear commercial rules and a sound research and 
development program will help drive jobs and investment here in 
the U.S.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 3408 was introduced on November 14, 2011, by 
Congressman Doug Lamborn (R-CO). The bill was referred to the 
Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the 
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources. On November 18, 
2011, the Subcommittee held a hearing on a draft version of the 
bill. On February 1, 2012, the Full Natural Resources Committee 
met to consider the introduced version of H.R. 3408. The 
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources was discharged by 
unanimous consent. Congressman Doug Lamborn (R-CO) offered an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute to the bill. 
Congressman David Rivera (R-FL) offered amendment designated 
.016 to the amendment in the nature of a substitute; the 
amendment was withdrawn. Congressman Scott Tipton (R-CO) 
offered an amendment to the amendment in the nature of a 
substitute. Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA) offered a 
substitute amendment designated .072 to the Tipton amendment; 
the Garamendi amendment was not adopted by a bipartisan roll 
call vote of 13 to 26, as follows:


    The Tipton amendment to the amendment in the nature of a 
substitute was then adopted by voice vote. Congressman Grace 
Napolitano (D-CA) offered amendment designated .002 to the 
amendment in the nature of a substitute; the amendment was not 
adopted by a bipartisan roll call vote of 14 to 26, as follows:


    Congressman Rush Holt (D-NJ) offered amendment designated 
.001 to the amendment in the nature of a substitute; the 
amendment was not adopted by a bipartisan roll call vote of 15 
to 26, as follows:


    The Lamborn amendment in the nature of a substitute, as 
amended, was adopted by voice vote. The bill, as amended, was 
then adopted and ordered favorably reported to the House of 
Representatives by a bipartisan roll call vote of 27 to 16, as 
follows:


                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title

    This Act is designated as the ``Protecting Investment in 
Oil Shale the Next Generation of Environmental, Energy, and 
Resource Security Act'' (PIONEERS Act).

Section 2. Effectiveness of oil shale regulations, amendments to 
        resource management plans, and record of decision

    This section deems the final regulations regarding oil 
shale management published by the Bureau of Land Management 
(BLM) on November 18, 2008, and the BLM Resource Management 
Plan Amendments of November 17, 2008, as satisfying all 
requirements under any law.

Section 3. Oil shale leasing

    This section requires the Secretary of the Interior to hold 
a 10 parcel research, development and demonstration lease sale 
within 180 days of enactment. No later than January 1, 2016 the 
Secretary will hold no less than 5 commercial lease sales for 
oil shale development.

Section 4. Policies regarding buying, building and working for America

    This section provides that to the extent possible, the 
Secretary will encourage the hiring of American workers and the 
use of equipment and materials manufactured in the United 
States.

            COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and 
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be 
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(2)(B) 
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when 
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted 
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Under clause 3(c)(3) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has 
received the following cost estimate for this bill from the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

H.R. 3408--PIONEERS Act

    Summary: H.R. 3408 would direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to implement a commercial leasing program for oil 
shale on certain federal lands by 2016. Oil shale is rock that 
can be heated to extract an organic compound used to produce 
synthetic crude oil. The bill also would require the Secretary 
to offer 10 leases on federal lands in 2013 for the purpose of 
conducting research and demonstration projects for oil shale 
development.
    Based on information provided by the Department of the 
Interior (DOI) and individuals working in the oil shale 
industry, CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3408 would affect 
direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. 
However, CBO estimates that the net effects would not be 
significant over the 2012-2022 period. Enacting the legislation 
would not affect revenues. CBO estimates that additional 
administrative costs to implement the leasing program under the 
bill would be small and subject to the availability of 
appropriated funds.
    H.R. 3408 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) 
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated 
budgetary impact of H.R. 3408 is shown in the following table. 
The costs of this legislation fall within budget functions 300 
(natural resources and environment) and 800 (general 
government).


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                              By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
                                           -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             2012    2013    2014    2015    2016    2017    2018    2019    2020    2021    2022   2012-2017  2012-2022
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               CHANGES IN DIRECT SPENDING

Estimated Budget Authority................       0       *       0       0      -5       *       *       *       *       *       5        -5          0
Estimated Outlays.........................       0       *       0       0      -5       *       *       *       *       *       5        -5         0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: *= Between -$500,000 and $0.

    Basis of Estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that the 
legislation will be enacted during 2012.
    H.R. 3408 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
offer leases for research and commercial development of oil 
shale on certain federal lands in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah 
by 2016. DOI has the authority, under current law, to lease 
federal land in those states for oil shale research as well as 
commercial development. For that reason, CBO estimates that 
while the bill would expedite some leasing, implementing the 
legislation would have no significant net impact on the federal 
budget over the 2012-2022 period.
    The bill would require the Secretary to hold 5 commercial 
lease sales by early 2016 and to offer at least 25,000 acres of 
land for lease at each sale. Those sales would be conducted in 
accordance with procedures established by DOI for leasing oil 
shale resources on federal lands. For each commercial lease 
awarded under the bill, lessees would be required to pay the 
federal government a bonus bid to acquire the leases, annual 
rental payments to retain the leases, and royalty payments 
based on the value of any resources produced from the leases. 
Half of the gross proceeds from those payments would be 
distributed to the states where the leases are located. The 
remainder would be deposited in the U.S. Treasury. In addition 
to expediting commercial leasing of lands for oil shale 
development, the bill would require the Secretary to offer 10 
leases of federal lands for research and demonstration projects 
related oil shale development.

Bonus bids for commercial leases

    CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 3408 would increase 
net offsetting receipts by $5 million in 2016, because the bill 
would require DOT to offer leases for the commercial 
development of oil shale sooner than we expect it would have 
under current law. CBO also estimates that implementing the 
bill would reduce net offsetting receipts by $5 million in 
2022, because we expect that lands offered for lease in 2016 
under the bill would have been offered for lease by 2022 under 
current law. CBO estimates that expediting commercial lease 
sales, as required under the bill, would have no significant 
net impact on the federal budget over the 2012-2022 period.
    The commercial leasing program established under the bill 
would allow companies to pay bonus bids in five equal 
installments (without interest) over a 5-year period. Because 
the sale of government property on credit terms is classified 
as a direct loan under the Federal Credit Reform Act, our 
estimate of receipts from lease sales represents our best 
estimate of the present value of any winning bonus bids 
discounted for the probability that the federal government 
would not receive the entire bonus bid amount over the 
installment period.
    Estimates of bonus bids for leases to develop oil shale are 
uncertain. Few companies have acquired leases on state or 
private lands in the United States for the purpose of 
developing commercial quantities of oil shale, and limited data 
is available to indicate the amounts that companies paid to 
acquire those leases. In addition, several economic, technical, 
and environmental factors could affect whether companies would 
pay the current minimum bid amount ($1,000 per acre) to acquire 
leases of federal lands to develop oil shale over the next 
decade.

Other receipts

    Under H.R. 3408, CBO estimates that the federal government 
would collect net receipts from rental payments on commercial 
leases totaling less than $100,000 a year over the 2016-2022 
period. If those leases produce commercial quantities of oil, 
the federal goverment would also receive royalty payments; 
however, based on information from individuals working in the 
oil shale industry, CBO does not expect that the federal 
government would receive any significant royalty payments until 
after 2022. Finally, the federal government would collect fees 
from entities that apply for leases to conduct oil shale 
research, development, and demonstration projects, but CBO 
estimates that those fee collections would be negligible.
    Pay-As-You-Go considerations: The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go 
Act of 2010 establishes budget-reporting and enforcement 
procedures for legislation affecting direct spending or 
revenues. The net changes in outlays that are subject to those 
pay-as-you-go procedures are shown in the following table.

         CBO ESTIMATE OF PAY-AS-YOU-GO EFFECTS FOR H.R. 3408 AS ORDERED REPORTED BY THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES ON FEBRUARY 1, 2012
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                              By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
                                           -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             2012    2013    2014    2015    2016    2017    2018    2019    2020    2021    2022   2012-2017  2012-2022
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       NET INCREASE OR DECREASE (-) IN THE DEFICIT

Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Impact............       0       0       0       0      -5       0       0       0       0       0       5        -5          0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 3408 
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or 
tribal governments.
    Estimate prepared by: Federal costs: Jeff LaFave; Impact on 
state, local, and tribal governments: Melissa Merrell; Impact 
on the private sector: Amy Petz.
    Estimate approved by: Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.
    2. Section 308(a) of Congressional Budget Act. As required 
by clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget 
Act of 1974, this bill does not contain any new budget 
authority, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase 
or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures. CBO estimates that 
enacting H.R. 3408 would affect direct spending; therefore, 
pay-as-you-go procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that the 
net effects would not be significant over the 2012-2022 period. 
Enacting the legislation would not affect revenues. CBO 
estimates that additional administrative costs to implement the 
leasing program under the bill would be small and subject to 
the availability of appropriated funds.
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or 
objective of this bill, as ordered reported, is to set clear 
rules for the development of United States oil shale resources 
and to promote shale technology research and development.

                           EARMARK STATEMENT

    This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined 
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing 
law.

                            DISSENTING VIEWS

    We oppose H.R. 3408 because it would prematurely open up 
swaths of Utah, Colorado and Wyoming to large-scale oil shale 
development; enshrine Bush administration policies limiting 
royalty collection; and halt additional environmental reviews 
required by a 2009 court settlement.
    The Majority argues current policies are the only barrier 
to wide-scale development and investment in oil shale, ignoring 
the fact that six Research Development and Demonstration (RD&D) 
leases have already been issued. Each of the 160-acre RD&D 
leases can be expanded to commercial leases of 5,120 acres, if 
companies prove they are making progress toward commercially 
viable technology. The BLM is assessing three more RD&D leases 
that have been applied for under current regulations.
    The oil industry says such technological advances are 
likely a decade or more away. The Interior Department testified 
that ``H.R. 3408 disregards the fact that there are currently 
no known economically viable and environmentally sound ways in 
the United States to extract liquid fuel or suitable refinery 
feedstock from oil shale at a commercial level.'' An expert 
with the RAND Corporation characterized the future of oil shale 
development as ``unclear'' in testimony to the House Energy and 
Commerce Committee in June, 2011.
    Despite the lack of viable technology, the bill would 
require the BLM to open 125,000 acres of federal land for 
commercial oil shale development by 2016. It would also require 
the issuance of 10 more RD&D leases within 180 days of the 
bill's passage.
    The unfulfilled promise of oil shale, which has repeatedly 
been cited as the next big boom, has a history dating back 
nearly 100 years. The 1970s brought a rush of oil speculation 
to western Colorado, but ended abruptly in 1982 when Exxon laid 
off 2,200 workers in a single day an event that became known as 
``Black Sunday.'' The Energy Policy Act of 2005 required that 
the BLM develop a leasing program that included waiving 
royalties and rental payments to spur commercial interest in 
the shale, which has proven time and again to be too costly for 
investment.
    Serious questions also remain about oil shale's impact on 
the environment, particularly regarding impacts to scarce water 
resources in the West. The Government Accountability Office has 
found that the impacts on water quality and quantity could be 
significant and are currently unknown. We are also concerned 
about the ability of oil shale to produce revenue for the 
government, a key question since the Majority has introduced 
this bill in a suite of legislation aimed at raising money for 
highways, roads, bridges and mass transportation.
    The Majority rejected an amendment offered by 
Representative Napolitano (D-CA) that would have required the 
United States Geological Survey to conduct a study of water 
impacts, so that Congress and affected local populations would 
have better sense of whether the water needs of oil shale 
development might come at the expense of water supplies 
currently intended for consumer, agricultural, or other uses. 
The Majority rejected an amendment from Mr. Garamendi that 
would have required oil and gas facilities to be constructed 
primarily using American-made equipment in order to create jobs 
here. The Majority also rejected an amendment from 
Representative Holt (D-NJ) that would have kept the bill from 
taking effect unless the Congressional Budget Office stated 
that it would actually raise revenue.
    We oppose H.R. 3408 because we believe, along with the oil 
shale industry, BLM and other experts, that it is not ready for 
commercial development. As a result, a rush to judgment without 
regard to potential environmental impacts is both unwarranted 
and unwise. The current leasing program is a more prudent path 
that gives weight both to environmental stewardship and 
realities of the marketplace as it now stands.
                                   Edward J. Markey.
                                   Grace F. Napolitano.
                                   Rush Holt.
                                   Frank Pallone, Jr.
                                   Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan.
                                   Madeleine Z. Bordallo.
                                   Raul M. Grijalva.
                                   Niki Tsongas.
                                   John Garamendi.
                                   Ben R. Lujan.
                                   Dale E. Kildee.
                                   Peter DeFazio.

                                  
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