[House Report 113-374]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
113th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 113-374
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PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE BILL (H.R. 2824) TO AMEND THE
SURFACE MINING CONTROL AND RECLAMATION ACT OF 1977 TO STOP THE ONGOING
WASTE BY THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR OF TAXPAYER RESOURCES AND
IMPLEMENT THE FINAL RULE ON EXCESS SPOIL, MINING WASTE, AND BUFFERS FOR
PERENNIAL AND INTERMITTENT STREAMS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES; PROVIDING
FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE BILL (H.R. 2641) TO PROVIDE FOR IMPROVED
COORDINATION OF AGENCY ACTIONS IN THE PREPARATION AND ADOPTION OF
ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTS FOR PERMITTING DETERMINATIONS, AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES; AND PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF MOTIONS TO SUSPEND THE
RULES
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March 5, 2014.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be
printed
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Mr. Webster, from the Committee on Rules,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H. Res. 501]
The Committee on Rules, having had under consideration
House Resolution 501, by a record vote of 7 to 4, report the
same to the House with the recommendation that the resolution
be adopted.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS OF THE RESOLUTION
The resolution provides for consideration of H.R. 2824,
Preventing Government Waste and Protecting Coal Mining Jobs in
America, under a structured rule. The resolution provides one
hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the
chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Natural
Resources. The resolution waives all points of order against
consideration of the bill. The resolution makes in order as
original text for the purpose of amendment an amendment in the
nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules
Committee Print 113-41, modified by the amendment printed in
part A of this report, and provides that it shall be considered
as read. The resolution waives all points of order against that
amendment in the nature of a substitute. The resolution makes
in order only those further amendments to H.R. 2824 printed in
part B of this report. Each such amendment may be offered only
in the order printed in this report, may be offered only by a
Member designated in this report, shall be considered as read,
shall be debatable for the time specified in this report
equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an
opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be
subject to a demand for division of the question in the House
or in the Committee of the Whole. The resolution waives all
points of order against the amendments printed in part B of
this report. The rule provides one motion to recommit with or
without instructions.
Section 2 of the resolution provides for consideration of
H.R. 2641, the Responsibly And Professionally Invigorating
Development Act of 2013, under a structured rule. The
resolution provides one hour of general debate equally divided
and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the
Committee on the Judiciary. The resolution waives all points of
order against consideration of the bill. The resolution makes
in order as original text for the purpose of amendment an
amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text
of Rules Committee Print 113-39 and provides that it shall be
considered as read. The resolution waives all points of order
against that amendment in the nature of a substitute. The
resolution makes in order only those further amendments to H.R.
2641 printed in part C of this report. Each such amendment may
be offered only in the order printed in this report, may be
offered only by a Member designated in this report, shall be
considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified
in this report equally divided and controlled by the proponent
and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall
not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the
House or in the Committee of the Whole. The resolution waives
all points of order against the amendments printed in part C of
this report. The resolution provides one motion to recommit
with or without instructions.
Section 3 of the resolution provides that it shall be in
order at any time on the legislative day of March 6, 2014, for
the Speaker to entertain motions that the House suspend the
rules relating to a measure addressing loan guarantees to
Ukraine.
EXPLANATION OF WAIVERS
Although the resolution waives all points of order against
consideration of H.R. 2824, the Committee is not aware of any
points of order. The waiver is prophylactic in nature.
Although the resolution waives all points of order against
the amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 2824 made
in order as original text, the Committee is not aware of any
points of order. The waiver is prophylactic in nature.
Although the resolution waives all points of order against
the amendments to H.R. 2824 printed in part B of this report,
the Committee is not aware of any points of order. The waiver
is prophylactic in nature.
Although the resolution waives all points of order against
consideration of H.R. 2641, the Committee is not aware of any
points of order. The waiver is prophylactic in nature.
Although the resolution waives all points of order against
the amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 2641 made
in order as original text, the Committee is not aware of any
points of order. The waiver is prophylactic in nature.
Although the resolution waives all points of order against
the amendments to H.R. 2641 printed in part C of this report,
the Committee is not aware of any points of order. The waiver
is prophylactic in nature.
COMMITTEE VOTES
The results of each record vote on an amendment or motion
to report, together with the names of those voting for and
against, are printed below:
Rules Committee record vote No. 114
Motion by Ms. Slaughter to report open rules for H.R. 2824
and H.R. 2641. Defeated: 4-7.
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Majority Members Vote Minority Members Vote
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Ms. Foxx........................................ Nay Ms. Slaughter..................... Yea
Mr. Bishop of Utah.............................. ............ Mr. McGovern...................... Yea
Mr. Cole........................................ Nay Mr. Hastings of Florida........... Yea
Mr. Woodall..................................... ............ Mr. Polis......................... Yea
Mr. Nugent...................................... Nay
Mr. Webster..................................... Nay
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen................................ Nay
Mr. Burgess..................................... Nay
Mr. Sessions, Chairman.......................... Nay
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Rules Committee record vote No. 115
Motion by Ms. Foxx to report the rule. Adopted: 7-4.
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Majority Members Vote Minority Members Vote
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Ms. Foxx........................................ Yea Ms. Slaughter..................... Nay
Mr. Bishop of Utah.............................. ............ Mr. McGovern...................... Nay
Mr. Cole........................................ Yea Mr. Hastings of Florida........... Nay
Mr. Woodall..................................... ............ Mr. Polis......................... Nay
Mr. Nugent...................................... Yea
Mr. Webster..................................... Yea
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen................................ Yea
Mr. Burgess..................................... Yea
Mr. Sessions, Chairman.......................... Yea
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SUMMARY OF THE AMENDMENT TO H.R. 2824 IN PART A CONSIDERED AS ADOPTED
Hastings, Doc (WA): MANAGER'S Updates the legislation to
reflect and address recent litigation.
SUMMARY OF THE AMENDMENTS TO H.R. 2824 IN PART B MADE IN ORDER
1. Lowenthal (CA): Requires States to implement the June
30, 1983 Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
stream buffer zone rule, unless a State has a program with
greater stream protection. (10 minutes)
2. Cartwright (PA), Van Hollen (MD), Lowenthal (CA):
Ensures that states maintain the ability to issue their own
stream buffer rules. (10 minutes)
SUMMARY OF THE AMENDMENTS TO H.R. 2641 IN PART C MADE IN ORDER
1. Jackson Lee (TX): Strikes deemed approved language for
any project for which an agency does not meet the deadlines
contained in the bill. (10 minutes)
2. McKinley (WV): Does not allow agencies under this
legislation to take into account the ``social cost of carbon''
from the ``Technical Support Document: Social Cost of Carbon
for Regulatory Impact Analysis Under Executive Order 12866 from
May 2013 or November 2013.'' (10 minutes)
3. Webster (FL), Rigell (VA): Provides for projects that
are under environmental review at the time of enactment to be
completed within the deadlines that the underlying bill
outlines. (10 minutes)
4. Nadler (NY): Exempts from the bill any construction
project for a nuclear facility planned in an area designated as
an earthquake fault zone. (10 minutes)
5. Johnson, Hank (GA): Clarifies that nothing in the bill
will change or limit any law or regulation allowing for public
comment or participation in an agency decision making process.
(10 minutes)
PART A--TEXT OF AMENDMENT TO H.R. 2824 CONSIDERED AS ADOPTED
Page 1, line 17, before the last period insert ``which
complies with the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.) in view of the 2006 discussions between the
Director of the Office of Surface Mining and the Director of
the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Office of
Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement's consideration and
review of comments submitted by the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service during the rulemaking process in 2007''.
Page 2, strike ``and'' after the semicolon at line 12, and
after line 12 insert the following (and redesignate the
subsequent subparagraph accordingly):
``(C) carry out all required consultation on
the benefits and other impacts of the
implementation of the rule to any threatened
species or endangered species, with the
participation of the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service and the United States
Geological Survey; and
PART B--TEXT OF AMENDMENTS TO H.R. 2824 MADE IN ORDER
1. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Lowenthal of California
or His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes
Page 1, beginning at line 16, strike ``December 12, 2008 (73
Fed. Reg. 75813 et seq.)'' and insert ``June 30, 1983 (48 Fed.
Reg. 30312), except that this paragraph shall not apply to a
State if the Governor of the State notifies the Secretary that
such application would reduce stream protection from the level
of protection achieved by the State program as in effect on the
date of the enactment of the Preventing Government Waste and
Protecting Coal Mining Jobs in America''.
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2. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Cartwright of
Pennsylvania or His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes
Page 1, line 17, before the last period insert ``, except
that this subsection shall not apply to a State if, upon
request from the Governor of the State, the Secretary finds
that the State's existing program exceeds the standards
established by such rule regarding excess spoil, coal mine
waste, and buffers for perennial and intermittent streams''.
PART C--TEXT OF AMENDMENTS TO H.R. 2641 MADE IN ORDER
1. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Jackson Lee of Texas or
Her Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes
Page 25, strike lines 1 through 19.
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2. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative McKinley of West
Virginia or His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes
Page 27, insert after line 17 the following, and redesignate
succeeding subsections accordingly:
``(k) Limitation on Use of Social Cost of Carbon .--
``(1) In general.--In the case of any environmental
review or environmental decisionmaking process, a lead
agency may not use the social cost of carbon.
``(2) Definition.--In this subsection, the term
`social cost of carbon' means the social cost of carbon
as described in the technical support document entitled
`Technical Support Document: Technical Update of the
Social Cost of Carbon for Regulatory Impact Analysis
Under Executive Order 12866', published by the
Interagency Working Group on Social Cost of Carbon,
United States Government, in May 2013, revised in
November 2013, or any successor thereto or
substantially related document, or any other estimate
of the monetized damages associated with an incremental
increase in carbon dioxide emissions in a given
year.''.
----------
3. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Webster of Florida or
His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes
Page 30, line 9, insert after ``subchapter.'' the following:
``In the case of a project for which an environmental review or
environmental decisionmaking process was initiated prior to the
date of enactment of this subchapter, the provisions of
subsection (i) shall apply, except that, notwithstanding any
other provision of this section, in determining a deadline
under such subsection, any applicable period of time shall be
calculated as beginning from the date of enactment of this
subchapter.''.
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4. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Nadler of New York or
His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes
Page 30, line 23, insert after ``112-141).'' the following:
``(q) Exception.--
``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of this section, the provisions of this
section shall not apply in the case of a project
described in paragraph (2), or an environmental
document pertaining to such a project.
``(2) Project described.--A project described in this
paragraph is any project that pertains to a nuclear
facility in an area designated as an earthquake fault
zone.''.
----------
5. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Johnson of Georgia or
His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes
Page 32, after line 2, insert the following:
(d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act or the
amendments made by this Act shall have the effect of changing
or limiting any law or regulation that requires or provides for
public comment or public participation in an agency decision
making process.