II 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2199 

To spur economic growth and create jobs. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 15, 2012 

Mr. LEE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To spur economic growth and create jobs. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Grow America Act of 2012’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.— 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

TITLE I—PRO-GROWTH TAX REFORM 

Subtitle A—Pro-Growth, Pro-Family Tax Reform for Families, Seniors, and 

Small Businesses 

Sec. 101. Tax reform for families, seniors, and small businesses. 

Subtitle B—Capital Gains Inflation Relief 

Sec. 111. Indexing of certain assets for purposes of determining gain or loss. 


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Subtitle C—Pro-Growth, Pro-Business Tax Reform for Corporations and 

Other Businesses 

Sec. 121. Reduction in corporate income tax rates and reform of business tax. 

Subtitle D—Rebuilding America 

Sec. 131. Modification and temporary extension of the incentives to reinvest 

foreign earnings in the United States. 

Subtitle E—Saving the Family Farm 

Sec. 141. Exclusion from gross estate of certain farmland so long as farmland 

use continues. 

TITLE II—RED TAPE REDUCTION 

Subtitle A—Regulatory Moratorium 

Sec. 201. Definitions. 

Sec. 202. Significant regulatory actions. 

Sec. 203. Waivers. 

Sec. 204. Judicial review. 

Subtitle B—Increase of Size of Small Businesses Exempt From Federal Laws 

and Regulations 

Sec. 211. Increase of size of small businesses exempt from Federal laws and 

regulations. 

Subtitle C—The REINS Act 

Sec. 221. Purpose. 

Sec. 222. Congressional review of agency rulemaking. 

Subtitle D—Small Business Regulatory Freedom 

Sec. 231. Findings. 

Sec. 232. Including indirect economic impact in small entity analyses. 

Sec. 233. Judicial review to allow small entities to challenge proposed regulations. 

Sec. 234. Periodic review and sunset of existing rules. 

Sec. 235. Requiring small business review panels for all agencies. 

Sec. 236. Expanding the Regulatory Flexibility Act to agency guidance documents. 

Sec. 237. Requiring the Internal Revenue Service to consider small entity impact. 

Sec. 238. Mitigating penalties on small entities. 

Sec. 239. Requiring more detailed small entity analyses. 

Sec. 240. Ensuring that agencies consider small entity impact during the rulemaking process. 

Sec. 241. Qualifications of the Chief Counsel for Advocacy and authority for 

the Office of Advocacy. 

Sec. 242. Technical and conforming amendments. 

Subtitle E—Small Business Freedom of Commerce Act 

Sec. 251. Small business exemptions. 


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TITLE III—AMERICAN ENERGY PRODUCTION 

Subtitle A—End of Presidential Permatorium on America’s Outer Continental 

Shelf Resources 

Sec. 301. Deadline for certain permit applications under existing leases. 

CHAPTER 1—OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF

Sec. 311. End moratorium of oil and gas leasing in certain areas of the Gulf 

of Mexico. 

Sec. 312. Outer Continental Shelf directed lease sales. 

Sec. 313. Leasing program considered approved. 

Sec. 314. Outer Continental Shelf lease sales. 

Sec. 315. Restrictions on leasing of the Outer Continental Shelf. 

Sec. 316. Sharing of OCS receipts with States and local governments. 

CHAPTER 2—ARCTIC COASTAL PLAIN

Sec. 321. Definitions. 

Sec. 322. Leasing program for land within the Coastal Plain. 

Sec. 323. Lease sales. 

Sec. 324. Grant of leases by the Secretary. 

Sec. 325. Lease terms and conditions. 

Sec. 326. Expedited judicial review. 

Sec. 327. Rights-of-way across the Coastal Plain. 

Sec. 328. Conveyance. 

Subtitle B—Revocation of Energy-Restricting BLM Lockup 

Sec. 331. Revocation of Secretarial Order No. 3310. 

CHAPTER 1—EXPEDITED SHALE LEASING OF FEDERAL LANDS

Sec. 341. Opening of lands to oil shale leasing. 

CHAPTER 2—JUDICIAL REVIEW REGARDING ENERGY PROJECTS

Sec. 351. Exclusive jurisdiction over causes and claims relating to covered energy projects. 

Sec. 352. Time for filing complaint. 

Sec. 353. District Court for the District of Columbia deadline. 

Sec. 354. Ability to seek appellate review. 

Sec. 355. Deadline for appeal to the Supreme Court. 

Sec. 356. Covered energy project defined. 

Sec. 357. Limitation on application. 

CHAPTER 3—PERMITTING REFORM

Sec. 361. Purposes. 

Sec. 362. Federal Coordinator. 

Sec. 363. Regional Offices and Regional Permit Coordinators. 

Sec. 364. Reviews and actions of Federal agencies. 

Sec. 365. State coordination. 

Sec. 366. Savings provision. 

Sec. 367. Administrative and judicial review. 

Sec. 368. Amendments to publication process. 

Sec. 369. Repeal of fee for permits to drill. 


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Sec. 370. Alaska Offshore Continental Shelf Coordination Office. 

Subtitle C—Relief From Regulations and Prohibitions That Cause Artificial 

Price Increases 

CHAPTER 1—RELIEF FROM EPA CLIMATE CHANGE REGULATIONS AND

FEDERAL PROHIBITIONS ON SYNTHETIC FUELS

Sec. 371. Repeal of EPA climate change regulation. 

Sec. 372. Repeal of Federal ban on synthetic fuels purchasing requirement. 

CHAPTER 2—REFINERY REFORM

Sec. 381. Refinery permitting process. 

Sec. 382. Existing refinery permit application deadline. 

Subtitle D—Extension of Certain Outer Continental Shelf Leases 

Sec. 391. Extension of certain outer continental shelf leases. 

Subtitle E—Approval of Keystone XL Pipeline Project 

Sec. 395. Approval of Keystone XL pipeline project. 

1 TITLE I—PRO-GROWTH TAX 

2 REFORM 

3 Subtitle A—Pro-Growth, Pro-Fam4 ily Tax Reform for Families, 

5 Seniors, and Small Businesses 

6 SEC. 101. TAX REFORM FOR FAMILIES, SENIORS, AND 

7 SMALL BUSINESSES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Committee on Finance of the 

9 Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means of the 

10 House of Representatives shall report legislation that will 

11 lower, consolidate, and simplify the individual income tax 

12 system, with not more than 2 tax rates, the highest being 

13 25 percent. Such legislation shall be reported not later 

14 than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act 


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1 and shall be revenue neutral as scored by the Joint Com2 mittee on Taxation using a current policy baseline. 

3 (b) LEGISLATION GOALS.—Such reported legislation 

4 shall be required to achieve the following: 

5 (1) REDUCED TAX LIABILITY.—Lower the over6 all tax burden for the majority of American indi7 vidual taxpayers. 

8 (2) SIMPLIFICATION.—Eliminate all tax credits 

9 and deductions. Add deductions and credits for the 

10 following items: 

11 (A) Home mortgage. 

12 (B) Charitable contributions. 

13 (C) Tuition and direct expenses for higher 

14 education and qualified trade schools. 

15 (D) Health insurance costs. 

16 (E) $10,000 deduction for working seniors 

17 as defined by the Social Security Administra18 tion. 

19 (F) Earned income credit. 

20 (3) CONSOLIDATION.—Provide necessary 

21 changes in order to consolidate the individual income 

22 tax system consistent with the tax rates specified in 

23 subsection (a). 

24 (c) ADDITIONAL CHANGES.—Such Committees shall 

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1 vidual income tax system in order to ensure tax reductions 

2 and simplifications consistent with the goals of this Act. 

3 Subtitle B—Capital Gains Inflation 

4 Relief 

5 SEC. 111. INDEXING OF CERTAIN ASSETS FOR PURPOSES 

6 OF DETERMINING GAIN OR LOSS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part II of subchapter O of chap8 ter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended 

9 by redesignating section 1023 as section 1024 and by in10 serting after section 1022 the following new section: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 1023. INDEXING OF CERTAIN ASSETS FOR PURPOSES 

12 OF DETERMINING GAIN OR LOSS. 

13 ‘‘(a) GENERAL RULE.— 

14 ‘‘(1) INDEXED BASIS SUBSTITUTED FOR AD15 JUSTED BASIS.—Solely for purposes of determining 

16 gain or loss on the sale or other disposition by a tax17 payer (other than a corporation) of an indexed asset 

18 which has been held for more than 3 years, the in19 dexed basis of the asset shall be substituted for its 

20 adjusted basis. 

21 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR DEPRECIATION, ETC.— 

22 The deductions for depreciation, depletion, and am23 ortization shall be determined without regard to the 

24 application of paragraph (1) to the taxpayer or any 

25 other person. 


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1 ‘‘(3) WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION REQUIRE2 MENT.—Paragraph (1) shall apply only with respect 

3 to indexed assets for which the taxpayer has written 

4 documentation of the original purchase price paid or 

5 incurred by the taxpayer to acquire such asset. 

6 ‘‘(b) INDEXED ASSET.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec8 tion, the term ‘indexed asset’ means— 

9 ‘‘(A) common stock in a C corporation 

10 (other than a foreign corporation), or 

11 ‘‘(B) tangible property, 

12 which is a capital asset or property used in the trade 

13 or business (as defined in section 1231(b)). 

14 ‘‘(2) STOCK IN CERTAIN FOREIGN CORPORA15 TIONS INCLUDED.—For purposes of this section— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘indexed 

17 asset’ includes common stock in a foreign cor18 poration which is regularly traded on an estab19 lished securities market. 

20 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Subparagraph (A) 

21 shall not apply to— 

22 ‘‘(i) stock of a foreign investment 

23 company, 


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1 ‘‘(ii) stock in a passive foreign invest2 ment company (as defined in section 

3 1296), 

4 ‘‘(iii) stock in a foreign corporation 

5 held by a United States person who meets 

6 the requirements of section 1248(a)(2), 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(iv) stock in a foreign personal hold9 ing company. 

10 ‘‘(C) TREATMENT OF AMERICAN DEPOSI11 TORY RECEIPTS.—An American depository re12 ceipt for common stock in a foreign corporation 

13 shall be treated as common stock in such cor14 poration. 

15 ‘‘(c) INDEXED BASIS.—For purposes of this sec16 tion— 

17 ‘‘(1) GENERAL RULE.—The indexed basis for 

18 any asset is— 

19 ‘‘(A) the adjusted basis of the asset, in20 creased by 

21 ‘‘(B) the applicable inflation adjustment. 

22 ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.— 

23 The applicable inflation adjustment for any asset is 

24 an amount equal to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the adjusted basis of the asset, multi2 plied by 

3 ‘‘(B) the percentage (if any) by which— 

4 ‘‘(i) the gross domestic product 

5 deflator for the last calendar quarter end6 ing before the asset is disposed of, exceeds 

7 ‘‘(ii) the gross domestic product 

8 deflator for the last calendar quarter end9 ing before the asset was acquired by the 

10 taxpayer. 

11 The percentage under subparagraph (B) shall be 

rounded to the nearest 1 12 ⁄10 of 1 percentage point. 

13 ‘‘(3) GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT DEFLATOR.— 

14 The gross domestic product deflator for any cal15 endar quarter is the implicit price deflator for the 

16 gross domestic product for such quarter (as shown 

17 in the last revision thereof released by the Secretary 

18 of Commerce before the close of the following cal19 endar quarter). 

20 ‘‘(d) SUSPENSION OF HOLDING PERIOD WHERE DI21 MINISHED RISK OF LOSS; TREATMENT OF SHORT

22 SALES.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the taxpayer (or a re24 lated person) enters into any transaction which sub25 stantially reduces the risk of loss from holding any 


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1 asset, such asset shall not be treated as an indexed 

2 asset for the period of such reduced risk. 

3 ‘‘(2) SHORT SALES.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a short 

5 sale of an indexed asset with a short sale period 

6 in excess of 3 years, for purposes of this title, 

7 the amount realized shall be an amount equal 

8 to the amount realized (determined without re9 gard to this paragraph) increased by the appli10 cable inflation adjustment. In applying sub11 section (c)(2) for purposes of the preceding sen12 tence, the date on which the property is sold 

13 short shall be treated as the date of acquisition 

14 and the closing date for the sale shall be treat15 ed as the date of disposition. 

16 ‘‘(B) SHORT SALE PERIOD.—For purposes 

17 of subparagraph (A), the short sale period be18 gins on the day that the property is sold and 

19 ends on the closing date for the sale. 

20 ‘‘(e) TREATMENT OF REGULATED INVESTMENT

21 COMPANIES AND REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) ADJUSTMENTS AT ENTITY LEVEL.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise 

24 provided in this paragraph, the adjustment 

25 under subsection (a) shall be allowed to any 


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1 qualified investment entity (including for pur2 poses of determining the earnings and profits of 

3 such entity). 

4 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION FOR CORPORATE SHARE5 HOLDERS.—Under regulations— 

6 ‘‘(i) in the case of a distribution by a 

7 qualified investment entity (directly or in8 directly) to a corporation— 

9 ‘‘(I) the determination of whether 

10 such distribution is a dividend shall be 

11 made without regard to this section, 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(II) the amount treated as gain 

14 by reason of the receipt of any capital 

15 gain dividend shall be increased by the 

16 percentage by which the entity’s net 

17 capital gain for the taxable year (de18 termined without regard to this sec19 tion) exceeds the entity’s net capital 

20 gain for such year determined with re21 gard to this section, and 

22 ‘‘(ii) there shall be other appropriate 

23 adjustments (including deemed distribu24 tions) so as to ensure that the benefits of 

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1 directly) to corporate shareholders of quali2 fied investment entities. 

3 For purposes of the preceding sentence, any 

4 amount includible in gross income under section 

5 852(b)(3)(D) shall be treated as a capital gain 

6 dividend and an S corporation shall not be 

7 treated as a corporation. 

8 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTION FOR QUALIFICATION

9 PURPOSES.—This section shall not apply for 

10 purposes of sections 851(b) and 856(c). 

11 ‘‘(D) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN TAXES IM12 POSED AT ENTITY LEVEL.— 

13 ‘‘(i) TAX ON FAILURE TO DISTRIBUTE

14 ENTIRE GAIN.—If any amount is subject to 

15 tax under section 852(b)(3)(A) for any 

16 taxable year, the amount on which tax is 

17 imposed under such section shall be in18 creased by the percentage determined 

19 under subparagraph (B)(i)(II). A similar 

20 rule shall apply in the case of any amount 

21 subject to tax under paragraph (2) or (3) 

22 of section 857(b) to the extent attributable 

23 to the excess of the net capital gain over 

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1 dends only. The first sentence of this 

2 clause shall not apply to so much of the 

3 amount subject to tax under section 

4 852(b)(3)(A) as is designated by the com5 pany under section 852(b)(3)(D). 

6 ‘‘(ii) OTHER TAXES.—This section 

7 shall not apply for purposes of determining 

8 the amount of any tax imposed by para9 graph (4), (5), or (6) of section 857(b). 

10 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENTS TO INTERESTS HELD IN

11 ENTITY.— 

12 ‘‘(A) REGULATED INVESTMENT COMPA13 NIES.—Stock in a regulated investment com14 pany (within the meaning of section 851) shall 

15 be an indexed asset for any calendar quarter in 

16 the same ratio as— 

17 ‘‘(i) the average of the fair market 

18 values of the indexed assets held by such 

19 company at the close of each month during 

20 such quarter, bears to 

21 ‘‘(ii) the average of the fair market 

22 values of all assets held by such company 

23 at the close of each such month. 

24 ‘‘(B) REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT

25 TRUSTS.—Stock in a real estate investment 


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1 trust (within the meaning of section 856) shall 

2 be an indexed asset for any calendar quarter in 

3 the same ratio as— 

4 ‘‘(i) the fair market value of the in5 dexed assets held by such trust at the close 

6 of such quarter, bears to 

7 ‘‘(ii) the fair market value of all as8 sets held by such trust at the close of such 

9 quarter. 

10 ‘‘(C) RATIO OF 80 PERCENT OR MORE.—If 

11 the ratio for any calendar quarter determined 

12 under subparagraph (A) or (B) would (but for 

13 this subparagraph) be 80 percent or more, such 

14 ratio for such quarter shall be 100 percent. 

15 ‘‘(D) RATIO OF 20 PERCENT OR LESS.—If 

16 the ratio for any calendar quarter determined 

17 under subparagraph (A) or (B) would (but for 

18 this subparagraph) be 20 percent or less, such 

19 ratio for such quarter shall be zero. 

20 ‘‘(E) LOOK-THRU OF PARTNERSHIPS.—For 

21 purposes of this paragraph, a qualified invest22 ment entity which holds a partnership interest 

23 shall be treated (in lieu of holding a partnership 

24 interest) as holding its proportionate share of 

25 the assets held by the partnership. 


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1 ‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF RETURN OF CAPITAL DIS2 TRIBUTIONS.—Except as otherwise provided by the 

3 Secretary, a distribution with respect to stock in a 

4 qualified investment entity which is not a dividend 

5 and which results in a reduction in the adjusted 

6 basis of such stock shall be treated as allocable to 

7 stock acquired by the taxpayer in the order in which 

8 such stock was acquired. 

9 ‘‘(4) QUALIFIED INVESTMENT ENTITY.—For 

10 purposes of this subsection, the term ‘qualified in11 vestment entity’ means— 

12 ‘‘(A) a regulated investment company 

13 (within the meaning of section 851), and 

14 ‘‘(B) a real estate investment trust (within 

15 the meaning of section 856). 

16 ‘‘(f) OTHER PASS-THRU ENTITIES.— 

17 ‘‘(1) PARTNERSHIPS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a part19 nership, the adjustment made under subsection 

20 (a) at the partnership level shall be passed 

21 through to the partners. 

22 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE IN THE CASE OF SEC23 TION 754 ELECTIONS.—In the case of a transfer 

24 of an interest in a partnership with respect to 


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1 which the election provided in section 754 is in 

2 effect— 

3 ‘‘(i) the adjustment under section 

4 743(b)(1) shall, with respect to the trans5 feror partner, be treated as a sale of the 

6 partnership assets for purposes of applying 

7 this section, and 

8 ‘‘(ii) with respect to the transferee 

9 partner, the partnership’s holding period 

10 for purposes of this section in such assets 

11 shall be treated as beginning on the date 

12 of such adjustment. 

13 ‘‘(2) S CORPORATIONS.—In the case of an S 

14 corporation, the adjustment made under subsection 

15 (a) at the corporate level shall be passed through to 

16 the shareholders. This section shall not apply for 

17 purposes of determining the amount of any tax im18 posed by section 1374 or 1375. 

19 ‘‘(3) COMMON TRUST FUNDS.—In the case of a 

20 common trust fund, the adjustment made under sub21 section (a) at the trust level shall be passed through 

22 to the participants. 

23 ‘‘(4) INDEXING ADJUSTMENT DISREGARDED IN

24 DETERMINING LOSS ON SALE OF INTEREST IN ENTI25 TY.—Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of 


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1 this subsection, for purposes of determining the 

2 amount of any loss on a sale or exchange of an in3 terest in a partnership, S corporation, or common 

4 trust fund, the adjustment made under subsection 

5 (a) shall not be taken into account in determining 

6 the adjusted basis of such interest. 

7 ‘‘(g) DISPOSITIONS BETWEEN RELATED PERSONS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—This section shall not apply 

9 to any sale or other disposition of property between 

10 related persons except to the extent that the basis 

11 of such property in the hands of the transferee is a 

12 substituted basis. 

13 ‘‘(2) RELATED PERSONS DEFINED.—For pur14 poses of this section, the term ‘related persons’ 

15 means— 

16 ‘‘(A) persons bearing a relationship set 

17 forth in section 267(b), and 

18 ‘‘(B) persons treated as single employer 

19 under subsection (b) or (c) of section 414. 

20 ‘‘(h) TRANSFERS TO INCREASE INDEXING ADJUST21 MENT.—If any person transfers cash, debt, or any other 

22 property to another person and the principal purpose of 

23 such transfer is to secure or increase an adjustment under 

24 subsection (a), the Secretary may disallow part or all of 

25 such adjustment or increase. 


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1 ‘‘(i) SPECIAL RULES.—For purposes of this section— 

2 ‘‘(1) TREATMENT OF IMPROVEMENTS, ETC.—If 

3 there is an addition to the adjusted basis of any tan4 gible property or of any stock in a corporation dur5 ing the taxable year by reason of an improvement to 

6 such property or a contribution to capital of such 

7 corporation— 

8 ‘‘(A) such addition shall never be taken 

9 into account under subsection (c)(1)(A) if the 

10 aggregate amount thereof during the taxable 

11 year with respect to such property or stock is 

12 less than $1,000, and 

13 ‘‘(B) such addition shall be treated as a 

14 separate asset acquired at the close of such tax15 able year if the aggregate amount thereof dur16 ing the taxable year with respect to such prop17 erty or stock is $1,000 or more. 

18 A rule similar to the rule of the preceding sentence 

19 shall apply to any other portion of an asset to the 

20 extent that separate treatment of such portion is ap21 propriate to carry out the purposes of this section. 

22 ‘‘(2) ASSETS WHICH ARE NOT INDEXED ASSETS

23 THROUGHOUT HOLDING PERIOD.—The applicable in24 flation adjustment shall be appropriately reduced for 


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1 periods during which the asset was not an indexed 

2 asset. 

3 ‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN DISTRIBU4 TIONS.—A distribution with respect to stock in a 

5 corporation which is not a dividend shall be treated 

6 as a disposition. 

7 ‘‘(4) SECTION CANNOT INCREASE ORDINARY

8 LOSS.—To the extent that (but for this paragraph) 

9 this section would create or increase a net ordinary 

10 loss to which section 1231(a)(2) applies or an ordi11 nary loss to which any other provision of this title 

12 applies, such provision shall not apply. The taxpayer 

13 shall be treated as having a long-term capital loss in 

14 an amount equal to the amount of the ordinary loss 

15 to which the preceding sentence applies. 

16 ‘‘(5) ACQUISITION DATE WHERE THERE HAS

17 BEEN PRIOR APPLICATION OF SUBSECTION (a)(1) 

18 WITH RESPECT TO THE TAXPAYER.—If there has 

19 been a prior application of subsection (a)(1) to an 

20 asset while such asset was held by the taxpayer, the 

21 date of acquisition of such asset by the taxpayer 

22 shall be treated as not earlier than the date of the 

23 most recent such prior application. 


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1 ‘‘(j) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe 

2 such regulations as may be necessary or appropriate to 

3 carry out the purposes of this section.’’. 

4 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

5 for part II of subchapter O of chapter 1 of the Internal 

6 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking the item 

7 relating to section 1023 and by inserting after the item 

8 relating to section 1022 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 1023. Indexing of certain assets for purposes of determining gain or loss. 

‘‘Sec. 1024. Cross references.’’. 

9 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

10 this section shall apply to indexed assets acquired by the 

11 taxpayer after December 31, 2011, in taxable years ending 

12 after such date. 

13 Subtitle C—Pro-Growth, Pro-Busi14 ness Tax Reform for Corpora15 tions and Other Businesses 

16 SEC. 121. REDUCTION IN CORPORATE INCOME TAX RATES 

17 AND REFORM OF BUSINESS TAX. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Committee on Finance of the 

19 Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means of the 

20 House of Representatives shall report legislation that will 

21 lower, consolidate, and simplify the corporate income tax 

22 system, with a top tax rate of 25 percent and a consolida23 tion of the system into not more than 2 tax rates. Such 

24 legislation shall be reported not later than 60 days after 


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1 the date of the enactment of this Act and shall be revenue 

2 neutral as scored by the Joint Committee on Taxation 

3 using a current policy baseline. 

4 (b) LEGISLATION GOALS.—Such reported legislation 

5 shall be required to achieve the following: 

6 (1) REDUCED TAX LIABILITY.—Lower the over7 all tax rates for American corporations and busi8 nesses and broaden the tax base for the corporate 

9 income tax. 

10 (2) SIMPLIFICATION.—Close tax loopholes and 

11 eliminate industry specific deductions and certain 

12 tax credits, including the elimination of industry 

13 specific taxes, at the discretion of each Committee, 

14 in order to reduce tax expenditures and simplify the 

15 tax code. 

16 (3) EXPENSING.—Replace the current deprecia17 tion schedules with 100 percent expensing in the 

18 same year that the capital expenditure occurs. 

19 (4) TERRITORIAL TAX SYSTEM.—Establishment 

20 of a territorial tax system, including strong incen21 tives to repatriate overseas capital, in lieu of the cur22 rent worldwide tax system. 

23 (5) CONSOLIDATION.—Provide necessary 

24 changes in order to consolidate the corporate income 

25 tax system with a total of not more than 2 tax rates, 


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1 the top tax rate of 25 percent and a lower tax rate 

2 as determined by the Committees as specified in 

3 subsection (a). 

4 (c) ADDITIONAL CHANGES.—Such Committees shall 

5 include in such legislation any further changes to the cor6 porate income tax system in order to ensure tax reductions 

7 and simplifications consistent with the goals of this Act. 

8 Subtitle D—Rebuilding America 

9 SEC. 131. MODIFICATION AND TEMPORARY EXTENSION OF 

10 THE INCENTIVES TO REINVEST FOREIGN 

11 EARNINGS IN THE UNITED STATES. 

12 (a) REPATRIATION SUBJECT TO 5 PERCENT TAX

13 RATE.—Subsection (a)(1) of section 965 of the Internal 

14 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘85 per15 cent’’ and inserting ‘‘85.7 percent’’. 

16 (b) ELECTION.—Subsection (f) of section 965 of the 

17 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read as fol18 lows: 

19 ‘‘(f) ELECTION.—The taxpayer may elect to apply 

20 this section to— 

21 ‘‘(1) the taxpayer’s last taxable year which be22 gins before the date of the enactment of this sub23 section, or 


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1 ‘‘(2) the taxpayer’s first taxable year which be2 gins during the 1-year period beginning on such 

3 date. 

4 Such election may be made for a taxable year only if made 

5 on or before the due date (including extensions) for filing 

6 the return of tax for such taxable year.’’. 

7 (c) LIMITATION.—Paragraph (1) of section 965(b) of 

8 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read 

9 as follows: 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount of dividends 

11 taken into account under subsection (a) shall not ex12 ceed the sum of the current and accumulated earn13 ings and profits described in section 959(c)(3) for 

14 the year a deduction is claimed under subsection (a), 

15 without diminution by reason of any distributions 

16 made during the election year, for all controlled for17 eign corporations of the United States shareholder.’’. 

18 (d) ELIMINATION OF OTHER LIMITATIONS.—Section 

19 965(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended 

20 by striking paragraphs (2) and (4) and by redesignating 

21 paragraph (3) as paragraph (2). 

22 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

23 (1) Subparagraph (B) of section 965(b)(2) of 

24 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as redesignated 


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1 by subsection (d), is amended by striking ‘‘October 

2 3, 2004’’ and inserting ‘‘February 15, 2012’’. 

3 (2) Section 965(c) of such Code is amended by 

4 striking paragraphs (1) and (2) and by redesig5 nating paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) as paragraphs 

6 (1), (2), and (3), respectively. 

7 (3) Paragraph (3) of section 965(c) of such 

8 Code, as redesignated by paragraph (2), is amended 

9 to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(3) CONTROLLED GROUPS.—All United States 

11 shareholders which are members of an affiliated 

12 group filing a consolidated return under section 

13 1501 shall be treated as one United States share14 holder.’’. 

15 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

16 this section shall apply to taxable years ending on or after 

17 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

18 Subtitle E—Saving the Family 

19 Farm 

20 SEC. 141. EXCLUSION FROM GROSS ESTATE OF CERTAIN 

21 FARMLAND SO LONG AS FARMLAND USE 

22 CONTINUES. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part III of subchapter A of chap24 ter 11 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended 

25 by inserting after section 2033 the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 2033A. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN FAMILY-OWNED 

2 FARMS AND BUSINESSES. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an estate of a de4 cedent to which this section applies, the value of the gross 

5 estate shall not include the adjusted value of any qualified 

6 family-owned farm or business included in the estate. 

7 ‘‘(b) ESTATES TO WHICH SECTION APPLIES.—This 

8 section shall apply to an estate if— 

9 ‘‘(1) the decedent was (at the date of the dece10 dent’s death) a citizen or resident of the United 

11 States, and 

12 ‘‘(2) during the 8-year period ending on the 

13 date of the decedent’s death there have been periods 

14 aggregating 5 years or more during which— 

15 ‘‘(A) not less than 60 percent of the quali16 fied family-owned farm or business was owned 

17 by the decedent and members of the decedent’s 

18 family, and 

19 ‘‘(B) there was material participation 

20 (within the meaning of section 2032A(e)(6)) by 

21 the decedent or the qualified heir in the oper22 ation of such farm or business. 

23 Rules similar to the rules of paragraphs (4) and (5) 

24 of section 2032A(b) shall apply for purposes of sub25 paragraph (B). 

26 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 


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1 ‘‘(1) QUALIFIED FAMILY-OWNED FARM OR

2 BUSINESS.—The term ‘qualified family-owned farm 

3 or business’ means— 

4 ‘‘(A) any qualified farmland, or 

5 ‘‘(B) any qualified trade or business. 

6 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED FARMLAND.—The term ‘quali7 fied farmland’ means any real property— 

8 ‘‘(A) which is located in the United States, 

9 ‘‘(B) which is used as a farm for farming 

10 purposes (within the meaning of section 

11 2032A(e)), and 

12 ‘‘(C) which was acquired from or passed 

13 from the decedent to a qualified heir of the de14 cedent and which, on the date of the decedent’s 

15 death, was being so used by the decedent or a 

16 member of the decedent’s family. 

17 ‘‘(3) QUALIFIED TRADE OR BUSINESS.—The 

18 term ‘qualified trade or business’ means any interest 

19 in a trade or business of the taxpayer— 

20 ‘‘(A) which is not an interest in a C cor21 poration, and 

22 ‘‘(B) which was acquired from or passed 

23 from the decedent to a qualified heir of the de24 cedent. 


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1 ‘‘(4) ADJUSTED VALUE.—The term ‘adjusted 

2 value’ means the value of the qualified family-owned 

3 farm or business for purposes of this chapter (deter4 mined without regard to this section), reduced by 

5 the amount deductible under paragraph (3) or (4) of 

6 section 2053(a). 

7 ‘‘(5) OTHER TERMS.—Any other term used in 

8 this section which is also used in section 2032A shall 

9 have the same meaning given such term by section 

10 2032A. 

11 ‘‘(d) TAX TREATMENT OF DISPOSITIONS AND FAIL12 URES TO USE FOR FARMING PURPOSES.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IMPOSITION OF RECAPTURE TAX.—If, at 

14 any time after the decedent’s death and before the 

15 death of the qualified heir— 

16 ‘‘(A) the qualified heir disposes of any in17 terest in qualified family-owned farm or busi18 ness (other than by a disposition to a member 

19 of his family), or 

20 ‘‘(B) in the case of qualified farmland, the 

21 qualified heir ceases to use the real property 

22 which was acquired (or passed) from the dece23 dent as a farm for farming purposes, 

24 then, there is hereby imposed a recapture tax. 


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1 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF RECAPTURE TAX, ETC.— 

2 Rules similar to the rules of section 2032A(c) with 

3 respect to the additional estate tax shall apply for 

4 purposes of this subsection with respect to the re5 capture tax. 

6 ‘‘(e) APPLICATION OF OTHER RULES.—To the extent 

7 provided by the Secretary in regulations, rules similar to 

8 the rules of subsections (e), (f), (g), (h), and (i) of section 

9 2032A shall apply for purposes of this section.’’. 

10 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

11 for part III of subchapter A of chapter 11 of the Internal 

12 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after the 

13 item relating to section 2033 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 2033A. Exclusion of certain family-owned farms and businesses.’’. 

14 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

15 this section shall apply to estates of decedents dying after 

16 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

17 TITLE II—RED TAPE REDUCTION 

18 Subtitle A—Regulatory 

19 Moratorium 

20 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

21 In this subtitle— 

22 (1) the term ‘‘agency’’ has the meaning given 

23 under section 3502(1) of title 44, United States 

24 Code; 


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1 (2) the term ‘‘regulatory action’’ means any 

2 substantive action by an agency that promulgates or 

3 is expected to lead to the promulgation of a final 

4 regulation, including notices of inquiry, advance no5 tices of proposed rulemaking, and notices of pro6 posed rulemaking; 

7 (3) the term ‘‘significant regulatory action’’ 

8 means any regulatory action that is likely to result 

9 in a rule or guidance that may— 

10 (A) have an annual effect on the economy 

11 of $100,000,000 or more or adversely affect in 

12 a material way the economy, a sector of the 

13 economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the 

14 environment, public health or safety, small enti15 ties, or State, local, or tribal governments or 

16 communities; 

17 (B) create a serious inconsistency or other18 wise interfere with an action taken or planned 

19 by another agency; 

20 (C) materially alter the budgetary impact 

21 of entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan pro22 grams or the rights and obligations of recipi23 ents thereof; or 

24 (D) raise novel legal or policy issues; and 


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1 (4) the term ‘‘small entities’’ has the meaning 

2 given under section 601(6) of title 5, United States 

3 Code. 

4 SEC. 202. SIGNIFICANT REGULATORY ACTIONS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—No agency may take any signifi6 cant regulatory action, until the Bureau of Labor Statis7 tics average of monthly unemployment rates for any quar8 ter beginning after the date of enactment of this Act is 

9 equal to or less than 7.7 percent. 

10 (b) DETERMINATION.—The Secretary of Labor shall 

11 submit a report to the Director of the Office of Manage12 ment and Budget whenever the Secretary determines that 

13 the Bureau of Labor Statistics average of monthly unem14 ployment rates for any quarter beginning after the date 

15 of enactment of this Act is equal to or less than 7.7 per16 cent. 

17 SEC. 203. WAIVERS. 

18 (a) NATIONAL SECURITY OR NATIONAL EMER19 GENCY.—The President may waive the application of sec20 tion 202 to any significant regulatory action, if the Presi21 dent— 

22 (1) determines that the waiver is necessary on 

23 the basis of national security or a national emer24 gency; and 


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1 (2) submits notification to Congress of that 

2 waiver and the reasons for that waiver. 

3 (b) ADDITIONAL WAIVERS.— 

4 (1) SUBMISSION.—The President may submit a 

5 request to Congress for a waiver of the application 

6 of section 202 to any significant regulatory action. 

7 (2) CONTENTS.—A submission under this sub8 section shall include— 

9 (A) an identification of the significant reg10 ulatory action; and 

11 (B) the reasons which necessitate a waiver 

12 for that significant regulatory action. 

13 (3) CONGRESSIONAL ACTION.—Congress shall 

14 give expeditious consideration and take appropriate 

15 legislative action with respect to any waiver request 

16 submitted under this subsection. 

17 SEC. 204. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

18 (a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘small 

19 business’’ means any business, including an unincor20 porated business or a sole proprietorship, that employs not 

21 more than 500 employees or that has a net worth of less 

22 than $7,000,000 on the date a civil action arising under 

23 this subtitle is filed. 

24 (b) REVIEW.—Any person that is adversely affected 

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1 tion of this subtitle is entitled to judicial review in accord2 ance with chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code. 

3 (c) JURISDICTION.—Each court having jurisdiction 

4 to review any significant regulatory action for compliance 

5 with any other provision of law shall have jurisdiction to 

6 review all claims under this subtitle. 

7 (d) RELIEF.—In granting any relief in any civil ac8 tion under this section, the court shall order the agency 

9 to take corrective action consistent with this subtitle and 

10 chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code, including re11 manding the significant regulatory action to the agency 

12 and enjoining the application or enforcement of that sig13 nificant regulatory action, unless the court finds by a pre14 ponderance of the evidence that application or enforce15 ment is required to protect against an imminent and seri16 ous threat to the national security from persons or states 

17 engaged in hostile or military activities against the United 

18 States. 

19 (e) REASONABLE ATTORNEY FEES FOR SMALL BUSI20 NESSES.—The court shall award reasonable attorney fees 

21 and costs to a substantially prevailing small business in 

22 any civil action arising under this subtitle. A party quali23 fies as substantially prevailing even without obtaining a 

24 final judgment in its favor if the agency changes its posi25 tion as a result of the civil action. 


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1 (f) LIMITATION ON COMMENCING CIVIL ACTION.— 

2 A person may seek and obtain judicial review during the 

3 1-year period beginning on the date of the challenged 

4 agency action or within 90 days after an enforcement ac5 tion or notice thereof, except that where another provision 

6 of law requires that a civil action be commenced before 

7 the expiration of that 1-year period, such lesser period 

8 shall apply. 

9 Subtitle B—Increase of Size of 

10 Small Businesses Exempt From 

11 Federal Laws and Regulations 

12 SEC. 211. INCREASE OF SIZE OF SMALL BUSINESSES EX13 EMPT FROM FEDERAL LAWS AND REGULA14 TIONS. 

15 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, every ex16 emption from, or special benefit under, any Federal law 

17 or regulation which is available to any business with 200 

18 or fewer employees shall be available to every comparable 

19 business with 200 or fewer employees. The preceding sen20 tence shall not apply in any context in which its applica21 tion would result in increased eligibility for tax deductions 

22 or credits, or an increase in Federal expenditures. 


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1 Subtitle C—The REINS Act 

2 SEC. 221. PURPOSE. 

3 The purpose of this subtitle is to increase account4 ability for and transparency in the federal regulatory proc5 ess. Section 1 of article I of the United States Constitution 

6 grants all legislative powers to Congress. Over time, Con7 gress has excessively delegated its constitutional charge 

8 while failing to conduct appropriate oversight and retain 

9 accountability for the content of the laws it passes. By 

10 requiring a vote in Congress, this subtitle will result in 

11 more carefully drafted and detailed legislation, an im12 proved regulatory process, and a legislative branch that 

13 is truly accountable to the American people for the laws 

14 imposed upon them. 

15 SEC. 222. CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF AGENCY RULE16 MAKING. 

17 Chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, is amended 

18 to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘CHAPTER 8—CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW 

20 OF AGENCY RULEMAKING 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘801. Congressional review. 

‘‘802. Congressional approval procedure for major rules. 

‘‘803. Congressional disapproval procedure for nonmajor rules. 

‘‘804. Definitions. 

‘‘805. Judicial review. 

‘‘806. Exemption for monetary policy. 

‘‘807. Effective date of certain rules. 


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1 ‘‘§ 801. Congressional review 

2 ‘‘(a)(1)(A) Before a rule may take effect, the Federal 

3 agency promulgating such rule shall submit to each House 

4 of the Congress and to the Comptroller General a report 

5 containing— 

6 ‘‘(i) a copy of the rule; 

7 ‘‘(ii) a concise general statement relating to the 

8 rule; 

9 ‘‘(iii) a classification of the rule as a major or 

10 nonmajor rule, including an explanation of the clas11 sification specifically addressing each criteria for a 

12 major rule contained within sections 804(2)(A), 

13 804(2)(B), and 804(2)(C); 

14 ‘‘(iv) a list of any other related regulatory ac15 tions intended to implement the same statutory pro16 vision or regulatory objective as well as the indi17 vidual and aggregate economic effects of those ac18 tions; and 

19 ‘‘(v) the proposed effective date of the rule. 

20 ‘‘(B) On the date of the submission of the report 

21 under subparagraph (A), the Federal agency promulgating 

22 the rule shall submit to the Comptroller General and make 

23 available to each House of Congress— 

24 ‘‘(i) a complete copy of the cost-benefit analysis 

25 of the rule, if any; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the agency’s actions pursuant to title 5 of 

2 the United States Code, sections 603, 604, 605, 

3 607, and 609; 

4 ‘‘(iii) the agency’s actions pursuant to title 2 of 

5 the United States Code, sections 1532, 1533, 1534, 

6 and 1535; and 

7 ‘‘(iv) any other relevant information or require8 ments under any other Act and any relevant Execu9 tive orders. 

10 ‘‘(C) Upon receipt of a report submitted under sub11 paragraph (A), each House shall provide copies of the re12 port to the chairman and ranking member of each stand13 ing committee with jurisdiction under the rules of the 

14 House of Representatives or the Senate to report a bill 

15 to amend the provision of law under which the rule is 

16 issued. 

17 ‘‘(2)(A) The Comptroller General shall provide a re18 port on each major rule to the committees of jurisdiction 

19 by the end of 15 calendar days after the submission or 

20 publication date as provided in section 802(b)(2). The re21 port of the Comptroller General shall include an assess22 ment of the agency’s compliance with procedural steps re23 quired by paragraph (1)(B). 


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1 ‘‘(B) Federal agencies shall cooperate with the Comp2 troller General by providing information relevant to the 

3 Comptroller General’s report under subparagraph (A). 

4 ‘‘(3) A major rule relating to a report submitted 

5 under paragraph (1) shall take effect upon enactment of 

6 a joint resolution of approval described in section 802 or 

7 as provided for in the rule following enactment of a joint 

8 resolution of approval described in section 802, whichever 

9 is later. 

10 ‘‘(4) A nonmajor rule shall take effect as provided 

11 by section 803 after submission to Congress under para12 graph (1). 

13 ‘‘(5) If a joint resolution of approval relating to a 

14 major rule is not enacted within the period provided in 

15 subsection (b)(2), then a joint resolution of approval relat16 ing to the same rule may not be considered under this 

17 chapter in the same Congress by either the House of Rep18 resentatives or the Senate. 

19 ‘‘(b)(1) A major rule shall not take effect unless the 

20 Congress enacts a joint resolution of approval described 

21 under section 802. 

22 ‘‘(2) If a joint resolution described in subsection (a) 

23 is not enacted into law by the end of 70 session days or 

24 legislative days, as applicable, beginning on the date on 

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1 ceived by Congress (excluding days either House of Con2 gress is adjourned for more than 3 days during a session 

3 of Congress), then the rule described in that resolution 

4 shall be deemed not to be approved and such rule shall 

5 not take effect. 

6 ‘‘(c)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 

7 section (except subject to paragraph (3)), a major rule 

8 may take effect for one 90-calendar-day period if the 

9 President makes a determination under paragraph (2) and 

10 submits written notice of such determination to the Con11 gress. 

12 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) applies to a determination made 

13 by the President by Executive order that the major rule 

14 should take effect because such rule is— 

15 ‘‘(A) necessary because of an imminent threat 

16 to health or safety or other emergency; 

17 ‘‘(B) necessary for the enforcement of criminal 

18 laws; 

19 ‘‘(C) necessary for national security; or 

20 ‘‘(D) issued pursuant to any statute imple21 menting an international trade agreement. 

22 ‘‘(3) An exercise by the President of the authority 

23 under this subsection shall have no effect on the proce24 dures under section 802. 


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1 ‘‘(d)(1) In addition to the opportunity for review oth2 erwise provided under this chapter, in the case of any rule 

3 for which a report was submitted in accordance with sub4 section (a)(1)(A) during the period beginning on the date 

5 occurring— 

6 ‘‘(A) in the case of the Senate, 60 session days, 

7 or 

8 ‘‘(B) in the case of the House of Representa9 tives, 60 legislative days, 

10 before the date the Congress is scheduled to adjourn a 

11 session of Congress through the date on which the same 

12 or succeeding Congress first convenes its next session, sec13 tions 802 and 803 shall apply to such rule in the suc14 ceeding session of Congress. 

15 ‘‘(2)(A) In applying sections 802 and 803 for pur16 poses of such additional review, a rule described under 

17 paragraph (1) shall be treated as though— 

18 ‘‘(i) such rule were published in the Federal 

19 Register on— 

20 ‘‘(I) in the case of the Senate, the 15th 

21 session day, or 

22 ‘‘(II) in the case of the House of Rep23 resentatives, the 15th legislative day, 

24 after the succeeding session of Congress first con25 venes; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) a report on such rule were submitted to 

2 Congress under subsection (a)(1) on such date. 

3 ‘‘(B) Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed 

4 to affect the requirement under subsection (a)(1) that a 

5 report shall be submitted to Congress before a rule can 

6 take effect. 

7 ‘‘(3) A rule described under paragraph (1) shall take 

8 effect as otherwise provided by law (including other sub9 sections of this section). 

10 ‘‘§ 802. Congressional approval procedure for major 

11 rules 

12 ‘‘(a) For purposes of this section, the term ‘joint res13 olution’ means only a joint resolution introduced on or 

14 after the date on which the report referred to in section 

15 801(a)(1)(A) is received by Congress (excluding days ei16 ther House of Congress is adjourned for more than 3 days 

17 during a session of Congress), the matter after the resolv18 ing clause of which is as follows: ‘That Congress approves 

19 the rule submitted by the l l relating to l l.’ (The 

20 blank spaces being appropriately filled in). 

21 ‘‘(1) In the House, the majority leader of the 

22 House of Representatives (or his designee) and the 

23 minority leader of the House of Representatives (or 

24 his designee) shall introduce such joint resolution 

25 described in subsection (a) (by request), within 3 


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1 legislative days after Congress receives the report re2 ferred to in section 801(a)(1)(A). 

3 ‘‘(2) In the Senate, the majority leader of the 

4 Senate (or his designee) and the minority leader of 

5 the Senate (or his designee) shall introduce such 

6 joint resolution described in subsection (a) (by re7 quest), within 3 session days after Congress receives 

8 the report referred to in section 801(a)(1)(A). 

9 ‘‘(b)(1) A joint resolution described in subsection (a) 

10 shall be referred to the committees in each House of Con11 gress with jurisdiction under the rules of the House of 

12 Representatives or the Senate to report a bill to amend 

13 the provision of law under which the rule is issued. 

14 ‘‘(2) For purposes of this section, the term ‘submis15 sion date’ means the date on which the Congress receives 

16 the report submitted under section 801(a)(1). 

17 ‘‘(c) In the Senate, if the committee or committees 

18 to which a joint resolution described in subsection (a) has 

19 been referred have not reported it at the end of 15 session 

20 days after its introduction, such committee or committees 

21 shall be automatically discharged from further consider22 ation of the resolution and it shall be placed on the cal23 endar. A vote on final passage of the resolution shall be 

24 taken on or before the close of the 15th session day after 

25 the resolution is reported by the committee or committees 


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1 to which it was referred, or after such committee or com2 mittees have been discharged from further consideration 

3 of the resolution. 

4 ‘‘(d)(1) In the Senate, when the committee or com5 mittees to which a joint resolution is referred have re6 ported, or when a committee or committees are discharged 

7 (under subsection (c)) from further consideration of a 

8 joint resolution described in subsection (a), it is at any 

9 time thereafter in order (even though a previous motion 

10 to the same effect has been disagreed to) for a motion 

11 to proceed to the consideration of the joint resolution, and 

12 all points of order against the joint resolution (and against 

13 consideration of the joint resolution) are waived. The mo14 tion is not subject to amendment, or to a motion to post15 pone, or to a motion to proceed to the consideration of 

16 other business. A motion to reconsider the vote by which 

17 the motion is agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in 

18 order. If a motion to proceed to the consideration of the 

19 joint resolution is agreed to, the joint resolution shall re20 main the unfinished business of the Senate until disposed 

21 of. 

22 ‘‘(2) In the Senate, debate on the joint resolution, 

23 and on all debatable motions and appeals in connection 

24 therewith, shall be limited to not more than 2 hours, which 

25 shall be divided equally between those favoring and those 


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1 opposing the joint resolution. A motion to further limit 

2 debate is in order and not debatable. An amendment to, 

3 or a motion to postpone, or a motion to proceed to the 

4 consideration of other business, or a motion to recommit 

5 the joint resolution is not in order. 

6 ‘‘(3) In the Senate, immediately following the conclu7 sion of the debate on a joint resolution described in sub8 section (a), and a single quorum call at the conclusion of 

9 the debate if requested in accordance with the rules of the 

10 Senate, the vote on final passage of the joint resolution 

11 shall occur. 

12 ‘‘(4) Appeals from the decisions of the Chair relating 

13 to the application of the rules of the Senate to the proce14 dure relating to a joint resolution described in subsection 

15 (a) shall be decided without debate. 

16 ‘‘(e)(1) In the House of Representatives, if the com17 mittee or committees to which a joint resolution described 

18 in subsection (a) has been referred have not reported it 

19 at the end of 15 legislative days after its introduction, 

20 such committee or committees shall be automatically dis21 charged from further consideration of the resolution and 

22 it shall be placed on the appropriate calendar. A vote on 

23 final passage of the resolution shall be taken on or before 

24 the close of the 15th legislative day after the resolution 

25 is reported by the committee or committees to which it 


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1 was referred, or after such committee or committees have 

2 been discharged from further consideration of the resolu3 tion. 

4 ‘‘(2)(A) A motion in the House of Representatives to 

5 proceed to the consideration of a resolution shall be privi6 leged and not debatable. An amendment to the motion 

7 shall not be in order, nor shall it be in order to move to 

8 reconsider the vote by which the motion is agreed to or 

9 disagreed to. 

10 ‘‘(B) Debate in the House of Representatives on a 

11 resolution shall be limited to not more than two hours, 

12 which shall be divided equally between those favoring and 

13 those opposing the resolution. A motion to further limit 

14 debate shall not be debatable. No amendment to, or mo15 tion to recommit, the resolution shall be in order. It shall 

16 not be in order to reconsider the vote by which a resolution 

17 is agreed to or disagreed to. 

18 ‘‘(C) Motions to postpone, made in the House of Rep19 resentatives with respect to the consideration of a resolu20 tion, and motions to proceed to the consideration of other 

21 business, shall be decided without debate. 

22 ‘‘(D) All appeals from the decisions of the Chair re23 lating to the application of the Rules of the House of Rep24 resentatives to the procedure relating to a resolution shall 

25 be decided without debate. 


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1 ‘‘(f) If, before the passage by one House of a joint 

2 resolution of that House described in subsection (a), that 

3 House receives from the other House a joint resolution 

4 described in subsection (a), then the following procedures 

5 shall apply with respect to a joint resolution described in 

6 subsection (a) of the House receiving the joint resolu7 tion— 

8 ‘‘(1) the procedure in that House shall be the 

9 same as if no joint resolution had been received from 

10 the other House; but 

11 ‘‘(2) the vote on final passage shall be on the 

12 joint resolution of the other House. 

13 ‘‘(g) The enactment of a resolution of approval does 

14 not serve as a grant or modification of statutory authority 

15 by Congress for the promulgation of a rule, does not extin16 guish or affect any claim, whether substantive or proce17 dural, against any alleged defect in a rule, and shall not 

18 form part of the record before the court in any judicial 

19 proceeding concerning a rule. 

20 ‘‘(h) This section and section 803 are enacted by 

21 Congress— 

22 ‘‘(1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of 

23 the Senate and House of Representatives, respec24 tively, and as such it is deemed a part of the rules 

25 of each House, respectively, but applicable only with 


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1 respect to the procedure to be followed in that 

2 House in the case of a joint resolution described in 

3 subsection (a), and it supersedes other rules only to 

4 the extent that it is inconsistent with such rules; and 

5 ‘‘(2) with full recognition of the constitutional 

6 right of either House to change the rules (so far as 

7 relating to the procedure of that House) at any time, 

8 in the same manner, and to the same extent as in 

9 the case of any other rule of that House. 

10 ‘‘§ 803. Congressional disapproval procedure for 

11 nonmajor rules 

12 ‘‘(a) For purposes of this section, the term ‘joint res13 olution’ means only a joint resolution introduced in the 

14 period beginning on the date on which the report referred 

15 to in section 801(a)(1)(A) is received by Congress and 

16 ending 60 days thereafter (excluding days either House 

17 of Congress is adjourned for more than 3 days during a 

18 session of Congress), the matter after the resolving clause 

19 of which is as follows: ‘That Congress disapproves the 

20 nonmajor rule submitted by the l l relating to l l, 

21 and such rule shall have no force or effect.’ (The blank 

22 spaces being appropriately filled in). 

23 ‘‘(b)(1) A joint resolution described in subsection (a) 

24 shall be referred to the committees in each House of Con25 gress with jurisdiction. 


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1 ‘‘(2) For purposes of this section, the term submis2 sion or publication date means the later of the date on 

3 which— 

4 ‘‘(A) the Congress receives the report submitted 

5 under section 801(a)(1); or 

6 ‘‘(B) the nonmajor rule is published in the Fed7 eral Register, if so published. 

8 ‘‘(c) In the Senate, if the committee to which is re9 ferred a joint resolution described in subsection (a) has 

10 not reported such joint resolution (or an identical joint 

11 resolution) at the end of 15 session days after the date 

12 of introduction of the joint resolution, such committee may 

13 be discharged from further consideration of such joint res14 olution upon a petition supported in writing by 30 Mem15 bers of the Senate, and such joint resolution shall be 

16 placed on the calendar. 

17 ‘‘(d)(1) In the Senate, when the committee to which 

18 a joint resolution is referred has reported, or when a com19 mittee is discharged (under subsection (c)) from further 

20 consideration of a joint resolution described in subsection 

21 (a), it is at any time thereafter in order (even though a 

22 previous motion to the same effect has been disagreed to) 

23 for a motion to proceed to the consideration of the joint 

24 resolution, and all points of order against the joint resolu25 tion (and against consideration of the joint resolution) are 


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1 waived. The motion is not subject to amendment, or to 

2 a motion to postpone, or to a motion to proceed to the 

3 consideration of other business. A motion to reconsider the 

4 vote by which the motion is agreed to or disagreed to shall 

5 not be in order. If a motion to proceed to the consideration 

6 of the joint resolution is agreed to, the joint resolution 

7 shall remain the unfinished business of the Senate until 

8 disposed of. 

9 ‘‘(2) In the Senate, debate on the joint resolution, 

10 and on all debatable motions and appeals in connection 

11 therewith, shall be limited to not more than 10 hours, 

12 which shall be divided equally between those favoring and 

13 those opposing the joint resolution. A motion to further 

14 limit debate is in order and not debatable. An amendment 

15 to, or a motion to postpone, or a motion to proceed to 

16 the consideration of other business, or a motion to recom17 mit the joint resolution is not in order. 

18 ‘‘(3) In the Senate, immediately following the conclu19 sion of the debate on a joint resolution described in sub20 section (a), and a single quorum call at the conclusion of 

21 the debate if requested in accordance with the rules of the 

22 Senate, the vote on final passage of the joint resolution 

23 shall occur. 

24 ‘‘(4) Appeals from the decisions of the Chair relating 

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1 dure relating to a joint resolution described in subsection 

2 (a) shall be decided without debate. 

3 ‘‘(e) In the Senate the procedure specified in sub4 section (c) or (d) shall not apply to the consideration of 

5 a joint resolution respecting a nonmajor rule— 

6 ‘‘(1) after the expiration of the 60 session days 

7 beginning with the applicable submission or publica8 tion date, or 

9 ‘‘(2) if the report under section 801(a)(1)(A) 

10 was submitted during the period referred to in sec11 tion 801(d)(1), after the expiration of the 60 session 

12 days beginning on the 15th session day after the 

13 succeeding session of Congress first convenes. 

14 ‘‘(f) If, before the passage by one House of a joint 

15 resolution of that House described in subsection (a), that 

16 House receives from the other House a joint resolution 

17 described in subsection (a), then the following procedures 

18 shall apply: 

19 ‘‘(1) The joint resolution of the other House 

20 shall not be referred to a committee. 

21 ‘‘(2) With respect to a joint resolution described 

22 in subsection (a) of the House receiving the joint 

23 resolution— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the procedure in that House shall be 

2 the same as if no joint resolution had been re3 ceived from the other House; but 

4 ‘‘(B) the vote on final passage shall be on 

5 the joint resolution of the other House. 

6 ‘‘§ 804. Definitions 

7 ‘‘For purposes of this chapter— 

8 ‘‘(1) The term ‘Federal agency’ means any 

9 agency as that term is defined in section 551(1). 

10 ‘‘(2) The term ‘major rule’ means any rule, in11 cluding an interim final rule, that the Administrator 

12 of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs 

13 of the Office of Management and Budget finds has 

14 resulted in or is likely to result in— 

15 ‘‘(A) an annual effect on the economy of 

16 $100,000,000 or more; 

17 ‘‘(B) a major increase in costs or prices for 

18 consumers, individual industries, Federal, 

19 State, or local government agencies, or geo20 graphic regions; or 

21 ‘‘(C) significant adverse effects on competi22 tion, employment, investment, productivity, in23 novation, or on the ability of United States24 based enterprises to compete with foreign-based 

25 enterprises in domestic and export markets. 


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1 ‘‘(3) The term ‘nonmajor rule’ means any rule 

2 that is not a major rule. 

3 ‘‘(4) The term ‘rule’ has the meaning given 

4 such term in section 551, except that such term does 

5 not include— 

6 ‘‘(A) any rule of particular applicability, 

7 including a rule that approves or prescribes for 

8 the future rates, wages, prices, services, or al9 lowances therefore, corporate or financial struc10 tures, reorganizations, mergers, or acquisitions 

11 thereof, or accounting practices or disclosures 

12 bearing on any of the foregoing; 

13 ‘‘(B) any rule relating to agency manage14 ment or personnel; or 

15 ‘‘(C) any rule of agency organization, pro16 cedure, or practice that does not substantially 

17 affect the rights or obligations of non-agency 

18 parties. 

19 ‘‘§ 805. Judicial review 

20 ‘‘(a) No determination, finding, action, or omission 

21 under this chapter shall be subject to judicial review. 

22 ‘‘(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), a court may de23 termine whether a Federal agency has completed the nec24 essary requirements under this chapter for a rule to take 

25 effect. 


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1 ‘‘§ 806. Exemption for monetary policy 

2 ‘‘Nothing in this chapter shall apply to rules that con3 cern monetary policy proposed or implemented by the 

4 Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or the 

5 Federal Open Market Committee. 

6 ‘‘§ 807. Effective date of certain rules 

7 ‘‘Notwithstanding section 801— 

8 ‘‘(1) any rule that establishes, modifies, opens, 

9 closes, or conducts a regulatory program for a com10 mercial, recreational, or subsistence activity related 

11 to hunting, fishing, or camping; or 

12 ‘‘(2) any rule other than a major rule which an 

13 agency for good cause finds (and incorporates the 

14 finding and a brief statement of reasons therefore in 

15 the rule issued) that notice and public procedure 

16 thereon are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary 

17 to the public interest, 

18 shall take effect at such time as the Federal agency pro19 mulgating the rule determines.’’. 

20 Subtitle D—Small Business 

21 Regulatory Freedom 

22 SEC. 231. FINDINGS. 

23 Congress finds the following: 

24 (1) A vibrant and growing small business sector 

25 is critical to the recovery of the economy of the 

26 United States. 


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1 (2) Regulations designed for application to 

2 large-scale entities have been applied uniformly to 

3 small businesses and other small entities, sometimes 

4 inhibiting the ability of small entities to create new 

5 jobs. 

6 (3) Uniform Federal regulatory and reporting 

7 requirements in many instances have imposed on 

8 small businesses and other small entities unneces9 sary and disproportionately burdensome demands, 

10 including legal, accounting, and consulting costs, 

11 thereby threatening the viability of small entities 

12 and the ability of small entities to compete and cre13 ate new jobs in a global marketplace. 

14 (4) Since 1980, Federal agencies have been re15 quired to recognize and take account of the dif16 ferences in the scale and resources of regulated enti17 ties, but in many instances have failed to do so. 

18 (5) In 2009, there were nearly 70,000 pages in 

19 the Federal Register, and, according to research by 

20 the Office of Advocacy of the Small Business Admin21 istration, the annual cost of Federal regulations to22 tals $1,750,000,000,000. Small firms bear a dis23 proportionate burden, paying approximately 36 per24 cent more per employee than larger firms in annual 

25 regulatory compliance costs. 


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1 (6) All agencies in the Federal Government 

2 should fully consider the costs, including indirect 

3 economic impacts and the potential for job creation 

4 and job loss, of proposed rules, periodically review 

5 existing regulations to determine their impact on 

6 small entities, and repeal regulations that are unnec7 essarily duplicative or have outlived their stated pur8 pose. 

9 (7) It is the intention of Congress to amend 

10 chapter 6 of title 5, United States Code, to ensure 

11 that all impacts, including foreseeable indirect ef12 fects, of proposed and final rules are considered by 

13 agencies during the rulemaking process and that the 

14 agencies assess a full range of alternatives that will 

15 limit adverse economic consequences, enhance eco16 nomic benefits, and fully address potential job cre17 ation or job loss. 

18 SEC. 232. INCLUDING INDIRECT ECONOMIC IMPACT IN 

19 SMALL ENTITY ANALYSES. 

20 Section 601 of title 5, United States Code, is amend21 ed by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(9) the term ‘economic impact’ means, with 

23 respect to a proposed or final rule— 

24 ‘‘(A) any direct economic effect of the rule 

25 on small entities; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) any indirect economic effect on small 

2 entities, including potential job creation or job 

3 loss, that is reasonably foreseeable and that re4 sults from the rule, without regard to whether 

5 small entities are directly regulated by the 

6 rule.’’. 

7 SEC. 233. JUDICIAL REVIEW TO ALLOW SMALL ENTITIES TO 

8 CHALLENGE PROPOSED REGULATIONS. 

9 Section 611(a) of title 5, United States Code, is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘603,’’ after 

12 ‘‘601,’’; 

13 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘603,’’ after 

14 ‘‘601,’’; 

15 (3) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(3) A small entity may seek such review during the 

18 1-year period beginning on the date of final agency action, 

19 except that— 

20 ‘‘(A) if a provision of law requires that an ac21 tion challenging a final agency action be commenced 

22 before the expiration of 1 year, the lesser period 

23 shall apply to an action for judicial review under this 

24 section; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) in the case of noncompliance with section 

2 603 or 605(b), a small entity may seek judicial re3 view of agency compliance with such section before 

4 the close of the public comment period.’’; and 

5 (4) in paragraph (4)— 

6 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘, 

7 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 

8 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 

9 period and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

10 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(C) issuing an injunction prohibiting an agen12 cy from taking any agency action with respect to a 

13 rulemaking until that agency is in compliance with 

14 the requirements of section 603 or 605.’’. 

15 SEC. 234. PERIODIC REVIEW AND SUNSET OF EXISTING 

16 RULES. 

17 Section 610 of title 5, United States Code, is amend18 ed to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘§ 610. Periodic review of rules 

20 ‘‘(a)(1) Not later than 180 days after the date of en21 actment of the Grow America Act of 2012, each agency 

22 shall establish a plan for the periodic review of— 

23 ‘‘(A) each rule issued by the agency that the 

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1 ties, without regard to whether the agency per2 formed an analysis under section 604 with respect to 

3 the rule; and 

4 ‘‘(B) any small entity compliance guide required 

5 to be published by the agency under section 212 of 

6 the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fair7 ness Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C. 601 note). 

8 ‘‘(2) In reviewing rules and small entity compliance 

9 guides under paragraph (1), the agency shall determine 

10 whether the rules and guides should— 

11 ‘‘(A) be amended or rescinded, consistent with 

12 the stated objectives of applicable statutes, to mini13 mize any significant adverse economic impacts on a 

14 substantial number of small entities (including an 

15 estimate of any adverse impacts on job creation and 

16 employment by small entities); or 

17 ‘‘(B) continue in effect without change. 

18 ‘‘(3) Each agency shall publish the plan established 

19 under paragraph (1) in the Federal Register and on the 

20 Web site of the agency. 

21 ‘‘(4) An agency may amend the plan established 

22 under paragraph (1) at any time by publishing the amend23 ment in the Federal Register and on the Web site of the 

24 agency. 


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1 ‘‘(b)(1) Each plan established under subsection (a) 

2 shall provide for— 

3 ‘‘(A) the review of each rule and small entity 

4 compliance guide described in subsection (a)(1) in 

5 effect on the date of enactment of the Grow America 

6 Act of 2012— 

7 ‘‘(i) not later than 8 years after the date 

8 of publication of the plan in the Federal Reg9 ister; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) every 8 years thereafter; and 

11 ‘‘(B) the review of each rule adopted and small 

12 entity compliance guide described in subsection 

13 (a)(1) that is published after the date of enactment 

14 of the Grow America Act of 2012— 

15 ‘‘(i) not later than 8 years after the publi16 cation of the final rule in the Federal Register; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(ii) every 8 years thereafter. 

19 ‘‘(2)(A) If an agency determines that the review of 

20 the rules and guides described in paragraph (1)(A) cannot 

21 be completed before the date described in paragraph 

22 (1)(A)(i), the agency— 

23 ‘‘(i) shall publish a statement in the Federal 

24 Register certifying that the review cannot be com25 pleted; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) may extend the period for the review of 

2 the rules and guides described in paragraph (1)(A) 

3 for a period of not more than 2 years, if the agency 

4 publishes notice of the extension in the Federal Reg5 ister. 

6 ‘‘(B) An agency shall transmit to the Chief Counsel 

7 for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration and 

8 Congress notice of any statement or notice described in 

9 subparagraph (A). 

10 ‘‘(c) In reviewing rules under the plan required under 

11 subsection (a), the agency shall consider— 

12 ‘‘(1) the continued need for the rule; 

13 ‘‘(2) the nature of complaints received by the 

14 agency from small entities concerning the rule; 

15 ‘‘(3) comments by the Regulatory Enforcement 

16 Ombudsman and the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of 

17 the Small Business Administration; 

18 ‘‘(4) the complexity of the rule; 

19 ‘‘(5) the extent to which the rule overlaps, du20 plicates, or conflicts with other Federal rules and, 

21 unless the head of the agency determines it to be in22 feasible, State and local rules; 

23 ‘‘(6) the contribution of the rule to the cumu24 lative economic impact of all Federal rules on the 

25 class of small entities affected by the rule, unless the 


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1 head of the agency determines that such a calcula2 tion cannot be made; 

3 ‘‘(7) the length of time since the rule has been 

4 evaluated, or the degree to which technology, eco5 nomic conditions, or other factors have changed in 

6 the area affected by the rule; and 

7 ‘‘(8) the impact of the rule, including— 

8 ‘‘(A) the estimated number of small enti9 ties to which the rule will apply; 

10 ‘‘(B) the estimated number of small entity 

11 jobs that will be lost or created due to the rule; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(C) the projected reporting, record14 keeping, and other compliance requirements of 

15 the proposed rule, including— 

16 ‘‘(i) an estimate of the classes of small 

17 entities that will be subject to the require18 ment; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) the type of professional skills 

20 necessary for preparation of the report or 

21 record. 

22 ‘‘(d)(1) Each agency shall submit an annual report 

23 regarding the results of the review required under sub24 section (a) to— 

25 ‘‘(A) Congress; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) in the case of an agency that is not an 

2 independent regulatory agency (as defined in section 

3 3502(5) of title 44), the Administrator of the Office 

4 of Information and Regulatory Affairs of the Office 

5 of Management and Budget. 

6 ‘‘(2) Each report required under paragraph (1) shall 

7 include a description of any rule or guide with respect to 

8 which the agency made a determination of infeasibility 

9 under paragraph (5) or (6) of subsection (c), together with 

10 a detailed explanation of the reasons for the determina11 tion. 

12 ‘‘(e) Each agency shall publish in the Federal Reg13 ister and on the Web site of the agency a list of the rules 

14 and small entity compliance guides to be reviewed under 

15 the plan required under subsection (a) that includes— 

16 ‘‘(1) a brief description of each rule or guide; 

17 ‘‘(2) for each rule, the reason why the head of 

18 the agency determined that the rule has a significant 

19 economic impact on a substantial number of small 

20 entities (without regard to whether the agency had 

21 prepared a final regulatory flexibility analysis for the 

22 rule); and 

23 ‘‘(3) a request for comments from the public, 

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1 ment Ombudsman concerning the enforcement of the 

2 rules or publication of the guides. 

3 ‘‘(f)(1) With respect to each agency, not later than 

4 6 months after each date described in subsection (b)(1), 

5 the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Ad6 ministration shall determine whether the agency has com7 pleted the review required under subsection (b). 

8 ‘‘(2) If, after a review under paragraph (1), the Chief 

9 Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administra10 tion determines that an agency has failed to complete the 

11 review required under subsection (b), each rule issued by 

12 the agency that the head of the agency determined under 

13 subsection (a) has a significant economic impact on a sub14 stantial number of small entities shall immediately cease 

15 to have effect.’’. 

16 SEC. 235. REQUIRING SMALL BUSINESS REVIEW PANELS 

17 FOR ALL AGENCIES. 

18 (a) AGENCIES.—Section 609 of title 5, United States 

19 Code, is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘a covered 

21 agency’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘an 

22 agency’’; and 

23 (2) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ‘‘the cov24 ered agency’’ and inserting ‘‘the agency’’. 

25 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 (1) SECTION 609.—Section 609 of title 5, 

2 United States Code, is amended— 

3 (A) by striking subsection (d), as amended 

4 by section 1100G(a) of Public Law 111–203 

5 (124 Stat. 2112); and 

6 (B) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub7 section (d). 

8 (2) SECTION 603.—Section 603(d) of title 5, 

9 United States Code, as added by section 1100G(b) 

10 of Public Law 111–203 (124 Stat. 2112), is amend11 ed— 

12 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘a cov13 ered agency, as defined in section 609(d)(2)’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘the Bureau of Consumer Finan15 cial Protection’’; and 

16 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘A cov17 ered agency, as defined in section 609(d)(2),’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘The Bureau of Consumer Finan19 cial Protection’’. 

20 (3) SECTION 604.—Section 604(a) of title 5, 

21 United States Code, is amended— 

22 (A) by redesignating the second paragraph 

23 designated as paragraph (6) (relating to cov24 ered agencies), as added by section 1100G(c)(3) 


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1 of Public Law 111–203 (124 Stat. 2113), as 

2 paragraph (7); and 

3 (B) in paragraph (7), as so redesignated— 

4 (i) by striking ‘‘a covered agency, as 

5 defined in section 609(d)(2)’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘the Bureau of Consumer Financial Pro7 tection’’; and 

8 (ii) by striking ‘‘the agency’’ and in9 serting ‘‘the Bureau’’. 

10 (4) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

11 by this subsection shall take effect on the date of en12 actment of this Act and apply on and after the des13 ignated transfer date established under section 1062 

14 of Public Law 111–203 (12 U.S.C. 5582). 

15 SEC. 236. EXPANDING THE REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY ACT 

16 TO AGENCY GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS. 

17 Section 601(2) of title 5, United States Code, is 

18 amended by inserting after ‘‘public comment’’ the fol19 lowing: ‘‘and any significant guidance document, as de20 fined in the Office of Management and Budget Final Bul21 letin for Agency Good Guidance Procedures (72 Fed. Reg. 

22 3432; January 25, 2007)’’. 


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1 SEC. 237. REQUIRING THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE 

2 TO CONSIDER SMALL ENTITY IMPACT. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 603(a) of title 5, United 

4 States Code, is amended, in the fifth sentence, by striking 

5 ‘‘but only’’ and all that follows through the period at the 

6 end and inserting ‘‘but only to the extent that such inter7 pretative rules, or the statutes upon which such rules are 

8 based, impose on small entities a collection of information 

9 requirement or a recordkeeping requirement.’’. 

10 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 601 of title 5, United 

11 States Code, as amended by section 332 of this title, is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

14 end; and 

15 (2) by striking paragraphs (7) and (8) and in16 serting the following: 

17 ‘‘(7) the term ‘collection of information’ has the 

18 meaning given that term in section 3502(3) of title 

19 44; 

20 ‘‘(8) the term ‘recordkeeping requirement’ has 

21 the meaning given that term in section 3502(13) of 

22 title 44; and’’. 

23 SEC. 238. MITIGATING PENALTIES ON SMALL ENTITIES. 

24 Section 223 of the Small Business Regulatory En25 forcement Fairness Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–121; 


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1 110 Stat. 862) is amended by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(d) REVIEW OF POLICIES AND PROGRAMS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) REVIEW REQUIRED.—Not later than 6 

5 months after the date of enactment of this sub6 section, and every 2 years thereafter, each agency 

7 regulating the activities of small entities shall review 

8 the policy or program established by the agency 

9 under subsection (a) and make any modifications to 

10 the policy or program necessary to comply with the 

11 requirements under this section. 

12 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after 

13 the date of enactment of this subsection, and every 

14 2 years thereafter, each agency described in para15 graph (1) shall submit a report on the review and 

16 modifications required under paragraph (1) to— 

17 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Small Business 

18 and Entrepreneurship and the Committee on 

19 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

20 of the Senate; and 

21 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Small Business 

22 and the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

23 House of Representatives.’’. 


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1 SEC. 239. REQUIRING MORE DETAILED SMALL ENTITY 

2 ANALYSES. 

3 (a) INITIAL REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY ANALYSIS.— 

4 Section 603 of title 5, United States Code, as amended 

5 by section 1100G(b) of Public Law 111–203 (124 Stat. 

6 2112), is amended— 

7 (1) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(b) Each initial regulatory flexibility analysis re10 quired under this section shall contain a detailed state11 ment— 

12 ‘‘(1) describing the reasons why action by the 

13 agency is being considered; 

14 ‘‘(2) describing the objectives of, and legal basis 

15 for, the proposed rule; 

16 ‘‘(3) estimating the number and type of small 

17 entities to which the proposed rule will apply; 

18 ‘‘(4) describing the projected reporting, record19 keeping, and other compliance requirements of the 

20 proposed rule, including an estimate of the classes of 

21 small entities which will be subject to the require22 ment and the type of professional skills necessary 

23 for preparation of the report and record; 

24 ‘‘(5) describing all relevant Federal rules which 

25 may duplicate, overlap, or conflict with the proposed 


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1 rule, or the reasons why such a description could not 

2 be provided; and 

3 ‘‘(6) estimating the additional cumulative eco4 nomic impact of the proposed rule on small entities, 

5 including job creation and employment by small enti6 ties, beyond that already imposed on the class of 

7 small entities by the agency, or the reasons why 

8 such an estimate is not available.’’; and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(e) An agency shall notify the Chief Counsel for Ad11 vocacy of the Small Business Administration of any draft 

12 rules that may have a significant economic impact on a 

13 substantial number of small entities— 

14 ‘‘(1) when the agency submits a draft rule to 

15 the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of 

16 the Office of Management and Budget under Execu17 tive Order 12866, if that order requires the submis18 sion; or 

19 ‘‘(2) if no submission to the Office of Informa20 tion and Regulatory Affairs is required— 

21 ‘‘(A) a reasonable period before publication 

22 of the rule by the agency; and 

23 ‘‘(B) in any event, not later than 3 months 

24 before the date on which the agency publishes 

25 the rule.’’. 


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1 (b) FINAL REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY ANALYSIS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 604(a) of title 5, 

3 United States Code, is amended— 

4 (A) by inserting ‘‘detailed’’ before ‘‘de5 scription’’ each place it appears; 

6 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

7 (i) by inserting ‘‘detailed’’ before 

8 ‘‘statement’’ each place it appears; and 

9 (ii) by inserting ‘‘(or certification of 

10 the proposed rule under section 605(b))’’ 

11 after ‘‘initial regulatory flexibility anal12 ysis’’; 

13 (C) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘an ex14 planation’’ and inserting ‘‘a detailed expla15 nation’’; and 

16 (D) in paragraph (6) (relating to a de17 scription of steps taken to minimize significant 

18 economic impact), as added by section 1601 of 

19 the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (Public 

20 Law 111–240; 124 Stat. 2251), by inserting 

21 ‘‘detailed’’ before ‘‘statement’’. 

22 (2) PUBLICATION OF ANALYSIS ON WEB SITE, 

23 ETC.—Section 604(b) of title 5, United States Code, 

24 is amended to read as follows: 

25 ‘‘(b) The agency shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) make copies of the final regulatory flexi2 bility analysis available to the public, including by 

3 publishing the entire final regulatory flexibility anal4 ysis on the Web site of the agency; and 

5 ‘‘(2) publish in the Federal Register the final 

6 regulatory flexibility analysis, or a summary of the 

7 analysis that includes the telephone number, mailing 

8 address, and address of the Web site where the com9 plete final regulatory flexibility analysis may be ob10 tained.’’. 

11 (c) CROSS-REFERENCES TO OTHER ANALYSES.— 

12 Section 605(a) of title 5, United States Code, is amended 

13 to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(a) A Federal agency shall be deemed to have satis15 fied a requirement regarding the content of a regulatory 

16 flexibility agenda or regulatory flexibility analysis under 

17 section 602, 603, or 604, if the Federal agency provides 

18 in the agenda or regulatory flexibility analysis a cross-ref19 erence to the specific portion of an agenda or analysis that 

20 is required by another law and that satisfies the require21 ment under section 602, 603, or 604.’’. 

22 (d) CERTIFICATIONS.—Section 605(b) of title 5, 

23 United States Code, is amended, in the second sentence, 

24 by striking ‘‘statement providing the factual’’ and insert25 ing ‘‘detailed statement providing the factual and legal’’. 


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1 (e) QUANTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.—Section 607 

2 of title 5, United States Code, is amended to read as fol3 lows: 

4 ‘‘§ 607. Quantification requirements 

5 ‘‘In complying with sections 603 and 604, an agency 

6 shall provide— 

7 ‘‘(1) a quantifiable or numerical description of 

8 the effects of the proposed or final rule, including an 

9 estimate of the potential for job creation or job loss, 

10 and alternatives to the proposed or final rule; or 

11 ‘‘(2) a more general descriptive statement re12 garding the potential for job creation or job loss and 

13 a detailed statement explaining why quantification 

14 under paragraph (1) is not practicable or reliable.’’. 

15 SEC. 240. ENSURING THAT AGENCIES CONSIDER SMALL EN16 TITY IMPACT DURING THE RULEMAKING 

17 PROCESS. 

18 Section 605(b) of title 5, United States Code, is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(b)’’; and 

21 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(2) If, after publication of the certification required 

23 under paragraph (1), the head of the agency determines 

24 that there will be a significant economic impact on a sub25 stantial number of small entities, the agency shall comply 


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1 with the requirements of section 603 before the publica2 tion of the final rule, by— 

3 ‘‘(A) publishing an initial regulatory flexibility 

4 analysis for public comment; or 

5 ‘‘(B) re-proposing the rule with an initial regu6 latory flexibility analysis. 

7 ‘‘(3) The head of an agency may not make a certifi8 cation relating to a rule under this subsection, unless the 

9 head of the agency has determined— 

10 ‘‘(A) the average cost of the rule for small enti11 ties affected or reasonably presumed to be affected 

12 by the rule; 

13 ‘‘(B) the number of small entities affected or 

14 reasonably presumed to be affected by the rule; and 

15 ‘‘(C) the number of affected small entities for 

16 which that cost will be significant. 

17 ‘‘(4) Before publishing a certification and a state18 ment providing the factual basis for the certification under 

19 paragraph (1), the head of an agency shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) transmit a copy of the certification and 

21 statement to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

22 Small Business Administration; and 

23 ‘‘(B) consult with the Chief Counsel for Advo24 cacy of the Small Business Administration on the 

25 accuracy of the certification and statement.’’. 


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1 SEC. 241. QUALIFICATIONS OF THE CHIEF COUNSEL FOR 

2 ADVOCACY AND AUTHORITY FOR THE OFFICE 

3 OF ADVOCACY. 

4 (a) QUALIFICATIONS OF CHIEF COUNSEL FOR ADVO5 CACY.—Section 201 of Public Law 94–305 (15 U.S.C. 

6 634a) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘The Chief Counsel for Advocacy shall be an attorney with 

8 business experience and expertise in or knowledge of the 

9 regulatory process.’’. 

10 (b) ADDITIONAL POWERS OF OFFICE OF ADVO11 CACY.—Section 203 of Public Law 94–305 (15 U.S.C. 

12 634c) is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

14 end; 

15 (2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at 

16 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

17 (3) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(7) at the discretion of the Chief Counsel for 

20 Advocacy, comment on regulatory action by an agen21 cy that affects small businesses, without regard to 

22 whether the agency is required to file a notice of 

23 proposed rulemaking under section 553 of title 5, 

24 United States Code, with respect to the action.’’. 


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1 SEC. 242. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

2 (a) HEADING.—Section 605 of title 5, United States 

3 Code, is amended in the section heading by striking 

4 ‘‘Avoidance’’ and all that follows and inserting the fol5 lowing: ‘‘Incorporations by reference and cer6 tification.’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections for 

8 chapter 6 of title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

9 (1) by striking the item relating to section 605 

10 and inserting the following: 

‘‘605. Incorporations by reference and certification.’’; 

11 and 

12 (2) by striking the item relating to section 607 

13 and inserting the following: 

‘‘607. Quantification requirements.’’. 

14 Subtitle E—Small Business 

15 Freedom of Commerce Act 

16 SEC. 251. SMALL BUSINESS EXEMPTIONS. 

17 (a) ELECTION.—Notwithstanding any other provision 

18 of law, a small business concern operating in the United 

19 States may elect to be exempt from any Federal rule or 

20 regulation issued on or after January 1, 2008. 

21 (b) PROCESS FOR EXEMPTION.— 

22 (1) NOTIFICATION OF FEDERAL AGENCY.—To 

23 be exempt from a rule or regulation under this sec24 tion, the highest ranking official of a small business 


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1 concern shall provide to the Federal agency that 

2 issued such rule or regulation written notice that the 

3 small business concern has elected to be exempt 

4 from such rule or regulation. 

5 (2) TIMING.—A small business concern shall be 

6 exempt from a rule or regulation beginning on the 

7 date that is 30 days after the date that written no8 tice provided by such concern under paragraph (1), 

9 with respect to such rule or regulation, is received 

10 by the applicable Federal agency. 

11 (3) CONFIRMATION OF WRITTEN NOTICE.—Not 

12 later than 7 days after receiving a written notice 

13 under paragraph (1), the head of the Federal agency 

14 that received such notice shall provide to the appli15 cable small business concern written confirmation 

16 that such notice has been received. 

17 (c) NOTIFICATION OF PUBLIC.—A small business 

18 concern that is exempt from a Federal rule or regulation 

19 under this section shall— 

20 (1) label any product of the concern affected by 

21 such exemption in a manner that provides notice 

22 that the product is no longer subject to such rule or 

23 regulation; and 

24 (2) include in any communication of the con25 cern relating to a product or activity affected by 


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1 such exemption notice that the product or activity is 

2 no longer subject to such rule or regulation. 

3 (d) PENALTIES.—A small business concern that fails 

4 to satisfy any requirement under this section shall be sub5 ject to penalties for noncompliance with an applicable Fed6 eral rule or regulation without regard to any election of 

7 the small business concern to be exempt from such rule 

8 or regulation. 

9 (e) LIMITATIONS.—A small business concern may not 

10 elect to be exempt under this section from a rule or regula11 tion issued by the Department of Defense or the Depart12 ment of Homeland Security, if the Secretary of Defense 

13 or the Secretary of Homeland Security has determined 

14 that such rule or regulation is necessary for the security 

15 of the United States. 

16 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi17 nitions apply: 

18 (1) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal 

19 agency’’ means any department, agency, or inde20 pendent establishment of the Federal Government. 

21 (2) SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN.—The term 

22 ‘‘small business concern’’ has the meaning given 

23 such term in section 3(a) of the Small Business Act 

24 (15 U.S.C. 632(a)). 


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1 TITLE III—AMERICAN ENERGY 

2 PRODUCTION 

3 Subtitle A—End of Presidential 

4 Permatorium on America’s 

5 Outer Continental Shelf Re6 sources 

7 SEC. 301. DEADLINE FOR CERTAIN PERMIT APPLICATIONS 

8 UNDER EXISTING LEASES. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—A lease under which a covered ap10 plication is submitted to the Secretary of the Interior shall 

11 be considered to be in directed suspension during the pe12 riod beginning May 27, 2010, and ending on the date the 

13 Secretary issues a final decision on the application, if the 

14 Secretary does not issue a final decision on the applica15 tion— 

16 (1) before the end of the 30-day period begin17 ning on the date of enactment of this Act, in the 

18 case of a covered application submitted before such 

19 date of enactment; or 

20 (2) before the end of the 30-day period begin21 ning on the date the application is received by the 

22 Secretary, in the case of a covered application sub23 mitted on or after such date of enactment. 

24 (b) COVERED APPLICATION.—In this section the 

25 term ‘‘covered application’’ means an application for a 


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1 permit to drill under an oil and gas lease under the Outer 

2 Continental Shelf Lands Act in effect on the date of enact3 ment of this Act, that— 

4 (1) represents a resubmission of an approved 

5 permit to drill (including an application for a permit 

6 to sidetrack) that was approved by the Secretary be7 fore May 27, 2010; and 

8 (2) is received by the Secretary after October 

9 12, 2010, and before the end of the 30-day period 

10 beginning on the date of enactment of this Act. 

11 CHAPTER 1—OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF 

12 SEC. 311. END MORATORIUM OF OIL AND GAS LEASING IN 

13 CERTAIN AREAS OF THE GULF OF MEXICO. 

14 (a) REPEAL OF MORATORIUM.— 

15 (1) REPEAL.—Subsection (a) of section 104 of 

16 the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (43 

17 U.S.C. 1331 note; Public Law 109–432) is repealed. 

18 (2) NATIONAL DEFENSE AREA.—Section 12(d) 

19 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

20 U.S.C. 1341(d)) is amended— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘(d) The United States’’ 

22 and inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘(d) RESTRICTION OF AREAS FOR NATIONAL DE24 FENSE.— 

25 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The United States’’; and 


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1 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(2) REVIEW.—Annually, the Secretary of De3 fense shall review the areas of the outer Continental 

4 Shelf that have been designated as restricted from 

5 exploration and operation to determine whether the 

6 areas should remain under restriction.’’. 

7 (b) LEASING OF MORATORIUM AREAS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable, but 

9 not later than 1 year, after the date of enactment 

10 of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall offer 

11 for leasing under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 

12 Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.), any areas made avail13 able for leasing as a result of the enactment of sub14 section (a). 

15 (2) LEASING PLAN.—Any areas made available 

16 for leasing under paragraph (1) shall be offered for 

17 lease under this section notwithstanding the omis18 sion of any of these respective areas from the appli19 cable 5-year plan developed by the Secretary pursu20 ant to section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf 

21 Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344). 

22 (c) MILITARY MISSION.—Section 104 of the Gulf of 

23 Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 1331 

24 note; Public Law 109–432) is further amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘(b) MILITARY MISSION

2 LINE.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), the’’ and in3 serting ‘‘(a) MILITARY MISSION.—The’’; 

4 (2) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub5 section (b); 

6 (3) in subsection (b)(1), as so redesignated, by 

7 striking ‘‘paragraph (2) or (3) of subsection (a)’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘paragraph (5)’’; and 

9 (4) in subsection (b), as so redesignated, by 

10 adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(5) AREAS DESCRIBED.—The areas referred to 

12 in paragraph (1) are— 

13 ‘‘(A) any area in the Eastern Planning 

14 Area that is within 125 miles of the coastline 

15 of the State of Florida; and 

16 ‘‘(B) any area in the Central Planning 

17 Area that is— 

18 ‘‘(i) within— 

19 ‘‘(I) the 181 Area; and 

20 ‘‘(II) 100 miles of the coastline 

21 of the State of Florida; or 

22 ‘‘(ii)(I) outside the 181 Area; 

23 ‘‘(II) east of the western edge of 

24 the Pensacola Official Protraction 


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1 Diagram (UTM X coordinate 

2 1,393,920 (NAD 27 feet)); and 

3 ‘‘(III) within 100 miles of the 

4 coastline of the State of Florida.’’. 

5 SEC. 312. OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF DIRECTED LEASE 

6 SALES. 

7 (a) 209 LEASE SALE.—The Secretary of the Interior 

8 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall offer 

9 the Beaufort Sea Program Area for oil and gas leasing 

10 pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

11 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) in 2011 as established in the 2007– 

12 2012 Lease Sale Schedule. 

13 (b) 210 LEASE SALE.—The Secretary shall offer the 

14 Western Gulf of Mexico Program Area for oil and gas leas15 ing pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

16 (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) in 2011 as established in the 

17 2007–2012 Lease Sale Schedule. 

18 (c) 212 LEASE SALE.—The Secretary shall offer the 

19 Chukchi Sea Program Area for oil and gas leasing pursu20 ant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 

21 1331 et seq.) in 2011 as established in the 2007–2012 

22 Lease Sale Schedule. 

23 (d) 213 LEASE SALE.—The Secretary shall offer the 

24 Central Gulf of Mexico Program Area for oil and gas leas25 ing pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 


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1 (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) in 2011 as established in the 

2 2007–2012 Lease Sale Schedule. 

3 (e) 215 LEASE SALE.—The Secretary shall offer the 

4 Western Gulf of Mexico Program Area for oil and gas leas5 ing pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

6 (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) in 2011 as established in the 

7 2007–2012 Lease Sale Schedule. 

8 (f) 216 LEASE SALE.—The Secretary shall offer the 

9 Central Gulf of Mexico Program Area for oil and gas leas10 ing pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

11 (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) in 2011 as established in the 

12 2007–2012 Lease Sale Schedule. 

13 (g) 217 LEASE SALE.—The Secretary shall offer the 

14 Beaufort Sea Program Area for oil and gas leasing pursu15 ant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 

16 1331 et seq.) in 2011 as established in the 2007–2012 

17 Lease Sale Schedule. 

18 (h) 214 LEASE SALE.—The Secretary shall offer the 

19 North Aleutian Basin Program Area for oil and gas leas20 ing pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

21 (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) in 2011 as established in the 

22 2007–2012 Lease Sale Schedule. 

23 (i) 218 LEASE SALE.—The Secretary shall offer the 

24 Western Gulf of Mexico Program Area for oil and gas leas25 ing pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 


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1 (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) in 2011 as established in the 

2 2007–2012 Lease Sale Schedule. 

3 (j) 219 LEASE SALE.—The Secretary shall offer the 

4 Cook Inlet Program Area for oil and gas leasing pursuant 

5 to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 

6 et seq.) in 2011 as established in the 2007–2012 Lease 

7 Sale Schedule. 

8 (k) 220 LEASE SALE.—The Secretary shall offer the 

9 Mid-Atlantic Program Area for oil and gas leasing pursu10 ant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 

11 1331 et seq.) in 2011 as established in the 2007–2012 

12 Lease Sale Schedule. 

13 (l) 221 LEASE SALE.—The Secretary shall offer the 

14 Chukchi Sea Program Area for oil and gas leasing pursu15 ant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 

16 1331 et seq.) in 2012 as established in the 2007–2012 

17 Lease Sale Schedule. 

18 (m) 222 LEASE SALE.—The Secretary shall offer the 

19 Central Gulf of Mexico Program Area for oil and gas leas20 ing pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

21 (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) in 2012 as established in the 

22 2007–2012 Lease Sale Schedule. 

23 SEC. 313. LEASING PROGRAM CONSIDERED APPROVED. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Draft Proposed Outer Conti25 nental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program 2010–2015 


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1 issued by the Secretary of the Interior (referred to in this 

2 section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) under section 18 of the Outer 

3 Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344) is consid4 ered to have been approved by the Secretary as a final 

5 oil and gas leasing program under that section. 

6 (b) FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.— 

7 The Secretary is considered to have issued a final environ8 mental impact statement for the program described in 

9 subsection (a) in accordance with all of the requirements 

10 of sections 18, 19, and 20 of the Outer Continental Shelf 

11 Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344, 1345, and 1346), in accord12 ance with all requirements under section 102(2)(C) of the 

13 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

14 4332(2)(C)), and in accordance with all requirements of 

15 the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 

16 1451 et seq.). 

17 SEC. 314. OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LEASE SALES. 

18 (a) REQUIREMENT TO CONDUCT LEASE SALES.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para20 graph (2), not later than one year after the date of 

21 enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the 

22 Secretary of the Interior (referred to in this section 

23 as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall conduct at a minimum one 

24 lease sale in an Atlantic Planning Area, one lease 

25 sale in the Pacific Planning Area, one lease sale in 


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1 the Alaska Planning Area, and three lease sales in 

2 a Gulf of Mexico Planning Area for which the Sec3 retary determines that there is a commercial interest 

4 in purchasing Federal oil and gas leases for produc5 tion on the outer Continental Shelf. 

6 (2) SUBSEQUENT DETERMINATIONS AND

7 SALES.—If the Secretary determines that there is 

8 not a commercial interest in purchasing Federal oil 

9 and gas leases for production on the outer Conti10 nental Shelf in a planning area under this sub11 section, not later than 2 years after the date of en12 actment of the determination and every 2 years 

13 thereafter, the Secretary shall— 

14 (A) determine whether there is a commer15 cial interest in purchasing Federal oil and gas 

16 leases for production on the outer Continental 

17 Shelf in the planning area; and 

18 (B) if the Secretary determines that there 

19 is a commercial interest described in subpara20 graph (A), conduct a lease sale in the planning 

21 area. 

22 (b) LEASING PLAN.—Any areas made available for 

23 leasing under subsection (a) shall be offered for lease 

24 under this section notwithstanding the omission of any of 

25 these respective areas from the applicable 5-year plan deVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:56 Mar 16, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00085 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2199.IS S2199

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1 veloped by the Secretary pursuant to section 18 of the 

2 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344). 

3 SEC. 315. RESTRICTIONS ON LEASING OF THE OUTER CON4 TINENTAL SHELF. 

5 (a) STATE OPT-OUT.—No lease authorizing a perma6 nent surface energy project for the exploration, develop7 ment, or production of oil or gas may be issued for any 

8 area of the Outer Continental Shelf located within 10 

9 miles of the coastline of a State if the State has notified 

10 the Secretary of the Interior that the State does not want 

11 to participate in such leasing. 

12 (b) EXISTING LEASES NOT AFFECTED.—This sec13 tion shall not affect any lease issued before the date of 

14 enactment of this Act. 

15 SEC. 316. SHARING OF OCS RECEIPTS WITH STATES AND 

16 LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. 

17 Section 9 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

18 (43 U.S.C. 1338) is amended as follows: 

19 (1) By designating the existing text as sub20 section (a). 

21 (2) In subsection (a) (as so designated) by in22 serting ‘‘, if not paid as otherwise provided in this 

23 title’’ after ‘‘receipts’’. 

24 (3) By adding the following: 

25 ‘‘(b) TREATMENT OF OCS RECEIPTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) DEPOSIT.—The Secretary shall deposit 

2 into a separate account in the Treasury the portion 

3 of OCS Receipts for each fiscal year that will be 

4 shared under paragraph (2). 

5 ‘‘(2) IMMEDIATE RECEIPTS SHARING.—Begin6 ning October 1, 2012, the Secretary shall share 50 

7 percent of OCS Receipts derived from all leases, ex8 cept that the Secretary shall only share 25 percent 

9 of such OCS Receipts derived from all such leases 

10 within a State’s Adjacent Zone if leasing is not al11 lowed within at least 25 percent of that State’s Ad12 jacent Zone located completely within 75 miles of 

13 any coastline. 

14 ‘‘(3) ALLOCATIONS.—The Secretary shall allo15 cate the OCS Receipts deposited into the separate 

16 account established by paragraph (1) that are 

17 shared under paragraph (2) as follows: 

18 ‘‘(A) BONUS BIDS.—Deposits derived from 

19 bonus bids from a leased tract, including inter20 est thereon, shall be allocated at the end of 

21 each fiscal year to the Adjacent State. 

22 ‘‘(B) ROYALTIES.—Deposits derived from 

23 royalties and net profit shares from a leased 

24 tract, including interest thereon, shall be allo25 cated at the end of each fiscal year as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(i) Fifty percent to the Adjacent 

2 State. 

3 ‘‘(ii) Fifty percent to all States, in4 cluding the Adjacent State, having a coast5 line point within 300 miles of the leased 

6 tract, divided equally, if such State allows 

7 leasing within at least 25 percent of its 

8 Adjacent Zone within 75 miles of the 

9 coastline. 

10 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION IF NOT ADMITTED TO

11 THE UNION AS A STATE.—Any entity defined as 

12 a ‘State’ under section 2(r), that has not been 

13 admitted to the Union as a State shall only be 

14 entitled to one-half of a State share under this 

15 paragraph. 

16 ‘‘(c) TRANSMISSION OF ALLOCATIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 

18 after the end of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall 

19 transmit— 

20 ‘‘(A) to each State 60 percent of such 

21 State’s allocations under subsections (b)(2), 

22 (b)(3)(A), and (b)(3)(B) (i) and (ii) for the im23 mediate prior fiscal year; and 

24 ‘‘(B) to each coastal county-equivalent and 

25 municipal political subdivisions of such State a 


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1 total of 40 percent of such State’s allocations 

2 under subsections (b)(2), (b)(3)(A), and 

3 (b)(3)(B) (i) and (ii), for the immediate prior 

4 fiscal year, together with all accrued interest 

5 thereon. 

6 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATIONS TO COASTAL COUNTY7 EQUIVALENT POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS.—The Sec8 retary shall make an initial allocation of the OCS 

9 Receipts to be shared under paragraph (1)(B) as fol10 lows: 

11 ‘‘(A) Twenty-five percent shall be allocated 

12 to coastal county-equivalent political subdivi13 sions that are completely more than 25 miles 

14 landward of the coastline and at least a part of 

15 which lies not more than 75 miles landward 

16 from the coastline, with the allocation among 

17 such coastal county-equivalent political subdivi18 sions based on population. 

19 ‘‘(B) Seventy-five percent shall be allocated 

20 to coastal county-equivalent political subdivi21 sions that are completely or partially less than 

22 25 miles landward of the coastline, with the al23 location among such coastal county-equivalent 

24 political subdivisions to be further allocated as 

25 follows: 


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1 ‘‘(i) Twenty-five percent shall be allo2 cated based on the ratio of such coastal 

3 county-equivalent political subdivision’s 

4 population to the coastal population of all 

5 coastal county-equivalent political subdivi6 sions in the State. 

7 ‘‘(ii) Twenty-five percent shall be allo8 cated based on the ratio of such coastal 

9 county-equivalent political subdivision’s 

10 coastline miles to the coastline miles of all 

11 coastal county-equivalent political subdivi12 sions in the State as calculated by the Sec13 retary. In such calculations, coastal coun14 ty-equivalent political subdivisions without 

15 a coastline shall be considered to have 50 

16 percent of the average coastline miles of 

17 the coastal county-equivalent political sub18 divisions that do have coastlines. 

19 ‘‘(iii) Fifty percent shall be allocated 

20 equally to all coastal county-equivalent po21 litical subdivisions having a coastline point 

22 within 300 miles of the leased tract for 

23 which OCS Receipts are being shared. 

24 ‘‘(3) ALLOCATIONS TO COASTAL MUNICIPAL PO25 LITICAL SUBDIVISIONS.—The initial allocation to 


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1 each coastal county-equivalent political subdivision 

2 under paragraph (2) shall be further allocated to the 

3 coastal county-equivalent political subdivision and 

4 any coastal municipal political subdivisions located 

5 partially or wholly within the boundaries of the 

6 coastal county-equivalent political subdivision as fol7 lows: 

8 ‘‘(A) One-third shall be allocated to the 

9 coastal county-equivalent political subdivision. 

10 ‘‘(B) Two-thirds shall be allocated on a per 

11 capita basis to the municipal political subdivi12 sions and the county-equivalent political sub13 division, with the allocation to the latter based 

14 upon its population not included within the 

15 boundaries of a municipal political subdivision. 

16 ‘‘(d) INVESTMENT OF DEPOSITS.—Amounts depos17 ited under this section shall be invested by the Secretary 

18 of the Treasury in securities backed by the full faith and 

19 credit of the United States having maturities suitable to 

20 the needs of the account in which they are deposited and 

21 yielding the highest reasonably available interest rates as 

22 determined by the Secretary of the Treasury. 

23 ‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS.—A recipient of funds under 

24 this section may use the funds for one or more of the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(1) To reduce in-State college tuition at public 

2 institutions of higher learning and otherwise support 

3 public education, including career technical edu4 cation. 

5 ‘‘(2) To make transportation infrastructure im6 provements. 

7 ‘‘(3) To reduce taxes. 

8 ‘‘(4) To promote, fund, and provide for— 

9 ‘‘(A) coastal or environmental restoration; 

10 ‘‘(B) fish, wildlife, and marine life habitat 

11 enhancement; 

12 ‘‘(C) waterways construction and mainte13 nance; 

14 ‘‘(D) levee construction and maintenance 

15 and shore protection; and 

16 ‘‘(E) marine and oceanographic education 

17 and research. 

18 ‘‘(5) To promote, fund, and provide for— 

19 ‘‘(A) infrastructure associated with energy 

20 production activities conducted on the outer 

21 Continental Shelf; 

22 ‘‘(B) energy demonstration projects; 

23 ‘‘(C) supporting infrastructure for shore24 based energy projects; 


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1 ‘‘(D) State geologic programs, including 

2 geologic mapping and data storage programs, 

3 and State geophysical data acquisition; 

4 ‘‘(E) State seismic monitoring programs, 

5 including operation of monitoring stations; 

6 ‘‘(F) development of oil and gas resources 

7 through enhanced recovery techniques; 

8 ‘‘(G) energy efficiency and conservation 

9 programs; and 

10 ‘‘(H) front-end engineering and design for 

11 facilities that produce liquid fuels from hydro12 carbons and other biological matter. 

13 ‘‘(6) To promote, fund, and provide for— 

14 ‘‘(A) historic preservation programs and 

15 projects; 

16 ‘‘(B) natural disaster planning and re17 sponse; and 

18 ‘‘(C) hurricane and natural disaster insur19 ance programs. 

20 ‘‘(7) For any other purpose as determined by 

21 State law. 

22 ‘‘(f) NO ACCOUNTING REQUIRED.—No recipient of 

23 funds under this section shall be required to account to 

24 the Federal Government for the expenditure of such 

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1 ever, States may enact legislation providing for accounting 

2 for and auditing of such expenditures. Further, funds allo3 cated under this section to States and political subdivi4 sions may be used as matching funds for other Federal 

5 programs. 

6 ‘‘(g) EFFECT OF FUTURE LAWS.—Enactment of any 

7 future Federal statute that has the effect, as determined 

8 by the Secretary, of restricting any Federal agency from 

9 spending appropriated funds, or otherwise preventing it 

10 from fulfilling its pre-existing responsibilities as of the 

11 date of enactment of the statute, unless such responsibil12 ities have been reassigned to another Federal agency by 

13 the statute with no prevention of performance, to issue 

14 any permit or other approval impacting on the OCS oil 

15 and gas leasing program, or any lease issued thereunder, 

16 or to implement any provision of this Act shall automati17 cally prohibit any sharing of OCS Receipts under this sec18 tion directly with the States, and their coastal political 

19 subdivisions, for the duration of the restriction. The Sec20 retary shall make the determination of the existence of 

21 such restricting effects within 30 days of a petition by any 

22 outer Continental Shelf lessee or producing State. 

23 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

24 ‘‘(1) COASTAL COUNTY-EQUIVALENT POLITICAL

25 SUBDIVISION.—The term ‘coastal county-equivalent 


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1 political subdivision’ means a political jurisdiction 

2 immediately below the level of State government, in3 cluding a county, parish, borough in Alaska, inde4 pendent municipality not part of a county, parish, or 

5 borough in Alaska, or other equivalent subdivision of 

6 a coastal State, that lies within the coastal zone. 

7 ‘‘(2) COASTAL MUNICIPAL POLITICAL SUBDIVI8 SION.—The term ‘coastal municipal political subdivi9 sion’ means a municipality located within and part 

10 of a county, parish, borough in Alaska, or other 

11 equivalent subdivision of a State, all or part of which 

12 coastal municipal political subdivision lies within the 

13 coastal zone. 

14 ‘‘(3) COASTAL POPULATION.—The term ‘coastal 

15 population’ means the population of all coastal coun16 ty-equivalent political subdivisions, as determined by 

17 the most recent official data of the Census Bureau. 

18 ‘‘(4) COASTAL ZONE.—The term ‘coastal zone’ 

19 means that portion of a coastal State, including the 

20 entire territory of any coastal county-equivalent po21 litical subdivision at least a part of which lies, within 

22 75 miles landward from the coastline, or a greater 

23 distance as determined by State law enacted to im24 plement this section. 


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1 ‘‘(5) BONUS BIDS.—The term ‘bonus bids’ 

2 means all funds received by the Secretary to issue 

3 an outer Continental Shelf minerals lease. 

4 ‘‘(6) ROYALTIES.—The term ‘royalties’ means 

5 all funds received by the Secretary from production 

6 of oil or natural gas, or the sale of production taken 

7 in-kind, or from net profit shares, from an outer 

8 Continental Shelf minerals lease. 

9 ‘‘(7) PRODUCING STATE.—The term ‘producing 

10 State’ means an Adjacent State having an Adjacent 

11 Zone containing leased tracts from which OCS Re12 ceipts were derived. 

13 ‘‘(8) OCS RECEIPTS.—The term ‘OCS Receipts’ 

14 means bonus bids and royalties, excluding royalties 

15 from leases amended under the authority of section 

16 8(s) of this Act.’’. 

17 CHAPTER 2—ARCTIC COASTAL PLAIN 

18 SEC. 321. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this chapter: 

20 (1) COASTAL PLAIN.—The term ‘‘Coastal 

21 Plain’’ means that area identified as the ‘‘1002 

22 Coastal Plain Area’’ on the map. 

23 (2) FEDERAL AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘Fed24 eral Agreement’’ means the Federal Agreement and 

25 Grant Right-of-Way for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline 


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1 issued on January 23, 1974, in accordance with sec2 tion 28 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 185) 

3 and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act 

4 (43 U.S.C. 1651 et seq.). 

5 (3) FINAL STATEMENT.—The term ‘‘Final 

6 Statement’’ means the final legislative environmental 

7 impact statement on the Coastal Plain, dated April 

8 1987, and prepared pursuant to section 1002 of the 

9 Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act 

10 (16 U.S.C. 3142) and section 102(2)(C) of the Na11 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

12 4332(2)(C)). 

13 (4) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map en14 titled ‘‘Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’’, dated Sep15 tember 2005, and prepared by the United States Ge16 ological Survey. 

17 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

18 the Secretary of the Interior (or the designee of the 

19 Secretary), acting through the Director of the Bu20 reau of Land Management, in consultation with the 

21 Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 

22 Service. 


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1 SEC. 322. LEASING PROGRAM FOR LAND WITHIN THE 

2 COASTAL PLAIN. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall take such ac4 tions as are necessary— 

5 (1) to establish and implement, in accordance 

6 with this chapter, a competitive oil and gas leasing 

7 program that will result in an environmentally sound 

8 program for the exploration, development, and pro9 duction of the oil and gas resources of the Coastal 

10 Plain; and 

11 (2) to administer this chapter through regula12 tions, lease terms, conditions, restrictions, prohibi13 tions, stipulations, and other provisions that require 

14 the application of the best commercially available 

15 technology for oil and gas exploration, development, 

16 and production to all exploration, development, and 

17 production operations under this chapter in a man18 ner that ensures the receipt of fair market value by 

19 the public for the mineral resources to be leased. 

20 (b) REPEAL.— 

21 (1) REPEAL.—Section 1003 of the Alaska Na22 tional Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (16 

23 U.S.C. 3143) is repealed. 

24 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of 

25 contents contained in section 1 of that Act (16 


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1 U.S.C. 3101 note) is amended by striking the item 

2 relating to section 1003. 

3 (3) COMPLIANCE WITH NEPA FOR OTHER AC4 TIONS.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Before conducting the 

6 first lease sale under this chapter, the Secretary 

7 shall prepare an environmental impact state8 ment in accordance with the National Environ9 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

10 seq.) with respect to the actions authorized by 

11 this chapter that are not referred to in para12 graph (2). 

13 (B) IDENTIFICATION AND ANALYSIS.— 

14 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in 

15 carrying out this paragraph, the Secretary shall 

16 not be required— 

17 (i) to identify nonleasing alternative 

18 courses of action; or 

19 (ii) to analyze the environmental ef20 fects of those courses of action. 

21 (C) IDENTIFICATION OF PREFERRED AC22 TION.—Not later than 18 months after the date 

23 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall— 

24 (i) identify only a preferred action and 

25 a single leasing alternative for the first 


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1 lease sale authorized under this chapter; 

2 and 

3 (ii) analyze the environmental effects 

4 and potential mitigation measures for 

5 those 2 alternatives. 

6 (D) PUBLIC COMMENTS.—In carrying out 

7 this paragraph, the Secretary shall consider 

8 only public comments that are filed not later 

9 than 20 days after the date of publication of a 

10 draft environmental impact statement. 

11 (E) EFFECT OF COMPLIANCE.—Notwith12 standing any other provision of law, compliance 

13 with this paragraph shall be considered to sat14 isfy all requirements for the analysis and con15 sideration of the environmental effects of pro16 posed leasing under this chapter. 

17 (c) RELATIONSHIP TO STATE AND LOCAL AUTHOR18 ITY.—Nothing in this chapter expands or limits any State 

19 or local regulatory authority. 

20 (d) SPECIAL AREAS.— 

21 (1) DESIGNATION.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, after 

23 consultation with the State of Alaska, the 

24 North Slope Borough, Alaska, and the City of 

25 Kaktovik, Alaska, may designate not more than 


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1 45,000 acres of the Coastal Plain as a special 

2 area if the Secretary determines that the special 

3 area would be of such unique character and in4 terest as to require special management and 

5 regulatory protection. 

6 (B) SADLEROCHIT SPRING AREA.—The 

7 Secretary shall designate as a special area in 

8 accordance with subparagraph (A) the 

9 Sadlerochit Spring area, comprising approxi10 mately 4,000 acres as depicted on the map. 

11 (2) MANAGEMENT.—The Secretary shall man12 age each special area designated under this sub13 section in a manner that preserves the unique and 

14 diverse character of the area, including fish, wildlife, 

15 subsistence resources, and cultural values of the 

16 area. 

17 (3) EXCLUSION FROM LEASING OR SURFACE

18 OCCUPANCY.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may ex20 clude any special area designated under this 

21 subsection from leasing. 

22 (B) NO SURFACE OCCUPANCY.—If the Sec23 retary leases all or a portion of a special area 

24 for the purposes of oil and gas exploration, de25 velopment, production, and related activities, 


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1 there shall be no surface occupancy of the land 

2 comprising the special area. 

3 (4) DIRECTIONAL DRILLING.—Notwithstanding 

4 any other provision of this subsection, the Secretary 

5 may lease all or a portion of a special area under 

6 terms that permit the use of horizontal drilling tech7 nology from sites on leases located outside the spe8 cial area. 

9 (e) LIMITATION ON CLOSED AREAS.—The Secretary 

10 may not close land within the Coastal Plain to oil and gas 

11 leasing or to exploration, development, or production ex12 cept in accordance with this chapter. 

13 (f) REGULATIONS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 months 

15 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec16 retary shall promulgate such regulations as are nec17 essary to carry out this chapter, including rules and 

18 regulations relating to protection of the fish and 

19 wildlife, fish and wildlife habitat, subsistence re20 sources, and environment of the Coastal Plain. 

21 (2) REVISION OF REGULATIONS.—The Sec22 retary shall periodically review and, as appropriate, 

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1 ronmental, scientific or engineering data that come 

2 to the attention of the Secretary. 

3 SEC. 323. LEASE SALES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Land may be leased pursuant to 

5 this chapter to any person qualified to obtain a lease for 

6 deposits of oil and gas under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 

7 U.S.C. 181 et seq.). 

8 (b) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall, by regula9 tion, establish procedures for— 

10 (1) receipt and consideration of sealed nomina11 tions for any area in the Coastal Plain for inclusion 

12 in, or exclusion (as provided in subsection (c)) from, 

13 a lease sale; 

14 (2) the holding of lease sales after that nomina15 tion process; and 

16 (3) public notice of and comment on designa17 tion of areas to be included in, or excluded from, a 

18 lease sale. 

19 (c) LEASE SALE BIDS.—Bidding for leases under 

20 this chapter shall be by sealed competitive cash bonus 

21 bids. 

22 (d) ACREAGE MINIMUM IN FIRST SALE.—For the 

23 first lease sale under this chapter, the Secretary shall offer 

24 for lease those tracts the Secretary considers to have the 

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1 ing into consideration nominations received pursuant to 

2 subsection (b)(1), but in no case less than 200,000 acres. 

3 (e) TIMING OF LEASE SALES.—The Secretary 

4 shall— 

5 (1) not later than 22 months after the date of 

6 enactment of this Act, conduct the first lease sale 

7 under this chapter; 

8 (2) not later than 90 days after the date of the 

9 completion of the sale, evaluate the bids in the sale 

10 and issue leases resulting from the sale; and 

11 (3) conduct additional sales at appropriate in12 tervals if sufficient interest in exploration or devel13 opment exists to warrant the conduct of the addi14 tional sales. 

15 SEC. 324. GRANT OF LEASES BY THE SECRETARY. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—On payment by a lessee of such 

17 bonus as may be accepted by the Secretary, the Secretary 

18 may grant to the highest responsible qualified bidder in 

19 a lease sale conducted pursuant to section 323 a lease for 

20 any land on the Coastal Plain. 

21 (b) SUBSEQUENT TRANSFERS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—No lease issued under this 

23 chapter may be sold, exchanged, assigned, sublet, or 

24 otherwise transferred except with the approval of the 

25 Secretary. 


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1 (2) CONDITION FOR APPROVAL.—Before grant2 ing any approval described in paragraph (1), the 

3 Secretary shall consult with and give due consider4 ation to the opinion of the Attorney General. 

5 SEC. 325. LEASE TERMS AND CONDITIONS. 

6 An oil or gas lease issued pursuant to this chapter 

7 shall— 

8 (1) provide for the payment of a royalty of not 

less than 121 9 ⁄2 percent of the amount or value of the 

10 production removed or sold from the lease, as deter11 mined by the Secretary in accordance with regula12 tions applicable to other Federal oil and gas leases; 

13 (2) require that each lessee of land within the 

14 Coastal Plain shall be fully responsible and liable for 

15 the reclamation of land within the Coastal Plain and 

16 any other Federal land that is adversely affected in 

17 connection with exploration, development, produc18 tion, or transportation activities within the Coastal 

19 Plain conducted by the lessee or by any of the sub20 contractors or agents of the lessee; 

21 (3) provide that the lessee may not delegate or 

22 convey, by contract or otherwise, that reclamation 

23 responsibility and liability to another person without 

24 the express written approval of the Secretary; 


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1 (4) provide that the standard of reclamation for 

2 land required to be reclaimed under this chapter 

3 shall be, to the maximum extent practicable— 

4 (A) a condition capable of supporting the 

5 uses that the land was capable of supporting 

6 prior to any exploration, development, or pro7 duction activities; or 

8 (B) on application by the lessee, to a high9 er or better standard, as approved by the Sec10 retary; 

11 (5) contain terms and conditions relating to 

12 protection of fish and wildlife, fish and wildlife habi13 tat, subsistence resources, and the environment as 

14 required under section 322(a)(2); 

15 (6) provide that each lessee, and each agent 

16 and contractor of a lessee, use their best efforts to 

17 provide a fair share of employment and contracting 

18 for Alaska Natives and Alaska Native Corporations 

19 from throughout the State of Alaska, as determined 

20 by the level of obligation previously agreed to in the 

21 Federal Agreement; and 

22 (7) contain such other provisions as the Sec23 retary determines to be necessary to ensure compli24 ance with this chapter and the regulations promul25 gated under this chapter. 


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1 SEC. 326. EXPEDITED JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

2 (a) FILING OF COMPLAINTS.— 

3 (1) DEADLINE.—A complaint seeking judicial 

4 review of a provision of this chapter or an action of 

5 the Secretary under this chapter shall be filed— 

6 (A) except as provided in subparagraph 

7 (B), during the 90-day period beginning on the 

8 date on which the action being challenged was 

9 carried out; or 

10 (B) in the case of a complaint based solely 

11 on grounds arising after the 90-day period de12 scribed in subparagraph (A), by not later than 

13 90 days after the date on which the complain14 ant knew or reasonably should have known 

15 about the grounds for the complaint. 

16 (2) VENUE.—A complaint seeking judicial re17 view of a provision of this chapter or an action of 

18 the Secretary under this chapter shall be filed in the 

19 United States District Court for the District of Co20 lumbia. 

21 (3) SCOPE.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Judicial review of a de23 cision of the Secretary relating to a lease sale 

24 under this chapter (including an environmental 

25 analysis of such a lease sale) shall be— 


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1 (i) limited to a review of whether the 

2 decision is in accordance with this chapter; 

3 and 

4 (ii) based on the administrative record 

5 of the decision. 

6 (B) PRESUMPTIONS.—Any identification 

7 by the Secretary of a preferred course of action 

8 relating to a lease sale, and any analysis by the 

9 Secretary of environmental effects, under this 

10 chapter shall be presumed to be correct unless 

11 proven otherwise by clear and convincing evi12 dence. 

13 (b) LIMITATION ON OTHER REVIEW.—Any action of 

14 the Secretary that is subject to judicial review under this 

15 section shall not be subject to judicial review in any civil 

16 or criminal proceeding for enforcement. 

17 (c) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PROVISIONS.—Sub18 chapter B of chapter 2 shall not affect the application of 

19 this section. 

20 SEC. 327. RIGHTS-OF-WAY ACROSS THE COASTAL PLAIN. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall issue rights22 of-way and easements across the Coastal Plain for the 

23 transportation of oil and gas— 

24 (1) except as provided in paragraph (2), under 

25 section 28 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 


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1 185), without regard to title XI of the Alaska Na2 tional Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 

3 3161 et seq.); and 

4 (2) under title XI of the Alaska National Inter5 est Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3161 et 

6 seq.), for access authorized by sections 1110 and 

7 1111 of that Act (16 U.S.C. 3170, 3171). 

8 (b) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall include in 

9 regulations under section 322(f) provisions granting 

10 rights-of-way and easements described in subsection (a). 

11 SEC. 328. CONVEYANCE. 

12 Notwithstanding section 1302(h)(2) of the Alaska 

13 National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 

14 3192(h)(2)), to remove any cloud on title to land, and to 

15 clarify land ownership patterns in the Coastal Plain, the 

16 Secretary shall— 

17 (1) to the extent necessary to fulfill the entitle18 ment of the Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation under sec19 tions 12 and 14 of the Alaska Native Claims Settle20 ment Act (43 U.S.C. 1611, 1613), as determined by 

21 the Secretary, convey to that Corporation the sur22 face estate of the land described in paragraph (1) of 

23 Public Land Order 6959, in accordance with the 

24 terms and conditions of the agreement between the 

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1 ice, the Bureau of Land Management, and the 

2 Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation, dated January 22, 

3 1993; and 

4 (2) convey to the Arctic Slope Regional Cor5 poration the remaining subsurface estate to which 

6 that Corporation is entitled under the agreement be7 tween that corporation and the United States, dated 

8 August 9, 1983. 

9 Subtitle B—Revocation of Energy10 Restricting BLM Lockup 

11 SEC. 331. REVOCATION OF SECRETARIAL ORDER NO. 3310. 

12 Secretarial Order No. 3310, dated December 22, 

13 2010, relating to protecting wilderness characteristics on 

14 lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management is 

15 hereby revoked. 

16 CHAPTER 1—EXPEDITED SHALE LEASING 

17 OF FEDERAL LANDS 

18 SEC. 341. OPENING OF LANDS TO OIL SHALE LEASING. 

19 (a) REPEAL OF LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS.— 

20 Section 433 of division F of the Consolidated Appropria21 tions Act, 2008 (Public Law 110–161; 121 Stat. 2152) 

22 is repealed. 

23 (b) ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of 

24 the Interior shall issue all regulations necessary to imple25 ment section 369 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public 


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1 Law 109–58; 42 U.S.C. 15927) with respect to oil shale 

2 by not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment 

3 of this Act. Such regulations shall include such safeguards 

4 and assurances as the Secretary considers necessary to 

5 allow States to exercise their regulatory and statutory au6 thorities under State law, consistent with otherwise appli7 cable Federal law. 

8 (c) LEASING OF OIL SHALE RESOURCE.—Imme9 diately after issuing regulations under subsection (b), the 

10 Secretary of the Interior shall— 

11 (1) offer for leasing for research and develop12 ment of oil shale resources under subsection (c) of 

13 section 369 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Pub14 lic Law 109–58; 42 U.S.C. 15927), additional 160- 

15 acre tracts of lands the Secretary considers nec16 essary to fulfill the research and development objec17 tives of such Act; and 

18 (2) offer for leasing for commercial exploration, 

19 development, and production of oil shale resources 

20 under subsection (e) of such section, public lands in 

21 States for which the Secretary finds sufficient sup22 port and interest as required by that subsection. 


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1 CHAPTER 2—JUDICIAL REVIEW 

2 REGARDING ENERGY PROJECTS 

3 SEC. 351. EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OVER CAUSES AND 

4 CLAIMS RELATING TO COVERED ENERGY 

5 PROJECTS. 

6 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 

7 United States District Court for the District of Columbia 

8 shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear all causes and 

9 claims under this subtitle or any other provision of law 

10 that arise from any covered energy project. 

11 SEC. 352. TIME FOR FILING COMPLAINT. 

12 All causes and claims referred to in section 351 must 

13 be filed not later than the end of the 60-day period begin14 ning on the date of the action or decision by a Federal 

15 official that constitutes the covered energy project con16 cerned. Any cause or claim not filed within that time pe17 riod shall be barred. 

18 SEC. 353. DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUM19 BIA DEADLINE. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—All proceedings that are subject 

21 to section 351— 

22 (1) shall be resolved as expeditiously as pos23 sible, and in any event not more than 180 days after 

24 such cause or claim is filed; and 


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1 (2) shall take precedence over all other pending 

2 matters before the district court. 

3 (b) FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH DEADLINE.—If an 

4 interlocutory or final judgment, decree, or order has not 

5 been issued by the district court by the deadline described 

6 under this section, the cause or claim shall be dismissed 

7 with prejudice and all rights relating to such cause or 

8 claim shall be terminated. 

9 SEC. 354. ABILITY TO SEEK APPELLATE REVIEW. 

10 An interlocutory or final judgment, decree, or order 

11 of the district court in a proceeding that is subject to sec12 tion 351 may be reviewed by no other court except the 

13 Supreme Court. 

14 SEC. 355. DEADLINE FOR APPEAL TO THE SUPREME 

15 COURT. 

16 If a writ of certiorari has been granted by the Su17 preme Court pursuant to section 354, then— 

18 (1) the interlocutory or final judgment, decree, 

19 or order of the district court shall be resolved as ex20 peditiously as possible and in any event not more 

21 than 180 days after such interlocutory or final judg22 ment, decree, order of the district court is issued; 

23 and 


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1 (2) all such proceedings shall take precedence 

2 over all other matters then before the Supreme 

3 Court. 

4 SEC. 356. COVERED ENERGY PROJECT DEFINED. 

5 In this chapter, the term ‘‘covered energy project’’ 

6 means any action or decision by the President or a Federal 

7 official regarding— 

8 (1) the leasing of Federal lands (including sub9 merged lands) for the exploration, development, pro10 duction, processing, or transmission of oil, natural 

11 gas, or any other source or form of energy, including 

12 actions and decisions regarding the selection or of13 fering of Federal lands for such leasing; or 

14 (2) any action under such a lease. 

15 SEC. 357. LIMITATION ON APPLICATION. 

16 This chapter shall not apply with respect to a covered 

17 energy project to the extent such application would be in18 consistent with chapter 3. 

19 CHAPTER 3—PERMITTING REFORM 

20 SEC. 361. PURPOSES. 

21 The purposes of this chapter are to— 

22 (1) respond to the Nation’s increased need for 

23 domestic energy resources; 

24 (2) facilitate interagency coordination and co25 operation in the processing of permits required to 


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1 support oil and gas use authorization on Federal 

2 lands, both onshore and on the Outer Continental 

3 Shelf, in order to achieve greater consistency, cer4 tainty, and timeliness in permit processing require5 ments; 

6 (3) promote process streamlining and increased 

7 interagency efficiency, including elimination of inter8 agency duplication of effort; 

9 (4) improve information sharing among agen10 cies and understanding of respective agency roles 

11 and responsibilities; 

12 (5) promote coordination with State agencies 

13 with expertise and responsibilities related to Federal 

14 oil and gas permitting decisions; 

15 (6) promote responsible stewardship of Federal 

16 oil and gas resources; 

17 (7) maintain high standards of safety and envi18 ronmental protection; and 

19 (8) enhance the benefits to Federal permitting 

20 already occurring as a result of a coordinated and 

21 timely interagency process for oil and gas permit re22 view for certain Federal oil and gas leases. 


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1 SEC. 362. FEDERAL COORDINATOR. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established, as an 

3 independent agency in the Executive Branch, the Office 

4 of the Federal Oil and Gas Permit Coordinator. 

5 (b) FEDERAL PERMIT COORDINATOR.—The Office 

6 shall be headed by a Federal Permit Coordinator, who 

7 shall be appointed by the President within 90 days after 

8 the date of enactment of this Act. 

9 (c) DUTIES.—The Federal Permit Coordinator shall 

10 be responsible for the following: 

11 (1) Coordinating the timely completion of all 

12 permitting activities by Federal agencies, and State 

13 agencies to the maximum extent practicable, with re14 spect to any oil and gas project under a Federal 

15 lease issued pursuant to the mineral leasing laws, ei16 ther onshore or on the Outer Continental Shelf. For 

17 purposes of this chapter only, such oil and gas 

18 projects shall include oil shale projects under Fed19 eral oil shale leases. 

20 (2) Ensuring the compliance of Federal agen21 cies, and State agencies to the extent they partici22 pate, with this chapter. 

23 SEC. 363. REGIONAL OFFICES AND REGIONAL PERMIT CO24 ORDINATORS. 

25 (a) REGIONAL OFFICES.—Within 90 days after the 

26 date of appointment of the Federal Permit Coordinator, 


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1 the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary), in consultation 

2 with the Federal Permit Coordinator, shall establish re3 gional offices to coordinate review of Federal permits for 

4 oil and gas projects on Federal lands onshore and on the 

5 Outer Continental Shelf. 

6 (b) NUMBER AND LOCATION OF REGIONAL OF7 FICES.—The number of regional offices shall be estab8 lished by the Secretary in consultation with the Federal 

9 Permit Coordinator. The Secretary shall ensure that there 

10 is an adequate number of offices in each region proximate 

11 to available Federal oil and gas lease tracts onshore and 

12 on the Outer Continental Shelf to meet the demands for 

13 expeditious permitting in that region. The Secretary shall 

14 designate as regional offices under this section all offices 

15 established under section 365 of the Energy Policy Act 

16 of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15924). 

17 (c) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—Within 90 

18 days after the appointment of the Federal Permit Coordi19 nator, the Federal Permit Coordinator, the Secretary, the 

20 Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the 

21 Secretary of Homeland Security, the Administrator of the 

22 Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of De23 fense, and the head of any other Federal agency with re24 sponsibilities related to permitting of Federal oil and gas 

25 leases, shall enter into a memorandum of understanding 


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1 (MOU) establishing respective duties and responsibilities 

2 for staffing the regional offices and accomplishing the ob3 jectives of this section. 

4 (d) DESIGNATION OF QUALIFIED STAFF.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

6 the date of signing of the MOU under subsection 

7 (c), all Federal signatory agencies shall assign to 

8 each regional office the appropriate employees with 

9 expertise in the oil and gas permitting issues relat10 ing to that office, including, but not limited, with re11 spect to— 

12 (A) consultation and preparation of bio13 logical opinions under section 7 of the Endan14 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536); 

15 (B) permits under section 404 of Federal 

16 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344); 

17 (C) regulatory matters under the Clean Air 

18 Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.); 

19 (D) planning under the National Forest 

20 Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a et 

21 seq.); 

22 (E) the preparation of analyses under the 

23 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

24 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) (NEPA); 


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1 (F) applications for permits to drill under 

2 the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et 

3 seq.); and 

4 (G) exploration plans and development and 

5 production plans under the Outer Continental 

6 Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.). 

7 (2) PREFERENCE AND INCENTIVES.—To the 

8 maximum extent practicable, for purposes of this 

9 subsection, Federal agencies shall give preference to 

10 employees volunteering for reassignment to the re11 gional offices, and shall offer incentives to attract 

12 and retain regional office employees, including, but 

13 not limited to, retaining contract employees, rota14 tional assignments, salary incentives of up to 120 

15 percent of an employee’s existing salary immediately 

16 prior to reassignment, or any combination of strate17 gies. 

18 (e) DUTIES.—Each employee assigned under sub19 section (d) shall— 

20 (1) within 90 days after the date of assignment, 

21 report to the regional office to which the employee 

22 is assigned; 

23 (2) be responsible for all issues relating to the 

24 jurisdiction of the home office or agency of the em25 ployee; and 


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1 (3) participate as part of the team working on 

2 proposed oil and gas projects, planning, and environ3 mental analyses. 

4 (f) CREATION OF AND DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY

5 TO REGIONAL PERMIT COORDINATORS.—The Federal 

6 Permit Coordinator shall appoint a Regional Permit Coor7 dinator to be located within each regional office estab8 lished under this section, with full authority to act on be9 half of the Federal Permit Coordinator. 

10 (g) ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—The Federal Permit 

11 Coordinator or Regional Permit Coordinators may at any 

12 time direct that any Federal agency party to the MOU 

13 under subsection (c) assign additional staff required to im14 plement the duties of the regional offices. 

15 SEC. 364. REVIEWS AND ACTIONS OF FEDERAL AGENCIES. 

16 (a) SCHEDULES FOR TIMELY PERMIT DECISION17 MAKING.—Within 10 days after the date on which the Sec18 retary receives any oil and gas permit application or 

19 amended application, the Secretary shall either notify the 

20 applicant that the application is complete or notify the ap21 plicant that information is missing and specify the infor22 mation that is required to be submitted for the application 

23 to be complete. Within 30 days after notifying a permit 

24 applicant that an application is complete, the Secretary, 

25 in consultation with the permit applicant as necessary, 


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1 shall determine and inform the Regional Permit Coordi2 nator responsible for that project area whether the pro3 posed permit is a class I, class II, or class III permit. The 

4 Regional Permit Coordinator shall as soon as possible but 

5 in no event later than 30 days following the Secretary’s 

6 determination establish a binding schedule to ensure the 

7 most expeditious possible review and processing of the re8 quested permit, in accordance with this section. 

9 (b) PERMIT CLASSES AND SCHEDULES.— 

10 (1) CLASS I PERMITS.—An oil and gas permit 

11 shall be designated as a class I permit under this 

12 section if the permitted activity is of a nature that 

13 would typically require preparation of an environ14 mental impact statement under NEPA to inform the 

15 permitting decision. For such permits, the Regional 

16 Permit Coordinator shall establish a schedule for 

17 timely completion of all permit reviews and proc18 essing, not to exceed 30 months. The Regional Per19 mit Coordinator shall make the schedule publicly 

20 available within 10 days after the schedule is estab21 lished. 

22 (2) CLASS II PERMITS.—An oil and gas permit 

23 shall be designated as a class II permit under this 

24 section if the permitted activity is of a nature that 

25 would typically be found not to significantly affect 


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1 the quality of the human environment under NEPA. 

2 For such permits, the Regional Permit Coordinator 

3 shall establish the most expeditious schedule possible 

4 for completion of all permit reviews and processing, 

5 not to exceed 90 days. The Regional Permit Coordi6 nator may grant a one-time extension of that sched7 ule, not to exceed 60 days, upon a good cause show8 ing that additional time is necessary to complete 

9 permit decisions. Not later than 15 days after estab10 lishing or extending any schedule for a class II per11 mit, the Regional Permit Coordinator shall provide 

12 the permit applicant with the schedule. 

13 (3) CLASS III PERMITS.—Notwithstanding para14 graphs (1) and (2), an oil and gas permit shall be 

15 designated as a class III permit under this section 

16 if the permitted activity either qualifies for a statu17 tory or regulatory categorical exclusion under NEPA 

18 or if the requirements under NEPA and other appli19 cable law for the permit have been completed within 

20 30 days after the date of a complete application. For 

21 such permits, the permit shall be issued within 30 

22 days after the date of a complete application. 

23 (4) RECLASSIFICATION OF CLASS II PERMIT.— 

24 If prior to the expiration of the established schedule 

25 for a class II permit newly discovered information 


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1 indicates that the class II permit will significantly 

2 affect the quality of the human environment, the 

3 Secretary may, in consultation with the permit appli4 cant, reclassify the permit as a class I permit under 

5 paragraph (1), and the Regional Coordinator shall 

6 establish an amended schedule that complies with 

7 the provisions of that paragraph. 

8 (c) REPORTING.—The Regional Permit Coordinators 

9 shall include data on all schedule timing and compliance 

10 in their reports to the Federal Permit Coordinator re11 quired under subsection (i), who shall include such data 

12 in the report to the President and Congress required 

13 under subsection (i). 

14 (d) DISPUTE RESOLUTION.—The Regional Permit 

15 Coordinator shall resolve all administrative issues that af16 fect oil and gas permit reviews. The Regional Permit Coor17 dinator shall report jointly to the Federal Permit Coordi18 nator and to the head of the relevant action agency, or 

19 his or her designee, for resolution of any issue regarding 

20 an oil and gas permit that may result in missing the 

21 schedule deadlines established pursuant to subsection (b). 

22 The Regional Permit Coordinators shall include data re23 garding the incidence and resolution of disputes under this 

24 subsection in their reports to the Federal Permit Coordi25 nator required under subsection (i), who shall include such 


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1 reported data and develop recommendations in the report 

2 to the President and Congress required under subsection 

3 (i). 

4 (e) REMEDIES.—An applicant for a class I permit 

5 may bring a cause of action to seek expedited mandamus 

6 review, if a Regional Permit Coordinator or the Secretary 

7 fails to— 

8 (1) establish a schedule in accordance with sub9 section (b); 

10 (2) enforce and ensure completion of reviews 

11 within schedule deadlines; or 

12 (3) take all actions as are necessary and proper 

13 to avoid jeopardizing the timely completion of the 

14 entire schedule. 

15 If an agency fails to complete its review of and issue a 

16 decision upon a permit within the schedule established by 

17 the Court, that permit shall be deemed granted to the ap18 plicant. 

19 (f) PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN TERMS AND CONDI20 TIONS.—No Federal agency may include in any permit, 

21 right-of-way, or other authorization issued for an oil and 

22 gas project subject to the provisions of this chapter, any 

23 term or condition that may be authorized, but is not re24 quired, by the provisions of any applicable law, if the Fed25 eral Permit Coordinator determines that such term or conVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:56 Mar 16, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00124 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2199.IS S2199

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1 dition would prevent or impair in any significant respect 

2 completion of a permit review within the time schedule es3 tablished pursuant to subsection (b) or would otherwise 

4 impair in any significant respect expeditious oil and gas 

5 development. The Federal Permit Coordinator shall not 

6 have any authority to impose any terms, conditions, or re7 quirements beyond those imposed by any Federal law, 

8 agency, regulation, or lease term. 

9 (g) CONSOLIDATED RECORD.—The Federal Permit 

10 Coordinator, acting through the appropriate Regional Per11 mit Coordinator, with the cooperation of Federal and 

12 State administrative officials and agencies, shall maintain 

13 a complete, consolidated record of all decisions made or 

14 actions taken by the Federal Permit Coordinator or Re15 gional Permit Coordinator or by any Federal agency with 

16 respect to any oil and gas permit. 

17 (h) RELATIONSHIP TO NEPA AND ENERGY POLICY

18 ACT OF 2005.— 

19 (1) Section 390(a) of the Energy Policy Act of 

20 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15942(a)) is amended— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘rebuttable presumption 

22 that the use of a’’; and 

23 (B) by striking ‘‘would apply’’. 

24 (2) Section 17(p) of the Mineral Leasing Act 

25 (30 U.S.C. 226(p)) is repealed. 


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1 (i) ADDITIONAL POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

2 (1) REGIONAL PERMIT COORDINATOR RE3 PORTS.—The Regional Permit Coordinators shall 

4 each submit a report to the Federal Permit Coordi5 nator by December 31 of each year that documents 

6 each office’s performance in meeting the objectives 

7 under this chapter, including recommendations to 

8 further streamline the permitting process. 

9 (2) REDIRECTION OF PRIORITIES OR RE10 SOURCES.—In order to expedite overall permitting 

11 activity, the Federal Permit Coordinator may redi12 rect the priority of regional office activities or the al13 location of resources among such offices, and shall 

14 engage the agencies that are parties to the MOU to 

15 the extent such adjustments implicate their respec16 tive staffs or resources. 

17 (3) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Beginning three 

18 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

19 Federal Permit Coordinator shall prepare and sub20 mit a report to the President and Congress by April 

21 15 of each year that outlines the results achieved 

22 under this chapter and makes recommendations to 

23 the President and Congress for further improve24 ments in processing oil and gas permits on Federal 

25 lands. 


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1 SEC. 365. STATE COORDINATION. 

2 The Governor of any State wherein an oil and gas 

3 operation may require a Federal permit, or the coastline 

4 of which is in immediate geographic proximity to oil and 

5 gas operations on the Outer Continental Shelf, may be a 

6 signatory to the MOU for purposes of fulfilling any State 

7 responsibilities with respect to Federal oil and gas permit8 ting decisions. The Regional Permit Coordinators shall fa9 cilitate and coordinate concurrent State reviews of re10 quested permits for oil and gas projects on the Outer Con11 tinental Shelf. 

12 SEC. 366. SAVINGS PROVISION. 

13 Except as expressly stated, nothing in this chapter 

14 affects— 

15 (1) the applicability of any Federal or State 

16 law; or 

17 (2) any delegation of authority made by the 

18 head of a Federal agency the employees of which are 

19 participating in the implementation of this section. 

20 SEC. 367. ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

21 (a) ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.—Any oil and gas per22 mitting decision for Federal lands onshore or on the Outer 

23 Continental Shelf that was issued in accordance with the 

24 procedures established by this chapter shall not be subject 

25 to further administrative review within the respective Fed26 eral agency responsible for that decision, and shall be the 


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1 final decision of that agency for purposes of judicial re2 view. 

3 (b) EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OVER PERMIT DECI4 SIONS.—Only the United States District Court for the 

5 District of Columbia shall have original jurisdiction over 

6 any civil action for the review of such a permit decision. 

7 (c) LIMITATIONS ON CLAIMS.—Notwithstanding any 

8 other provision of law, any action arising under Federal 

9 law seeking judicial review of a permit, license, or approval 

10 issued by a Federal agency for an oil and gas permit sub11 ject to this chapter shall be barred unless it is filed within 

12 90 days of the date of the decision. Nothing in this chapter 

13 shall create a right to judicial review or places any limit 

14 on filing a claim that a person has violated the terms of 

15 a permit, license, or approval. 

16 (d) FILING OF RECORD.—When any civil action is 

17 brought pursuant to this chapter, the Federal Permit Co18 ordinator shall immediately prepare for the court a con19 solidated record. 

20 (e) EXPEDITED REVIEW.—Any action for judicial re21 view challenging a decision approved pursuant to this sec22 tion shall be set for consideration by not later than 90 

23 days after the date the action is filed. 

24 (f) EXPEDITED MANDAMUS REVIEW.—Notwith25 standing subsection (e), within 30 days after the filing of 


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1 an action challenging or seeking to enforce an established 

2 permit review schedule for a class I permit, the court shall 

3 issue a decision either compelling permit issuance or sanc4 tioning the delay and establishing a new schedule that en5 ables the most expeditious possible completion of pro6 ceedings. In rendering its decision, the court shall review 

7 whether the agencies subject to the schedule have been 

8 acting in good faith, whether the permit applicant has 

9 been cooperating fully with the agencies that are respon10 sible for issuing the requested permits, and any other rel11 evant matters. The court may issue orders to enforce any 

12 schedule it establishes under this subsection. 

13 (g) NO PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—This chapter 

14 shall not be construed to create any additional right, ben15 efit, or trust responsibility, substantive or procedural, en16 forceable at law or equity, by a person against the United 

17 States, its agencies, its officers, or any person. 

18 (h) FINALITY OF LEASING DECISIONS.—Notwith19 standing the provisions of any law or regulation to the 

20 contrary, a decision by the Bureau of Land Management 

21 or the Minerals Management Service to issue a Final No22 tice of Sale and proceed with an oil and gas lease sale 

23 pursuant to any mineral leasing law shall not be subject 

24 to further administrative review within the Department of 


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1 the Interior, and shall be the final decision of the agency 

2 for purposes of judicial review. 

3 SEC. 368. AMENDMENTS TO PUBLICATION PROCESS. 

4 Section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

5 (43 U.S.C. 1344) is amended— 

6 (1) by amending subsection (c)(2) to read as 

7 follows: 

8 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall publish a proposed 

9 leasing program in the Federal Register, and shall 

10 submit a copy of such proposed program to the Gov11 ernor of each affected State, for review and com12 ment. The Governor may solicit comments from 

13 those executives of local governments in his State 

14 which he, in his discretion, determines will be af15 fected by the proposed program.’’; 

16 (2) by striking subsection (c)(3); and 

17 (3) in subsection (d)(2) by inserting ‘‘final’’ 

18 after ‘‘proposed’’. 

19 SEC. 369. REPEAL OF FEE FOR PERMITS TO DRILL. 

20 Public Law 110–161 is amended under the heading 

21 ‘‘BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT—MANAGEMENT OF

22 LANDS AND RESOURCES’’ (121 Stat. 2098) by striking ‘‘to 

23 be reduced by amounts collected by the Bureau and cred24 ited to this appropriation that shall be derived from 

25 $4,000 per new application for permit to drill that the BuVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:56 Mar 16, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00130 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2199.IS S2199

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1 reau shall collect upon submission of each new applica2 tion,’’. 

3 SEC. 370. ALASKA OFFSHORE CONTINENTAL SHELF CO4 ORDINATION OFFICE. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the Interior 

6 shall establish and maintain, in coordination with the 

7 Mayor of the North Slope Borough of Alaska, a separate 

8 office to be known as the Alaska Offshore Continental 

9 Shelf Coordination Office. 

10 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the office shall be 

11 to— 

12 (1) coordinate the leasing of the Outer Conti13 nental Shelf off the coast of Alaska; 

14 (2) advise persons awarded such leases on local 

15 conditions and the history of areas affected by devel16 opment of the oil and gas resources of the Outer 

17 Continental Shelf off the coast of Alaska; 

18 (3) provide to the Committee on Natural Re19 sources of the House of Representatives and the 

20 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

21 Senate annual reports on the status of the coordina22 tion between such and communities affected by such 

23 development; 

24 (4) collect from residents of the North Slope of 

25 Alaska information regarding the impacts of such 


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1 development on marine wildlife, coastal habitats, ma2 rine and coastal subsistence resources, and the ma3 rine and coastal environment of Alaska’s North 

4 Slope region; and 

5 (5) ensure that the information collected under 

6 paragraph (3) is submitted to— 

7 (A) developers of such resources; and 

8 (B) any appropriate Federal agency. 

9 Subtitle C—Relief From Regula10 tions and Prohibitions That 

11 Cause Artificial Price Increases 

12 CHAPTER 1—RELIEF FROM EPA CLIMATE 

13 CHANGE REGULATIONS AND FEDERAL 

14 PROHIBITIONS ON SYNTHETIC FUELS 

15 SEC. 371. REPEAL OF EPA CLIMATE CHANGE REGULATION. 

16 (a) GREENHOUSE GAS REGULATION UNDER CLEAN

17 AIR ACT.—Section 302(g) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 

18 7602(g)) is amended by adding the following at the end 

19 thereof: ‘‘The term ‘air pollutant’ shall not include carbon 

20 dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluoro21 carbons, perfluorocarbons, or sulfur hexafluoride.’’. 

22 (b) NO REGULATION OF CLIMATE CHANGE.—Noth23 ing in the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), the 

24 Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et 

25 seq.), the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 


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1 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

2 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), or the Solid Waste Disposal Act 

3 (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.), shall be treated as authorizing 

4 or requiring the regulation of climate change or global 

5 warming. 

6 SEC. 372. REPEAL OF FEDERAL BAN ON SYNTHETIC FUELS 

7 PURCHASING REQUIREMENT. 

8 Section 526 of the Energy Independence and Security 

9 Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17142) is repealed. 

10 CHAPTER 2—REFINERY REFORM 

11 SEC. 381. REFINERY PERMITTING PROCESS. 

12 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis14 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ15 mental Protection Agency. 

16 (2) EXPANSION.—The term ‘‘expansion’’ means 

17 a physical change that results in an increase in the 

18 capacity of a refinery. 

19 (3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

20 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

21 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

22 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 

23 (4) PERMIT.—The term ‘‘permit’’ means any 

24 permit, license, approval, variance, or other form of 

25 authorization that a refiner is required to obtain— 


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1 (A) under any Federal law; or 

2 (B) from a State or Indian tribal govern3 ment agency delegated authority by the Federal 

4 Government, or authorized under Federal law, 

5 to issue permits. 

6 (5) REFINER.—The term ‘‘refiner’’ means a 

7 person that— 

8 (A) owns or operates a refinery; or 

9 (B) seeks to become an owner or operator 

10 of a refinery. 

11 (6) REFINERY.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘refinery’’ 

13 means— 

14 (i) a facility at which crude oil is re15 fined into transportation fuel or other pe16 troleum products; and 

17 (ii) a coal liquification or coal-to-liquid 

18 facility at which coal is processed into syn19 thetic crude oil or any other fuel. 

20 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘refinery’’ in21 cludes an expansion of a refinery. 

22 (7) REFINERY PERMITTING AGREEMENT.—The 

23 term ‘‘refinery permitting agreement’’ means an 

24 agreement entered into between the Administrator 

25 and a State or Indian tribe under subsection (b). 


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1 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of Commerce. 

3 (9) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 

4 (A) a State; 

5 (B) the District of Columbia; 

6 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

7 and 

8 (D) any other territory or possession of the 

9 United States. 

10 (b) STREAMLINING OF REFINERY PERMITTING

11 PROCESS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—At the request of the Gov13 ernor of a State or the governing body of an Indian 

14 tribe, the Administrator shall enter into a refinery 

15 permitting agreement with the State or Indian tribe 

16 under which the process for obtaining all permits 

17 necessary for the construction and operation of a re18 finery shall be streamlined using a systematic inter19 disciplinary multimedia approach as provided in this 

20 section. 

21 (2) AUTHORITY OF ADMINISTRATOR.—Under a 

22 refinery permitting agreement the Administrator 

23 shall have authority, as applicable and necessary, 

24 to— 


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1 (A) accept from a refiner a consolidated 

2 application for all permits that the refiner is re3 quired to obtain to construct and operate a re4 finery; 

5 (B) in consultation and cooperation with 

6 each Federal, State, or Indian tribal govern7 ment agency that is required to make any de8 termination to authorize the issuance of a per9 mit, establish a schedule under which each 

10 agency shall— 

11 (i) concurrently consider, to the max12 imum extent practicable, each determina13 tion to be made; and 

14 (ii) complete each step in the permit15 ting process; and 

16 (C) issue a consolidated permit that com17 bines all permits issued under the schedule es18 tablished under subparagraph (B). 

19 (3) AGREEMENT BY THE STATE.—Under a re20 finery permitting agreement, a State or governing 

21 body of an Indian tribe shall agree that— 

22 (A) the Administrator shall have each of 

23 the authorities described in paragraph (2); and 

24 (B) each State or Indian tribal government 

25 agency shall— 


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1 (i) in accordance with State law, make 

2 such structural and operational changes in 

3 the agencies as are necessary to enable the 

4 agencies to carry out consolidated project5 wide permit reviews concurrently and in 

6 coordination with the Environmental Pro7 tection Agency and other Federal agencies; 

8 and 

9 (ii) comply, to the maximum extent 

10 practicable, with the applicable schedule 

11 established under paragraph (2)(B). 

12 (4) DEADLINES.— 

13 (A) NEW REFINERIES.—In the case of a 

14 consolidated permit for the construction of a 

15 new refinery, the Administrator and the State 

16 or governing body of an Indian tribe shall ap17 prove or disapprove the consolidated permit not 

18 later than— 

19 (i) 360 days after the date of the re20 ceipt of the administratively complete ap21 plication for the consolidated permit; or 

22 (ii) on agreement of the applicant, the 

23 Administrator, and the State or governing 

24 body of the Indian tribe, 90 days after the 


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1 expiration of the deadline established 

2 under clause (i). 

3 (B) EXPANSION OF EXISTING REFIN4 ERIES.—In the case of a consolidated permit 

5 for the expansion of an existing refinery, the 

6 Administrator and the State or governing body 

7 of an Indian tribe shall approve or disapprove 

8 the consolidated permit not later than— 

9 (i) 120 days after the date of the re10 ceipt of the administratively complete ap11 plication for the consolidated permit; or 

12 (ii) on agreement of the applicant, the 

13 Administrator, and the State or governing 

14 body of the Indian tribe, 30 days after the 

15 expiration of the deadline established 

16 under clause (i). 

17 (5) FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Each Federal agency 

18 that is required to make any determination to au19 thorize the issuance of a permit shall comply with 

20 the applicable schedule established under paragraph 

21 (2)(B). 

22 (6) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Any civil action for re23 view of any permit determination under a refinery 

24 permitting agreement shall be brought exclusively in 

25 the United States district court for the district in 


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1 which the refinery is located or proposed to be lo2 cated. 

3 (7) EFFICIENT PERMIT REVIEW.—In order to 

4 reduce the duplication of procedures, the Adminis5 trator shall use State permitting and monitoring 

6 procedures to satisfy substantially equivalent Fed7 eral requirements under this chapter. 

8 (8) SEVERABILITY.—If 1 or more permits that 

9 are required for the construction or operation of a 

10 refinery are not approved on or before any deadline 

11 established under paragraph (4), the Administrator 

12 may issue a consolidated permit that combines all 

13 other permits that the refiner is required to obtain 

14 other than any permits that are not approved. 

15 (9) SAVINGS.—Nothing in this subsection af16 fects the operation or implementation of otherwise 

17 applicable law regarding permits necessary for the 

18 construction and operation of a refinery. 

19 (10) CONSULTATION WITH LOCAL GOVERN20 MENTS.—Congress encourages the Administrator, 

21 States, and tribal governments to consult, to the 

22 maximum extent practicable, with local governments 

23 in carrying out this subsection. 

24 (11) EFFECT ON LOCAL AUTHORITY.—Nothing 

25 in this subsection affects— 


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1 (A) the authority of a local government 

2 with respect to the issuance of permits; or 

3 (B) any requirement or ordinance of a 

4 local government (such as a zoning regulation). 

5 (c) FISCHER-TROPSCH FUELS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—In cooperation with the Sec7 retary of Energy, the Secretary of Defense, the Ad8 ministrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, 

9 Secretary of Health and Human Services, and 

10 Fischer-Tropsch industry representatives, the Ad11 ministrator shall— 

12 (A) conduct a research and demonstration 

13 program to evaluate the air quality benefits of 

14 ultra-clean Fischer-Tropsch transportation fuel, 

15 including diesel and jet fuel; 

16 (B) evaluate the use of ultra-clean Fischer17 Tropsch transportation fuel as a mechanism for 

18 reducing engine exhaust emissions; and 

19 (C) submit recommendations to Congress 

20 on the most effective use and associated bene21 fits of these ultra-clean fuel for reducing public 

22 exposure to exhaust emissions. 

23 (2) GUIDANCE AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT.—The 

24 Administrator shall, to the extent necessary, issue 

25 any guidance or technical support documents that 


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1 would facilitate the effective use and associated ben2 efit of Fischer-Tropsch fuel and blends. 

3 (3) REQUIREMENTS.—The program described 

4 in paragraph (1) shall consider— 

5 (A) the use of neat (100 percent) Fischer6 Tropsch fuel and blends with conventional 

7 crude oil-derived fuel for heavy-duty and light8 duty diesel engines and the aviation sector; and 

9 (B) the production costs associated with 

10 domestic production of those ultra-clean fuel 

11 and prices for consumers. 

12 (4) REPORTS.—The Administrator shall submit 

13 to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

14 and the Committee on Energy and Natural Re15 sources of the Senate and the Committee on Energy 

16 and Commerce of the House of Representatives— 

17 (A) not later than 1 year after the date of 

18 enactment of this Act, an interim report on ac19 tions taken to carry out this subsection; and 

20 (B) not later than 2 years after the date 

21 of enactment of this Act, a final report on ac22 tions taken to carry out this subsection. 


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1 SEC. 382. EXISTING REFINERY PERMIT APPLICATION DEAD2 LINE. 

3 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, applica4 tions for a permit for existing refinery applications shall 

5 not be considered to be timely if submitted after 120 days 

6 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

7 Subtitle D—Extension of Certain 

8 Outer Continental Shelf Leases 

9 SEC. 391. EXTENSION OF CERTAIN OUTER CONTINENTAL 

10 SHELF LEASES. 

11 (a) DEFINITION OF COVERED LEASE.—In this sec12 tion, the term ‘‘covered lease’’ means each oil and gas 

13 lease for the Gulf of Mexico outer Continental Shelf region 

14 issued under section 8 of the Outer Continental Shelf 

15 Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337) that was— 

16 (1) not producing as of April 30, 2010; or 

17 (2) suspended from operations, permit proc18 essing, or consideration, in accordance with the mor19 atorium set forth in the Minerals Management Serv20 ice Notice to Lessees and Operators No. 2010–N04, 

21 dated May 30, 2010, or the decision memorandum 

22 of the Secretary of the Interior entitled ‘‘Decision 

23 memorandum regarding the suspension of certain 

24 offshore permitting and drilling activities on the 

25 Outer Continental Shelf’’ and dated July 12, 2010. 


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1 (b) EXTENSION OF COVERED LEASES.—The Sec2 retary of the Interior shall extend the term of a covered 

3 lease by 1 year. 

4 (c) EFFECT ON SUSPENSIONS OF OPERATIONS OR

5 PRODUCTION.—The extension of covered leases under this 

6 section is in addition to any suspension of operations or 

7 suspension of production granted by the Minerals Manage8 ment Service or Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, 

9 Regulation and Enforcement after May 1, 2010. 

10 Subtitle E—Approval of Keystone 

11 XL Pipeline Project 

12 SEC. 395. APPROVAL OF KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE PROJECT. 

13 (a) APPROVAL OF CROSS-BORDER FACILITIES.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with section 8 

15 of article 1 of the Constitution (delegating to Con16 gress the power to regulate commerce with foreign 

17 nations), TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. is 

18 authorized to construct, connect, operate, and main19 tain pipeline facilities, subject to subsection (c), for 

20 the import of crude oil and other hydrocarbons at 

21 the United States-Canada Border at Phillips Coun22 ty, Montana, in accordance with the application filed 

23 with the Department of State on September 19, 

24 2008 (as supplemented and amended). 


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1 (2) PERMIT.—Notwithstanding any other provi2 sion of law, no permit pursuant to Executive Order 

3 13337 (3 U.S.C. 301 note) or any other similar Ex4 ecutive Order regulating construction, connection, 

5 operation, or maintenance of facilities at the borders 

6 of the United States, and no additional environ7 mental impact statement, shall be required for 

8 TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. to construct, 

9 connect, operate, and maintain the facilities de10 scribed in paragraph (1). 

11 (b) CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF KEYSTONE

12 XL PIPELINE IN UNITED STATES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The final environmental im14 pact statement issued by the Department of State 

15 on August 26, 2011, shall be considered to satisfy 

16 all requirements of the National Environmental Pol17 icy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and any 

18 other provision of law that requires Federal agency 

19 consultation or review with respect to the cross-bor20 der facilities described in subsection (a)(1) and the 

21 related facilities in the United States described in 

22 the application filed with the Department of State 

23 on September 19, 2008 (as supplemented and 

24 amended). 


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1 (2) PERMITS.—Any Federal permit or author2 ization issued before the date of enactment of this 

3 Act for the cross-border facilities described in sub4 section (a)(1), and the related facilities in the 

5 United States described in the application filed with 

6 the Department of State on September 19, 2008 (as 

7 supplemented and amended), shall remain in effect. 

8 (c) CONDITIONS.—In constructing, connecting, oper9 ating, and maintaining the cross-border facilities described 

10 in subsection (a)(1) and related facilities in the United 

11 States described in the application filed with the Depart12 ment of State on September 19, 2008 (as supplemented 

13 and amended), TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. shall 

14 comply with the following conditions: 

15 (1) TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. shall 

16 comply with all applicable Federal and State laws 

17 (including regulations) and all applicable industrial 

18 codes regarding the construction, connection, oper19 ation, and maintenance of the facilities. 

20 (2) Except as provided in subsection (a)(2), 

21 TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. shall comply 

22 with all requisite permits from Canadian authorities 

23 and applicable Federal, State, and local government 

24 agencies in the United States. 


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1 (3) TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. shall 

2 take all appropriate measures to prevent or mitigate 

3 any adverse environmental impact or disruption of 

4 historic properties in connection with the construc5 tion, connection, operation, and maintenance of the 

6 facilities. 

7 (4) The construction, connection, operation, and 

8 maintenance of the facilities shall be— 

9 (A) in all material respects, similar to that 

10 described in— 

11 (i) the application filed with the De12 partment of State on September 19, 2008 

13 (as supplemented and amended); and 

14 (ii) the final environmental impact 

15 statement described in subsection (b)(1); 

16 and 

17 (B) carried out in accordance with— 

18 (i) the construction, mitigation, and 

19 reclamation measures agreed to for the 

20 project in the construction mitigation and 

21 reclamation plan contained in appendix B 

22 of the final environmental impact state23 ment described in subsection (b)(1); 

24 (ii) the special conditions agreed to 

25 between the owners and operators of the 


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1 project and the Administrator of the Pipe2 line and Hazardous Materials Safety Ad3 ministration of the Department of Trans4 portation, as contained in appendix U of 

5 the final environmental impact statement; 

6 (iii) the measures identified in appen7 dix H of the final environmental impact 

8 statement, if the modified route submitted 

9 by the State of Nebraska to the Secretary 

10 of State crosses the Sand Hills region; and 

11 (iv) the stipulations identified in ap12 pendix S of the final environmental impact 

13 statement. 

14 (d) ROUTE IN NEBRASKA.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any route and construction, 

16 mitigation, and reclamation measures for the project 

17 in the State of Nebraska that is identified by the 

18 State of Nebraska and submitted to the Secretary of 

19 State under this section is considered sufficient for 

20 the purposes of this section. 

21 (2) PROHIBITION.—Construction of the facili22 ties in the United States described in the application 

23 filed with the Department of State on September 19, 

24 2008 (as supplemented and amended), shall not 

25 commence in the State of Nebraska until the date 


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1 on which the Secretary of State receives a route for 

2 the project in the State of Nebraska that is identi3 fied by the State of Nebraska. 

4 (3) RECEIPT.—On the date of receipt of the 

5 route described in paragraph (1) by the Secretary of 

6 State, the route for the project within the State of 

7 Nebraska under this section shall supersede the 

8 route for the project in the State specified in the ap9 plication filed with the Department of State on Sep10 tember 19, 2008 (including supplements and amend11 ments). 

12 (4) COOPERATION.—Not later than 30 days 

13 after the date on which the State of Nebraska sub14 mits a request to the Secretary of State or any ap15 propriate Federal official, the Secretary of State or 

16 Federal official shall provide assistance that is con17 sistent with the law of the State of Nebraska. 

18 (e) ADMINISTRATION.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any action taken to carry 

20 out this section (including the modification of any 

21 route under subsection (d)) shall not constitute a 

22 major Federal action under the National Environ23 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 


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1 (2) STATE SITING AUTHORITY.—Nothing in 

2 this section alters any provision of State law relating 

3 to the siting of pipelines. 

4 (3) PRIVATE PROPERTY.—Nothing in this sec5 tion alters any Federal, State, or local process or 

6 condition in effect on the date of enactment of this 

7 Act that is necessary to secure access from an owner 

8 of private property to construct the project. 

9 (f) FEDERAL JUDICIAL REVIEW.—The cross-border 

10 facilities described in subsection (a)(1), and the related fa11 cilities in the United States described in the application 

12 filed with the Department of State on September 19, 2008 

13 (as supplemented and amended), that are approved by this 

14 section, and any permit, right-of-way, or other action 

15 taken to construct or complete the project pursuant to 

16 Federal law, shall only be subject to judicial review on di17 rect appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the 

18 District of Columbia Circuit. 

Æ 


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