II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1794 

To establish a Strategic Gasoline and Fuel Reserve. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2005 

Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Mr. OBAMA) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources 

A BILL 

To establish a Strategic Gasoline and Fuel Reserve. 

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 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Strategic Gasoline and 

5 Fuel Reserve Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. STRATEGIC GASOLINE AND FUEL RESERVE. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Energy Policy and 

8 Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.) is amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating part E (42 U.S.C. 6251 et 

10 seq.) as part F; 
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1 (2) by redesignating section 191 (42 U.S.C. 

2 6251) as section 199; and 

3 (3) by inserting after part D (42 U.S.C. 6250 

4 et seq.) the following: 

5 ‘‘PART E—STRATEGIC GASOLINE AND FUEL 

6 RESERVE 

7 ‘‘SEC. 191. DEFINITIONS. 

8 ‘‘In this part: 

9 ‘‘(1) GASOLINE.—The term ‘gasoline’ means 

10 regular unleaded gasoline. 

11 ‘‘(2) RESERVE.—The term ‘Reserve’ means the 

12 Strategic Gasoline and Fuel Reserve established 

13 under section 192(a). 

14 ‘‘SEC. 192. ESTABLISHMENT. 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro16 vision of this Act, the Secretary shall establish, maintain, 

17 and operate a Strategic Gasoline and Fuel Reserve. 

18 ‘‘(b) NOT COMPONENT OF STRATEGIC PETROLEUM

19 RESERVE.—The Reserve is not a component of the Stra20 tegic Petroleum Reserve established under part B. 

21 ‘‘(c) CAPACITY.—The Reserve shall contain not more 

22 than— 

23 ‘‘(1) 40,000,000 barrels of gasoline; and 

24 ‘‘(2) 7,500,000 barrels of jet fuel. 

25 ‘‘(d) RESERVE SITES.— 
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1 ‘‘(1) SITING.—Not later than 1 year after the 

2 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

3 determine not less than 3 Reserve sites, and not 

4 more than 5 Reserve sites, throughout the United 

5 States that are regionally strategic. 

6 ‘‘(2) OPERATION.—The Reserve sites described 

7 in paragraph (1) shall be operational not later than 

8 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 

9 ‘‘(e) SECURITY.—In establishing the Reserve under 

10 this section, the Secretary shall obtain the concurrence of 

11 the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to phys12 ical design security and operational security. 

13 ‘‘(f) AUTHORITY.—In carrying out this part, the Sec14 retary may— 

15 ‘‘(1) purchase, contract for, lease, or otherwise 

16 acquire, in whole or in part, storage and related fa17 cilities and storage services; 

18 ‘‘(2) use, lease, maintain, sell, or otherwise dis19 pose of storage and related facilities acquired under 

20 this part; 

21 ‘‘(3) acquire by purchase, exchange, lease, or 

22 other means gasoline and fuel for storage in the Re23 serve; 

24 ‘‘(4) store gasoline and fuel in facilities not 

25 owned by the United States; and 
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1 ‘‘(5) sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of gas2 oline and fuel from the Reserve, including to main3 tain— 

4 ‘‘(A) the quality or quantity of the gasoline 

5 or fuel in the Reserve; or 

6 ‘‘(B) the operational capacity of the Re7 serve. 

8 ‘‘(g) FILL DATE.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para10 graph (2), the Secretary shall complete the process 

11 of filling the Reserve under this section by March 1, 

12 2008. 

13 ‘‘(2) EXTENSIONS.—The President may extend 

14 the deadline established under paragraph (1) if— 

15 ‘‘(A) the President determines that filling 

16 the Reserve within that deadline would cause an 

17 undue economic burden on the United States; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(B) the President receives approval from 

20 Congress. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 193. RELEASE OF GASOLINE AND FUEL. 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall release gaso23 line or fuel from the Reserve only if— 

24 ‘‘(1) the President finds that there is a severe 

25 fuel supply disruption by finding that— 
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1 ‘‘(A) a regional or national supply shortage 

2 of gasoline or fuel of significant scope and du3 ration has occurred; 

4 ‘‘(B) a substantial increase in the price of 

5 gasoline or fuel has resulted from the shortage; 

6 ‘‘(C) the price increase is likely to cause a 

7 significant adverse impact on the national econ8 omy; and 

9 ‘‘(D) releasing gasoline or fuel from the 

10 Reserve would assist directly and significantly 

11 in reducing the adverse impact of the shortage; 

12 or 

13 ‘‘(2)(A) the Governor of a State submits to the 

14 Secretary a written request for a release from the 

15 Reserve that contains a finding that— 

16 ‘‘(i) a regional or statewide supply short17 age of gasoline or fuel of significant scope and 

18 duration has occurred; 

19 ‘‘(ii) a substantial increase in the price of 

20 gasoline or fuel has resulted from the shortage; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(iii) the price increase is likely to cause a 

23 significant adverse impact on the economy of 

24 the State; and 
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1 ‘‘(B) the Secretary concurs with the findings of 

2 the Governor under subparagraph (A) and deter3 mines that— 

4 ‘‘(i) a release from the Reserve would miti5 gate gasoline or fuel price volatility in the 

6 State; 

7 ‘‘(ii) a release from the Reserve would not 

8 have an adverse effect on the long-term eco9 nomic viability of retail gasoline or fuel markets 

10 in the State and adjacent States; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) a release from the Reserve would not 

12 suppress prices below long-term market trend 

13 levels. 

14 ‘‘(b) PROCEDURE.— 

15 ‘‘(1) RESPONSE OF SECRETARY.—The Sec16 retary shall respond to a request submitted under 

17 subsection (a)(2) not later than 5 days after receipt 

18 of the request by— 

19 ‘‘(A) approving the request; 

20 ‘‘(B) denying the request; or 

21 ‘‘(C) requesting additional supporting in22 formation. 

23 ‘‘(2) RELEASE.—The Secretary shall establish 

24 procedures governing the release of gasoline or fuel 

25 from the Reserve in accordance with this subsection. 
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1 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this para3 graph, the term ‘eligible entity’ means an entity 

4 that is customarily engaged in the sale or dis5 tribution of gasoline or fuel. 

6 ‘‘(B) SALE OR DISPOSAL FROM RE7 SERVE.—The procedures established under this 

8 subsection shall provide that the Secretary 

9 may— 

10 ‘‘(i) sell gasoline or fuel from the Re11 serve to an eligible entity through a com12 petitive process; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) enter into an exchange agree14 ment with an eligible entity under which 

15 the Secretary receives a greater volume of 

16 gasoline or fuel as repayment from the eli17 gible entity than the volume provided to 

18 the eligible entity. 

19 ‘‘(c) CONTINUING EVALUATION.—The Secretary 

20 shall conduct a continuing evaluation of the drawdown and 

21 sales procedures established under this section. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 194. REPORTS. 

23 ‘‘(a) GASOLINE AND FUEL.—Not later than 45 days 

24 after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary 
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1 shall submit to Congress and the President a plan describ2 ing— 

3 ‘‘(1) the acquisition of storage and related fa4 cilities or storage services for the Reserve, including 

5 the use of storage facilities not currently in use or 

6 not currently used to capacity; 

7 ‘‘(2) the acquisition of gasoline and fuel for 

8 storage in the Reserve; 

9 ‘‘(3) the anticipated methods of disposition of 

10 gasoline and fuel from the Reserve; 

11 ‘‘(4) the estimated costs of establishment, main12 tenance, and operation of the Reserve; 

13 ‘‘(5) efforts that the Department will take to 

14 minimize any potential need for future drawdowns 

15 from the Reserve; and 

16 ‘‘(6) actions to ensure the quality of the gaso17 line and fuel in the Reserve are maintained. 

18 ‘‘(b) NATURAL GAS AND DIESEL.—Not later than 90 

19 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec20 retary shall submit to Congress a report describing the 

21 feasibility of creating a natural gas and diesel reserve 

22 similar to the Reserve under this part. 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 195. STRATEGIC GASOLINE AND FUEL RESERVE 

2 FUND. 

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

4 Treasury of the United States a revolving fund, to be 

5 known as the ‘Strategic Gasoline and Fuel Reserve Fund’ 

6 (referred to in this section as the ‘Fund’), consisting of— 

7 ‘‘(1) such amounts as are appropriated to the 

8 Fund under subsection (b); 

9 ‘‘(2) such amounts as are appropriated to the 

10 Fund under section 196; and 

11 ‘‘(3) any interest earned on investment of 

12 amounts in the Fund under subsection (d). 

13 ‘‘(b) TRANSFERS TO FUND.—There are appropriated 

14 to the Fund amounts equivalent to amounts collected as 

15 receipts and received in the Treasury from the sale, ex16 change, or other disposition of gasoline or fuel from the 

17 Reserve. 

18 ‘‘(c) EXPENDITURES FROM FUND.—On request by 

19 the Secretary and without the need for further appropria20 tion, the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer from the 

21 Fund to the Secretary such amounts as the Secretary de22 termines are necessary to carry out activities under this 

23 part, to remain available until expended. 

24 ‘‘(d) INVESTMENT OF AMOUNTS.— 

25 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the 

26 Treasury shall invest such portion of the Fund as is 
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1 not, in the judgment of the Secretary of the Treas2 ury, required to meet current withdrawals. 

3 ‘‘(2) INTEREST-BEARING OBLIGATIONS.—In4 vestments may be made only in interest-bearing obli5 gations of the United States. 

6 ‘‘(3) ACQUISITION OF OBLIGATIONS.—For the 

7 purpose of investments under paragraph (1), obliga8 tions may be acquired— 

9 ‘‘(A) on original issue at the issue price; or 

10 ‘‘(B) by purchase of outstanding obliga11 tions at the market price. 

12 ‘‘(4) SALE OF OBLIGATIONS.—Any obligation 

13 acquired by the Fund may be sold by the Secretary 

14 of the Treasury at the market price. 

15 ‘‘(5) CREDITS TO FUND.—The interest on, and 

16 the proceeds from the sale or redemption of, any ob17 ligations held in the Fund shall be credited to and 

18 form a part of the Fund. 

19 ‘‘(e) TRANSFERS OF AMOUNTS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amounts required to 

21 be transferred to the Fund under this section shall 

22 be transferred at least monthly from the general 

23 fund of the Treasury to the Fund on the basis of es24 timates made by the Secretary of the Treasury. 
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1 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENTS.—Proper adjustment shall 

2 be made in amounts subsequently transferred to the 

3 extent prior estimates were in excess of or less than 

4 the amounts required to be transferred. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 196. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

6 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

7 as are necessary to carry out this part, to remain available 

8 until expended.’’. 

9 SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

10 The table of contents for title I of the Energy Policy 

11 and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6201 note) is amended 

12 by striking the matter relating to part D and inserting 

13 the following: 

‘‘PART D—NORTHEAST HOME HEATING OIL RESERVE

‘‘Sec. 181. Establishment. 

‘‘Sec. 182. Authority. 

‘‘Sec. 183. Conditions for release; plan. 

‘‘Sec. 184. Northeast home heating oil reserve account. 

‘‘Sec. 185. Exemptions. 

‘‘Sec. 186. Authorization of appropriations. 

‘‘PART E—STRATEGIC GASOLINE AND FUEL RESERVE

‘‘Sec. 191. Definitions. 

‘‘Sec. 192. Establishment. 

‘‘Sec. 193. Release of gasoline and fuel. 

‘‘Sec. 194. Reports. 

‘‘Sec. 195. Strategic Gasoline and Fuel Reserve Fund. 

‘‘Sec. 196. Authorization of appropriations. 

‘‘PART F—EXPIRATION

‘‘Sec. 199. Expiration.’’. 

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