I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1784 

To prohibit drilling in the Arctic Ocean. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 29, 2017 

Mr. HUFFMAN (for himself, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Mr. BEYER, Mr. BLUMENAUER, 

Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. 

DESAULNIER, Mr. ELLISON, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. KHANNA, 

Mr. LANGEVIN, Ms. LEE, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Ms. LOFGREN, 

Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. NADLER, Ms. 

NORTON, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. PETERS, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. 

POCAN, Mr. POLIS, Mr. QUIGLEY, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCHIFF, Ms. 

SPEIER, Mr. TONKO, Ms. TSONGAS, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, and Mr. WELCH) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To prohibit drilling in the Arctic Ocean. 

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 ‘‘Stop Arctic Ocean 

5 Drilling Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that, as of the date 

8 of enactment of this Act— 


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1 (1) global climate change is occurring due 

2 largely to anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse 

3 gases and will continue to pose ongoing risks and 

4 challenges to the people and the Government of the 

5 United States; 

6 (2) the evidence of impacts and dangers of cli7 mate change are supported by numerous reports and 

8 panels, such as the 2014 National Climate Assess9 ment, the United States Global Change Research 

10 Program, and the 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review 

11 of the Department of Defense; 

12 (3) the average temperature in the United 

13 States during the past decade was 0.8 degree Cel14 sius (1.5 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the 

15 1901–1960 average, and the last decade was the 

16 warmest on record both in the United States and 

17 globally; 

18 (4) a global temperature increase of 2 degrees 

19 Celsius will lead to increased droughts, rising seas, 

20 mass extinctions, heat waves, desertification, 

21 wildfires, and acidifying oceans; 

22 (5) delaying action on climate change will result 

23 in severe economic losses, and global mitigation costs 

24 increase by approximately 40 percent for each dec25 ade of delay; 


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1 (6) at least 80 percent of the carbon from 

2 known fossil fuel reserves must not be released to 

3 the atmosphere to have an 80-percent chance of 

4 avoiding the worst effects of climate change stem5 ming from a 2-degree-Celsius change in global tem6 perature; 

7 (7) developing oil and gas reserves in the Arctic 

8 Ocean is incompatible with staying within that glob9 al carbon budget and avoiding the worst effects of 

10 climate change; and 

11 (8) the Arctic Ocean is home to invaluable and 

12 fragile ecosystems, which are critical to fisheries, mi13 gratory birds, indigenous populations, and subsist14 ence hunters. 

15 (b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 

16 United States that the Arctic Ocean should be managed 

17 for the best interests of the people of the United States, 

18 including by keeping fossil fuels in the ground to avoid 

19 the dangerous impacts of climate change. 

20 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION OF OIL AND GAS LEASING IN ARCTIC 

21 OCEAN AREAS OF THE OUTER CONTINENTAL 

22 SHELF. 

23 Section 8 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

24 (43 U.S.C. 1337) is amended by adding at the end the 

25 following: 


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1 ‘‘(q) PROHIBITION OF OIL AND GAS LEASING IN

2 ARCTIC PLANNING AREA OF THE OUTER CONTINENTAL

3 SHELF.—Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act 

4 or any other law, the Secretary of the Interior shall not 

5 issue or renew a lease or any other authorization for the 

6 exploration, development, or production of oil, natural gas, 

7 or any other mineral in the Arctic Ocean, including the 

8 Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea Planning Areas.’’. 

Æ 


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