I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5462 

To suspend the Federal highway fuels taxes, to authorize the leasing, development, production, and transportation of oil and gas in and from the 

Coastal Plain of Alaska, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 23, 2006 

Mrs. MUSGRAVE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To suspend the Federal highway fuels taxes, to authorize 

the leasing, development, production, and transportation 

of oil and gas in and from the Coastal Plain of Alaska, 

and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SUSPENSION OF HIGHWAY FUELS TAXES. 

4 (a) SUSPENSION OF HIGHWAY FUEL TAXES ON GAS5 OLINE, DIESEL FUEL, AND KEROSENE.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 4081 of the Internal 

7 Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to imposition of tax 


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1 on gasoline, diesel fuel, and kerosene) is amended by 

2 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

3 ‘‘(f) SUSPENSION OF TAXES ON GASOLINE, DIESEL

4 FUEL, AND KEROSENE.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—During the suspension pe6 riod, each rate of tax referred to in paragraph (2) 

7 shall be reduced to zero cents per gallon. 

8 ‘‘(2) RATES OF TAX.—The rates of tax referred 

9 to in this paragraph are the rates of tax otherwise 

10 applicable under— 

11 ‘‘(A) clauses (i) and (iii) of subsection 

12 (a)(2)(A) (relating to gasoline, diesel fuel, and 

13 kerosene), determined after application of sub14 section (a)(2)(B) and without regard to sub15 section (a)(2)(C), and 

16 ‘‘(B) paragraph (1) of section 4041(a) (re17 lating to diesel fuel and kerosene) with respect 

18 to fuel sold for use or used in a diesel-powered 

19 highway vehicle. 

20 ‘‘(3) SUSPENSION PERIOD.—For purposes of 

21 this subsection, the term ‘suspension period’ means 

22 the 90-day period beginning on the day after the 

23 date of the enactment of this subsection. 

24 ‘‘(4) MAINTENANCE OF TRUST FUND DEPOS25 ITS.—In determining the amounts to be approVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:59 May 26, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5462.IH H5462

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1 priated to the Highway Trust Fund under section 

2 9503 and to the Leaking Underground Storage 

3 Tank Trust Fund under section 9508, an amount 

4 equal to the reduction in revenues to the Treasury 

5 by reason of this subsection shall be treated as taxes 

6 received in the Treasury under this section or sec7 tion 4041.’’. 

8 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

9 by this subsection shall take effect on the date of the 

10 enactment of this Act. 

11 (b) FLOOR STOCK REFUNDS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—If— 

13 (A) before the tax suspension date, tax has 

14 been imposed under section 4081 of the Inter15 nal Revenue Code of 1986 on any highway 

16 motor fuel, and 

17 (B) on such date such fuel is held by a 

18 dealer and has not been used and is intended 

19 for sale, 

20 there shall be credited or refunded (without interest) 

21 to the person who paid such tax (hereafter in this 

22 subsection referred to as the ‘‘taxpayer’’) an amount 

23 equal to the excess of the tax paid by the taxpayer 

24 over the tax which would be imposed on such fuel 

25 had the taxable event occurred on such date. 


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1 (2) TIME FOR FILING CLAIMS.—No credit or re2 fund shall be allowed or made under this subsection 

3 unless— 

4 (A) claim therefor is filed with the Sec5 retary of the Treasury before the date which is 

6 6 months after the tax suspension date based 

7 on a request submitted to the taxpayer before 

8 the date which is 3 months after the tax sus9 pension date by the dealer who held the high10 way motor fuel on such date, and 

11 (B) the taxpayer has repaid or agreed to 

12 repay the amount so claimed to such dealer or 

13 has obtained the written consent of such dealer 

14 to the allowance of the credit or the making of 

15 the refund. 

16 (3) EXCEPTION FOR FUEL HELD IN RETAIL

17 STOCKS.—No credit or refund shall be allowed under 

18 this subsection with respect to any highway motor 

19 fuel in retail stocks held at the place where intended 

20 to be sold at retail. 

21 (4) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub22 section— 

23 (A) TAX SUSPENSION DATE.—The term 

24 ‘‘tax suspension date’’ means the first day of 

25 the suspension period in effect under section 


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1 4081(f) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

2 (as added by subsection (a) of this section). 

3 (B) HIGHWAY MOTOR FUEL.—The term 

4 ‘‘highway motor fuel’’ has the meaning given 

5 such term for purposes of subsection (c). 

6 (C) OTHER TERMS.—The terms ‘‘dealer’’ 

7 and ‘‘held by a dealer’’ have the respective 

8 meanings given to such terms by section 6412 

9 of such Code. 

10 (5) CERTAIN RULES TO APPLY.—Rules similar 

11 to the rules of subsections (b) and (c) of section 

12 6412 of such Code shall apply for purposes of this 

13 subsection. 

14 (c) FLOOR STOCKS TAX.— 

15 (1) IMPOSITION OF TAX.—In the case of any 

16 highway motor fuel which is held on the tax restora17 tion date by any person, there is hereby imposed a 

18 floor stocks tax equal to the excess of the tax which 

19 would be imposed on such fuel had the taxable event 

20 occurred on such date over the tax (if any) pre21 viously paid (and not credited or refunded) on such 

22 fuel. 

23 (2) LIABILITY FOR TAX AND METHOD OF PAY24 MENT.— 


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1 (A) LIABILITY FOR TAX.—The person 

2 holding highway motor fuel on the tax restora3 tion date to which the tax imposed by para4 graph (1) applies shall be liable for such tax. 

5 (B) METHOD OF PAYMENT.—The tax im6 posed by paragraph (1) shall be paid in such 

7 manner as the Secretary shall prescribe. 

8 (C) TIME FOR PAYMENT.—The tax im9 posed by paragraph (1) shall be paid on or be10 fore the 45th day after the tax restoration date. 

11 (3) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub12 section— 

13 (A) TAX RESTORATION DATE.—The term 

14 ‘‘tax restoration date’’ means the first day after 

15 the suspension period (as defined in section 

16 4081(f) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986). 

17 (B) HIGHWAY MOTOR FUEL.—The term 

18 ‘‘highway motor fuel’’ means any liquid on 

19 which tax would have been imposed under sec20 tion 4081 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

21 during the suspension period in effect under 

22 section 4081(f) of such Code but for the 

23 amendments made by subsection (a). 

24 (C) HELD BY A PERSON.—A highway 

25 motor fuel shall be considered as held by a perVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:36 May 30, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5462.IH H5462

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1 son if title thereto has passed to such person 

2 (whether or not delivery to the person has been 

3 made). 

4 (D) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

5 means the Secretary of the Treasury or the 

6 Secretary’s delegate. 

7 (4) EXCEPTION FOR EXEMPT USES.—The tax 

8 imposed by paragraph (1) shall not apply to any 

9 highway motor fuel held by any person exclusively 

10 for any use to the extent a credit or refund of the 

11 tax is allowable for such use. 

12 (5) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN AMOUNTS OF

13 FUEL.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—No tax shall be im15 posed by paragraph (1) on any highway motor 

16 fuel held on the tax restoration date by any per17 son if the aggregate amount of such highway 

18 motor fuel held by such person on such date 

19 does not exceed 2,000 gallons. The preceding 

20 sentence shall apply only if such person submits 

21 to the Secretary (at the time and in the manner 

22 required by the Secretary) such information as 

23 the Secretary shall require for purposes of this 

24 subparagraph. 


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1 (B) EXEMPT FUEL.—For purposes of sub2 paragraph (A), there shall not be taken into ac3 count any highway motor fuel held by any per4 son which is exempt from the tax imposed by 

5 paragraph (1) by reason of paragraph (4). 

6 (C) CONTROLLED GROUPS.—For purposes 

7 of this subsection— 

8 (i) CORPORATIONS.— 

9 (I) IN GENERAL.—All persons 

10 treated as a controlled group shall be 

11 treated as 1 person. 

12 (II) CONTROLLED GROUP.—The 

13 term ‘‘controlled group’’ has the 

14 meaning given to such term by sub15 section (a) of section 1563 of such 

16 Code; except that for such purposes 

17 the phrase ‘‘more than 50 percent’’ 

18 shall be substituted for the phrase ‘‘at 

19 least 80 percent’’ each place it ap20 pears in such subsection. 

21 (ii) NONINCORPORATED PERSONS

22 UNDER COMMON CONTROL.—Under regula23 tions prescribed by the Secretary, prin24 ciples similar to the principles of subpara25 graph (A) shall apply to a group of perVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:59 May 26, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5462.IH H5462

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1 sons under common control if 1 or more of 

2 such persons is not a corporation. 

3 (6) OTHER LAWS APPLICABLE.—All provisions 

4 of law, including penalties, applicable with respect to 

5 the taxes imposed by section 4081of such Code shall, 

6 insofar as applicable and not inconsistent with the 

7 provisions of this subsection, apply with respect to 

8 the floor stock taxes imposed by paragraph (1) to 

9 the same extent as if such taxes were imposed by 

10 such section. 

11 SEC. 2. OIL AND GAS LEASING PROGRAM. 

12 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 (1) COASTAL PLAIN.—The term ‘‘Coastal 

14 Plain’’ means the area identified as the Coastal 

15 Plain on the map prepared by the United States Ge16 ological Survey, entitled ‘‘Arctic National Wildlife 

17 Refuge 1002 Coastal Plain Area’’, dated September 

18 2005, and on file with the United States Geological 

19 Survey. 

20 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

21 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bu22 reau of Land Management. 

23 (b) PROGRAM.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Congress— 


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1 (A) authorizes the leasing, development, 

2 production, and transportation of oil and gas in 

3 and from the Coastal Plain; and 

4 (B) directs the Secretary to take such ac5 tions as are necessary to— 

6 (i) establish and implement an envi7 ronmentally sound competitive oil and gas 

8 leasing program to carry out the activities 

9 authorized under subparagraph (A); and 

10 (ii) conduct 2 lease sales before Octo11 ber 1, 2010. 

12 (2) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary shall ad13 minister this section through regulations, lease 

14 terms, conditions, restrictions, prohibitions, stipula15 tions, and other provisions that ensure the oil and 

16 gas exploration, development, production, and trans17 portation activities on the Coastal Plain are carried 

18 out in a manner that will ensure the receipt of fair 

19 market value by the public for the mineral resources 

20 to be leased. 

21 (c) 2 LEASE SALES BEFORE FISCAL YEAR 2011.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—In order to enable the Sec23 retary to hold 2 lease sales before October 1, 2010, 

24 this subsection shall apply with respect to the oil 


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1 and gas leasing program established by the Sec2 retary pursuant to this section. 

3 (2) PURPOSES.—For purposes of the National 

4 Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 

5 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.) and amendments made by 

6 that Act, the oil and gas leasing program and activi7 ties authorized by this section in the Coastal Plain 

8 are deemed to be compatible with the purposes for 

9 which the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was estab10 lished, and no further findings or decisions are re11 quired to implement this determination of compat12 ibility. 

13 (3) PRELEASE ACTIVITIES.—The Final Legisla14 tive Environmental Impact Statement on the Coastal 

15 Plain dated April 1987 and prepared pursuant to 

16 section 1002 of the Alaska National Interest Lands 

17 Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3142) and section 

18 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act 

19 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) is deemed to satisfy 

20 the requirements under the National Environmental 

21 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) that 

22 apply with respect to prelease activities, including 

23 actions authorized to be taken by the Secretary to 

24 develop and promulgate regulations for the establishVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:59 May 26, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5462.IH H5462

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1 ment of the leasing program authorized by this sec2 tion before the conduct of the first lease sale. 

3 (4) PREFERRED ACTION.— 

4 (A) NONLEASING ALTERNATIVES.—With 

5 respect to any environmental impact statement 

6 prepared by the Secretary under the National 

7 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

8 4321 et seq.) with respect to any lease sale con9 ducted under the leasing program authorized by 

10 this section, the Secretary is not required to 

11 identify nonleasing alternative courses of action 

12 or to analyze the environmental effects of those 

13 courses of action. 

14 (B) LEASING ALTERNATIVES.—The Sec15 retary shall only identify a preferred action for 

16 leasing and a single leasing alternative, and 

17 analyze the environmental effects and potential 

18 mitigation measures for the preferred action 

19 and leasing alternative. 

20 (C) DEADLINE.—The identification and re21 lated analyses required by subparagraph (B) 

22 shall be completed within 18 months after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act. 

24 (D) PUBLIC COMMENTS.—The Secretary 

25 shall only consider public comments that are 


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1 filed within 30 days after publication of an en2 vironmental analysis. 

3 (E) COMPLIANCE.—Compliance with this 

4 paragraph satisfies all requirements of section 

5 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy 

6 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) for the 

7 analysis and consideration of the environmental 

8 effects of proposed leasing under this section. 

9 (5) EXPEDITED JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

10 (A) VENUE; DEADLINE.—Any complaint 

11 seeking judicial review of this section or any ac12 tion of the Secretary under this section shall be 

13 filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 

14 the District of Columbia— 

15 (i) within the 90-day period beginning 

16 on the date of the action being challenged; 

17 or 

18 (ii) in the case of a complaint based 

19 solely on grounds arising after that period, 

20 within 90 days after the complainant knew 

21 or reasonably should have known of the 

22 grounds for the complaint. 

23 (B) SCOPE.—Judicial review of a decision 

24 of the Secretary to conduct a lease sale under 


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1 this section (including the environmental anal2 ysis of the decision) shall be— 

3 (i) limited to whether the Secretary 

4 has complied with this section; and 

5 (ii) based on the administrative record 

6 of that decision. 

7 (d) RIGHTS-OF-WAY.—For purposes of section 

8 1102(4)(A) of the Alaska National Interest Lands Con9 servation Act (16 U.S.C. 3162(4)(A)), any rights-of-way 

10 or easements across the Coastal Plain for the exploration, 

11 development, production, or transportation of oil and gas 

12 shall be considered to be established incident to the man13 agement of the Coastal Plain under this section. 

14 (e) MAXIMUM SURFACE ACREAGE.—In administering 

15 this section, the Secretary shall ensure that the maximum 

16 quantity of surface acreage covered by production and 

17 support facilities (including airstrips and any area covered 

18 by gravel berms or piers for support of pipelines) does not 

19 exceed 2,000 acres on the Coastal Plain. 

Æ 


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