I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5676 

To provide equitable means for ensuring that damages for injuries are 

efficiently secured, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 1, 2010 

Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition 

to the Committees on Ways and Means, Natural Resources, the Judiciary, Energy and Commerce, and Science and Technology, 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 provide equitable means for ensuring that damages for 

injuries are efficiently secured, 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. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Omnibus Right to Eq5 uitable Means of Ensuring Damages for Injuries are Effi6 ciently Secured Act of 2010’’, also known as the ‘‘REM7 EDIES Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that— 

3 (1) the Deepwater Horizon explosion and its 

4 collapse in the Gulf of Mexico resulted in the largest 

5 environmental disaster in United States History; 

6 (2) the incident led to 11 deaths, 17 serious in7 juries, permanent damage and injury to wildlife and 

8 the environment, and greatly impaired the tourism, 

9 fishing, shrimping, oystering, and oil industries in 

10 Gulf Coast communities; 

11 (3) in the 72 days since the explosion, over 

12 80,000,000 gallons of crude oil has leaked into the 

13 Gulf; 

14 (4) the full extent of the material, economic, 

15 and environmental damage caused by the Gulf Coast 

16 oil spill incident is expected to total in the tens of 

17 billions of dollars; 

18 (5) under current law, many of the victims may 

19 not be able to receive full and complete compensa20 tion for the loss of their loved ones, their livelihoods, 

21 or the damage to our natural resources; 

22 (6) lax permitting standards on the part of 

23 Federal agencies enabled such disaster; and 

24 (7) the independent compensation apparatus set 

25 up by BP plc has been inadequate. 


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1 SEC. 3. LIABILITY UNDER OIL POLLUTION ACT OF 1990. 

2 (a) INCREASE IN LIABILITY LIMITATIONS UNDER

3 OIL POLLUTION ACT OF 1990.—Section 1004(a) of the 

4 Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2704(a)) is amend5 ed— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1)(A) by striking ‘‘$3,000’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘$6,000’’; 

8 (2) in paragraph (1)(B) by striking ‘‘$1,900’’ 

9 and inserting ‘‘$3,800’’; 

10 (3) in paragraph (1)(C)(i)(I) by striking 

11 ‘‘$22,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$44,000,000’’; 

12 (4) in paragraph (1)(C)(i)(II) by striking 

13 ‘‘$16,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$32,000,000’’; 

14 (5) in paragraph (1)(C)(ii)(I) by striking 

15 ‘‘$6,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$12,000,000’’; 

16 (6) in paragraph (1)(C)(ii)(II) by striking 

17 ‘‘$4,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$8,000,000’’; 

18 (7) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘$800,000’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘$1,600,000’’; 

20 (8) in paragraph (3) by striking ‘‘$75,000,000’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘$300,000,000’’; and 

22 (9) in paragraph (4) by striking ‘‘$75,000,000’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘$150,000,000’’. 

24 (b) TIERED LIABILITY.—Section 1004 of the Oil Pol25 lution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2704) is amended by adding 

26 at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(e) EXCESS LIABILITY.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall pay to 

3 any person to whom a responsible party is liable 

4 under this Act the amount of any such liability that 

5 is not recoverable from the responsible party because 

6 of the application of the limitations under subsection 

7 (a). 

8 ‘‘(2) PAYMENT FROM TRUST FUND.—The 

9 President shall pay the amount referred to in para10 graph (1)— 

11 ‘‘(A) first from the Trust Fund, except 

12 that the amount paid under this subparagraph 

13 shall not exceed $10,300,000,000 for any inci14 dent; and 

15 ‘‘(B) after payment under subparagraph 

16 (A), from amounts received by the United 

17 States as a levy under paragraph (3). 

18 ‘‘(3) IMPOSITION OF LEVY.—The President may 

19 establish, assess, and collect from persons in the oil 

20 industry a levy to recover the amount of liability to 

21 be paid under paragraph (2)(B) for an incident.’’. 

22 (c) This section will not be retroactive. 


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1 SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO OIL SPILL LIABILITY 

2 TRUST FUND. 

3 (a) INCREASE IN SIZE OF THE OIL SPILL LIABILITY

4 TRUST FUND.—Paragraph (1) of section 4611(f) of the 

5 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking 

6 ‘‘$2,000,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$10,000,000,000’’. 

7 (b) INCREASE IN PER-INCIDENT CLEANUP CAP.— 

8 Subparagraph (A) of section 9509(c)(2) of such Code is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) by striking ‘‘$1,000,000,000’’ both places it 

11 appears in the heading and text and inserting 

12 ‘‘$10,000,000,000’’, and 

13 (2) in clause (ii) by striking ‘‘$500,000,000’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘$5,000,000,000’’. 

15 (c) INCREASE IN TAX.—Subparagraph (B) of section 

16 4611(c)(2) of such Code is amended— 

17 (1) in clause (i) by striking ‘‘8 cents’’ and in18 serting ‘‘30 cents’’, and 

19 (2) in clause (ii) by striking ‘‘9 cents’’ and in20 serting ‘‘40 cents’’. 

21 (d) REPEAL OF SUNSET OF OIL SPILL LIABILITY

22 TRUST FUND FINANCING RATE.—Section 4611(f) of such 

23 Code is amended— 

24 (1) by striking paragraph (2), and 

25 (2) by striking ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except’’ 

26 and inserting ‘‘Except’’. 


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1 (e) UPDATE EXPENDITURES FROM TRUST FUND.— 

2 Subsection (f) of section 9509 of such Code is amended 

3 by striking ‘‘the date of the enactment of this subsection’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘the date of the enactment of the Omnibus 

5 Right to Equitable Means of Ensuring Damages for Inju6 ries are Efficiently Secured Act of 2010’’. 

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

8 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

9 of this Act, and these amendments will not be retroactive. 

10 SEC. 5. AMENDMENT TO JONES ACT. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 30104 of title 46, United 

12 States Code, is amended— 

13 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘sea14 men’’ inserting ‘‘covered maritime employ15 ees’’; 

16 (2) by striking ‘‘seaman’’ each place it appears 

17 and inserting ‘‘covered maritime employee’’; 

18 (3) by striking ‘‘personal representative of’’ and 

19 inserting ‘‘spouse, parent, child, sibling, or depend20 ent relative of’’; 

21 (4) by inserting ‘‘or any person whose act or 

22 omission was a cause of the injury or death’’ after 

23 ‘‘the employer’’; 

24 (5) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL’’ before the 

25 first sentence; and 


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1 (6) by adding at the end of the section the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(b) COVERED MARITIME EMPLOYEE DEFINED.—In 

4 this section the term ‘covered maritime employee’ 

5 means— 

6 ‘‘(1) a seaman; or 

7 ‘‘(2) an individual employed on an offshore fa8 cility (as that term is defined in section 1001 of the 

9 Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701)) or a 

10 mobile offshore drilling unit.’’. 

11 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal12 ysis at the beginning of chapter 301 of title 46, United 

13 States Code, is amended by striking the item relating to 

14 such section and inserting the following: 

‘‘30104. Personal injury or death of covered maritime employee.’’. 

15 SEC. 6. AMENDMENTS TO DEATH ON THE HIGH SEAS ACT. 

16 The Death on the High Seas Act (chapter 303 of title 

17 46, United States Code), is amended— 

18 (1) by striking ‘‘personal representative’’ each 

19 place it appears and inserting ‘‘spouse, parent, child, 

20 sibling, or dependent relative’’; 

21 (2) in section 30303— 

22 (A) by inserting ‘‘and nonpecuniary loss’’ 

23 after ‘‘pecuniary loss’’; 

24 (B) by striking ‘‘by’’ and all that follows 

25 through the end, and inserting ‘‘, plus a fair 


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1 compensation for the decedent’s pain and suf2 fering, and may include punitive damages if the 

3 death resulted from gross negligence or willful 

4 misconduct of the defendant.’’; and 

5 (C) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘In 

6 this section, the term ‘nonpecuniary loss’ means 

7 loss of care, comfort, and companionship.’’; and 

8 (3) in section 30306, by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ before 

9 the first sentence, and by adding at the end of the 

10 section the following: 

11 ‘‘(b) RESTRICTION ON RECOVERY BY NONCITIZEN

12 AND NONRESIDENT ALIEN WORKERS FOR INCIDENTS

13 ARISING DURING INTERNATIONAL VOYAGES OF FOREIGN

14 VESSELS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para16 graph (2), a civil action for maintenance and cure 

17 for damages for personal injury or death may not be 

18 brought under a maritime law of the United States 

19 if— 

20 ‘‘(A) the individual suffering the injury or 

21 death was not a citizen or permanent resident 

22 alien of the United States at the time of the in23 cident giving rise to the action; and 

24 ‘‘(B) the incident occurred during an inter25 national voyage of a vessel, duly registered 


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1 under the laws of a foreign nation, upon which 

2 the individual suffering the injury or death was 

3 employed. 

4 ‘‘(2) NONAPPLICATION.—Paragraph (1) does 

5 not apply if the individual bringing the action estab6 lishes that a remedy is not available under the laws 

7 of— 

8 ‘‘(A) the country in which the vessel is reg9 istered; or 

10 ‘‘(B) the country in which the individual 

11 suffering the injury or death maintained citi12 zenship or residency at the time of the inci13 dent.’’. 

14 SEC. 7. REQUIREMENT FOR REDUNDANCY IN RESPONSE 

15 PLANS. 

16 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Section 311(j)(5)(D) of the 

17 Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

18 1331(j)(5)(D)) is amended by redesignating clauses (v) 

19 and (vi) as clauses (vii) and (viii), and by inserting after 

20 clause (iv) the following new clauses: 

21 ‘‘(v) include redundancies that specify 

22 response actions that will be taken if other 

23 response actions specified in the plan fail; 

24 ‘‘(vi) be vetted by impartial experts;’’. 


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1 (b) CONDITION OF PERMIT.—The Outer Continental 

2 Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) is amended by 

3 adding at the end the following new section: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 32. RESPONSE PLAN REQUIRED FOR PERMIT OR LI5 CENSE AUTHORIZING DRILLING FOR OIL AND 

6 GAS. 

7 ‘‘The Secretary may not issue any license or permit 

8 authorizing drilling for oil and gas on the outer Conti9 nental Shelf unless the applicant for the license or permit 

10 has a response plan approved under section 311(j)(5)(D) 

11 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

12 1331(j)(5)(D)) for the vessel or facility that will be used 

13 to conduct such drilling.’’. 

14 SEC. 8. SUSPENSION OF DRILLING PERMIT FOR EXCESSIVE 

15 OSHA OR OTHER SAFETY VIOLATIONS. 

16 Section 5(a)(1)(B) of the Outer Continental Shelf 

17 Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1334(a)(1)(B)) is amended by in18 serting after ‘‘human environment’’ the following: ‘‘, in19 cluding in any case in which 5 or more violations of the 

20 Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 

21 651 et seq.), the regulations under that Act, or other safe22 ty laws or regulations occur in operations under the lease 

23 or permit within a 1-year period’’. 


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1 SEC. 9. PROCESSING OF CLAIMS BY RESPONSIBLE PAR2 TIES. 

3 Section 1013 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 

4 U.S.C. 2713) is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing new subsection: 

6 ‘‘(g) PROCESSING OF CLAIMS BY RESPONSIBLE PAR7 TIES.—In processing claims under this section for loss of 

8 income, a responsible party shall— 

9 ‘‘(1) consider claims for loss of income accord10 ing to categories of business of the claimants; 

11 ‘‘(2) make determinations based on the unique 

12 practices within each category; and 

13 ‘‘(3) treat fisherman as a separate category.’’. 

14 SEC. 10. CLASS ACTION FAIRNESS ACT. 

15 Title 28, United States Code, is amended— 

16 (1) in section 1711(2), by inserting ‘‘, but does 

17 not include an action brought by a State or subdivi18 sion of a State on behalf of its citizens’’ before the 

19 period; and 

20 (2) in section 1332(d)(1)(B), by inserting ‘‘, 

21 but does not include an action brought by a State 

22 or subdivision of a State on behalf of its citizens’’ 

23 before the semicolon. 

24 SEC. 11. MULTI-PARTY LITIGATION. 

25 Section 1407 of title 28, United States Code, is 

26 amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(i) This section does not apply to any action— 

2 ‘‘(1) under chapter 301 of title 46, United 

3 States Code (commonly called the Jones Act); 

4 ‘‘(2) under the Death on the High Seas Act 

5 (chapter 303 of title 46, United States Code); or 

6 ‘‘(3) brought by a State or a subdivision of a 

7 State on behalf of its citizens.’’. 

8 SEC. 12. INDEPENDENT CLAIMS SYSTEM. 

9 The Secretary of Homeland Security shall have the 

10 authority to require any entity that is liable for damages 

11 under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701 et 

12 seq.) to establish an independent claims system for all 

13 claims under that Act and for any other claims against 

14 such entity in regard to the same incident that gave rise 

15 to that liability. Such system shall include a categorization 

16 of claimants according to the type of loss for which the 

17 claim is made and guidelines for the type of proof nec18 essary based on the category involved. 

19 SEC. 13. EMERGENCY OIL SPILL COORDINATION TEAM. 

20 The President shall establish an emergency oil spill 

21 coordination team that includes the Commandant of the 

22 Coast Guard, the Administrator of the Environmental 

23 Protection Agency, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary 

24 of Commerce, the Secretary of the Interior, and chief of 

25 the Army Corps of Engineers, to respond to oil spills in 


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1 the United States. In addition, the President shall estab2 lish the chain of command for such team. 

3 SEC. 14. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT TEAM. 

4 The President shall appoint a research and develop5 ment team to review and recommend new technologies 

6 that prevent oil spills, especially deep water drilling oil 

7 spills. The oil industry shall establish a $1,000,000,000 

8 research and development fund to develop the latest tech9 nologies related to oil spill recovery, remediation, and 

10 cleanup. The team shall be comprised of representatives 

11 of government, industry, research, and academia who have 

12 expertise in research and development activities regarding 

13 deep water oil drilling. 

14 SEC. 15. PTSD COUNSELING. 

15 The Secretary of Homeland Security shall make ex16 tensive post-traumatic stress disorder counseling available 

17 to victims of significant oil spill disasters, including indi18 rect victims suffering severe economic damages. 

19 SEC. 16. PANEL OF EXPERTS TO ASSESS AND EVALUATE 

20 THE LONG-TERM ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS 

21 OF THE GULF OIL SPILL. 

22 The Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

23 Agency shall establish a panel of experts to assess and 

24 evaluate the long-term environmental impacts of the oil 

25 spill in the Gulf of Mexico resulting from the explosion 


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1 on and sinking of the mobile offshore drilling unit Deep2 water Horizon. 

3 SEC. 17. ESTABLISHMENT OF A LIABILITY STRUCTURE. 

4 The President shall issue regulations that establish 

5 limitations on liability under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 

6 that are substantially similar to the limitations established 

7 by section 170 of the Act of August 1, 1946 (ch. 724; 

8 42 U.S.C. 2210), popularly known as the Price-Anderson 

9 Act. Such regulations shall apply with respect to such li10 ability in lieu of any limitation on liability established by 

11 the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. This section shall not be 

12 retroactive. 

13 SEC. 18. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

14 This Act shall take effect April 15, 2010. 

Æ 


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