I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5462 
To suspend the Federal highway fuels taxes, to authorize the leasing, develop-
ment, 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 Com-
mittee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Re-
sources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion 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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SUSPENSION OF HIGHWAY FUELS TAXES. 
(a) SUSPENSION OF HIGHWAY FUEL TAXES ON GAS-
OLINE, DIESEL FUEL, AND KEROSENE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 4081 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to imposition of tax 
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on gasoline, diesel fuel, and kerosene) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(f) SUSPENSION OF TAXES ON GASOLINE, DIESEL 
FUEL, AND KEROSENE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—During the suspension pe-
riod, each rate of tax referred to in paragraph (2) 
shall be reduced to zero cents per gallon. 
‘‘(2) RATES OF TAX.—The rates of tax referred 
to in this paragraph are the rates of tax otherwise 
applicable under— 
‘‘(A) clauses (i) and (iii) of subsection 
(a)(2)(A) (relating to gasoline, diesel fuel, and 
kerosene), determined after application of sub-
section (a)(2)(B) and without regard to sub-
section (a)(2)(C), and 
‘‘(B) paragraph (1) of section 4041(a) (re-
lating to diesel fuel and kerosene) with respect 
to fuel sold for use or used in a diesel-powered 
highway vehicle. 
‘‘(3) SUSPENSION
PERIOD.—For purposes of 
this subsection, the term ‘suspension period’ means 
the 90-day period beginning on the day after the 
date of the enactment of this subsection. 
‘‘(4) MAINTENANCE OF TRUST FUND DEPOS-
ITS.—In determining the amounts to be appro-
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priated to the Highway Trust Fund under section 
9503 and to the Leaking Underground Storage 
Tank Trust Fund under section 9508, an amount 
equal to the reduction in revenues to the Treasury 
by reason of this subsection shall be treated as taxes 
received in the Treasury under this section or sec-
tion 4041.’’. 
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 
by this subsection shall take effect on the date of the 
enactment of this Act. 
(b) FLOOR STOCK REFUNDS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—If— 
(A) before the tax suspension date, tax has 
been imposed under section 4081 of the Inter-
nal Revenue Code of 1986 on any highway 
motor fuel, and 
(B) on such date such fuel is held by a 
dealer and has not been used and is intended 
for sale, 
there shall be credited or refunded (without interest) 
to the person who paid such tax (hereafter in this 
subsection referred to as the ‘‘taxpayer’’) an amount 
equal to the excess of the tax paid by the taxpayer 
over the tax which would be imposed on such fuel 
had the taxable event occurred on such date. 
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(2) TIME FOR FILING CLAIMS.—No credit or re-
fund shall be allowed or made under this subsection 
unless— 
(A) claim therefor is filed with the Sec-
retary of the Treasury before the date which is 
6 months after the tax suspension date based 
on a request submitted to the taxpayer before 
the date which is 3 months after the tax sus-
pension date by the dealer who held the high-
way motor fuel on such date, and 
(B) the taxpayer has repaid or agreed to 
repay the amount so claimed to such dealer or 
has obtained the written consent of such dealer 
to the allowance of the credit or the making of 
the refund. 
(3) EXCEPTION
FOR
FUEL
HELD
IN
RETAIL 
STOCKS.—No credit or refund shall be allowed under 
this subsection with respect to any highway motor 
fuel in retail stocks held at the place where intended 
to be sold at retail. 
(4) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub-
section— 
(A) TAX
SUSPENSION
DATE.—The term 
‘‘tax suspension date’’ means the first day of 
the suspension period in effect under section 
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4081(f) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
(as added by subsection (a) of this section). 
(B) HIGHWAY
MOTOR
FUEL.—The term 
‘‘highway motor fuel’’ has the meaning given 
such term for purposes of subsection (c). 
(C) OTHER TERMS.—The terms ‘‘dealer’’ 
and ‘‘held by a dealer’’ have the respective 
meanings given to such terms by section 6412 
of such Code. 
(5) CERTAIN RULES TO APPLY.—Rules similar 
to the rules of subsections (b) and (c) of section 
6412 of such Code shall apply for purposes of this 
subsection. 
(c) FLOOR STOCKS TAX.— 
(1) IMPOSITION OF TAX.—In the case of any 
highway motor fuel which is held on the tax restora-
tion date by any person, there is hereby imposed a 
floor stocks tax equal to the excess of the tax which 
would be imposed on such fuel had the taxable event 
occurred on such date over the tax (if any) pre-
viously paid (and not credited or refunded) on such 
fuel. 
(2) LIABILITY FOR TAX AND METHOD OF PAY-
MENT.— 
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(A) LIABILITY
FOR
TAX.—The person 
holding highway motor fuel on the tax restora-
tion date to which the tax imposed by para-
graph (1) applies shall be liable for such tax. 
(B) METHOD OF PAYMENT.—The tax im-
posed by paragraph (1) shall be paid in such 
manner as the Secretary shall prescribe. 
(C) TIME
FOR
PAYMENT.—The tax im-
posed by paragraph (1) shall be paid on or be-
fore the 45th day after the tax restoration date. 
(3) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub-
section— 
(A) TAX RESTORATION DATE.—The term 
‘‘tax restoration date’’ means the first day after 
the suspension period (as defined in section 
4081(f) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986). 
(B) HIGHWAY
MOTOR
FUEL.—The term 
‘‘highway motor fuel’’ means any liquid on 
which tax would have been imposed under sec-
tion 4081 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
during the suspension period in effect under 
section 4081(f) of such Code but for the 
amendments made by subsection (a). 
(C) HELD
BY
A
PERSON.—A highway 
motor fuel shall be considered as held by a per-
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son if title thereto has passed to such person 
(whether or not delivery to the person has been 
made). 
(D) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 
means the Secretary of the Treasury or the 
Secretary’s delegate. 
(4) EXCEPTION FOR EXEMPT USES.—The tax 
imposed by paragraph (1) shall not apply to any 
highway motor fuel held by any person exclusively 
for any use to the extent a credit or refund of the 
tax is allowable for such use. 
(5) EXCEPTION
FOR
CERTAIN
AMOUNTS
OF 
FUEL.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—No tax shall be im-
posed by paragraph (1) on any highway motor 
fuel held on the tax restoration date by any per-
son if the aggregate amount of such highway 
motor fuel held by such person on such date 
does not exceed 2,000 gallons. The preceding 
sentence shall apply only if such person submits 
to the Secretary (at the time and in the manner 
required by the Secretary) such information as 
the Secretary shall require for purposes of this 
subparagraph. 
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(B) EXEMPT FUEL.—For purposes of sub-
paragraph (A), there shall not be taken into ac-
count any highway motor fuel held by any per-
son which is exempt from the tax imposed by 
paragraph (1) by reason of paragraph (4). 
(C) CONTROLLED GROUPS.—For purposes 
of this subsection— 
(i) CORPORATIONS.— 
(I) IN
GENERAL.—All persons 
treated as a controlled group shall be 
treated as 1 person. 
(II) CONTROLLED
GROUP.—The 
term ‘‘controlled group’’ has the 
meaning given to such term by sub-
section (a) of section 1563 of such 
Code; except that for such purposes 
the phrase ‘‘more than 50 percent’’ 
shall be substituted for the phrase ‘‘at 
least 80 percent’’ each place it ap-
pears in such subsection. 
(ii) 
NONINCORPORATED
PERSONS 
UNDER COMMON CONTROL.—Under regula-
tions prescribed by the Secretary, prin-
ciples similar to the principles of subpara-
graph (A) shall apply to a group of per-
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sons under common control if 1 or more of 
such persons is not a corporation. 
(6) OTHER LAWS APPLICABLE.—All provisions 
of law, including penalties, applicable with respect to 
the taxes imposed by section 4081of such Code shall, 
insofar as applicable and not inconsistent with the 
provisions of this subsection, apply with respect to 
the floor stock taxes imposed by paragraph (1) to 
the same extent as if such taxes were imposed by 
such section. 
SEC. 2. OIL AND GAS LEASING PROGRAM. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) COASTAL
PLAIN.—The term ‘‘Coastal 
Plain’’ means the area identified as the Coastal 
Plain on the map prepared by the United States Ge-
ological Survey, entitled ‘‘Arctic National Wildlife 
Refuge 1002 Coastal Plain Area’’, dated September 
2005, and on file with the United States Geological 
Survey. 
(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bu-
reau of Land Management. 
(b) PROGRAM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Congress— 
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(A) authorizes the leasing, development, 
production, and transportation of oil and gas in 
and from the Coastal Plain; and 
(B) directs the Secretary to take such ac-
tions as are necessary to— 
(i) establish and implement an envi-
ronmentally sound competitive oil and gas 
leasing program to carry out the activities 
authorized under subparagraph (A); and 
(ii) conduct 2 lease sales before Octo-
ber 1, 2010. 
(2) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary shall ad-
minister this section through regulations, lease 
terms, conditions, restrictions, prohibitions, stipula-
tions, and other provisions that ensure the oil and 
gas exploration, development, production, and trans-
portation activities on the Coastal Plain are carried 
out in a manner that will ensure the receipt of fair 
market value by the public for the mineral resources 
to be leased. 
(c) 2 LEASE SALES BEFORE FISCAL YEAR 2011.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to enable the Sec-
retary to hold 2 lease sales before October 1, 2010, 
this subsection shall apply with respect to the oil 
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and gas leasing program established by the Sec-
retary pursuant to this section. 
(2) PURPOSES.—For purposes of the National 
Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 
(16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.) and amendments made by 
that Act, the oil and gas leasing program and activi-
ties authorized by this section in the Coastal Plain 
are deemed to be compatible with the purposes for 
which the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was estab-
lished, and no further findings or decisions are re-
quired to implement this determination of compat-
ibility. 
(3) PRELEASE ACTIVITIES.—The Final Legisla-
tive Environmental Impact Statement on the Coastal 
Plain dated April 1987 and prepared pursuant to 
section 1002 of the Alaska National Interest Lands 
Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3142) and section 
102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) is deemed to satisfy 
the requirements under the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) that 
apply with respect to prelease activities, including 
actions authorized to be taken by the Secretary to 
develop and promulgate regulations for the establish-
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ment of the leasing program authorized by this sec-
tion before the conduct of the first lease sale. 
(4) PREFERRED ACTION.— 
(A) NONLEASING
ALTERNATIVES.—With 
respect to any environmental impact statement 
prepared by the Secretary under the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 
4321 et seq.) with respect to any lease sale con-
ducted under the leasing program authorized by 
this section, the Secretary is not required to 
identify nonleasing alternative courses of action 
or to analyze the environmental effects of those 
courses of action. 
(B) LEASING
ALTERNATIVES.—The Sec-
retary shall only identify a preferred action for 
leasing and a single leasing alternative, and 
analyze the environmental effects and potential 
mitigation measures for the preferred action 
and leasing alternative. 
(C) DEADLINE.—The identification and re-
lated analyses required by subparagraph (B) 
shall be completed within 18 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act. 
(D) PUBLIC
COMMENTS.—The Secretary 
shall only consider public comments that are 
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filed within 30 days after publication of an en-
vironmental analysis. 
(E) COMPLIANCE.—Compliance with this 
paragraph satisfies all requirements of section 
102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) for the 
analysis and consideration of the environmental 
effects of proposed leasing under this section. 
(5) EXPEDITED JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 
(A) VENUE; DEADLINE.—Any complaint 
seeking judicial review of this section or any ac-
tion of the Secretary under this section shall be 
filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the District of Columbia— 
(i) within the 90-day period beginning 
on the date of the action being challenged; 
or 
(ii) in the case of a complaint based 
solely on grounds arising after that period, 
within 90 days after the complainant knew 
or reasonably should have known of the 
grounds for the complaint. 
(B) SCOPE.—Judicial review of a decision 
of the Secretary to conduct a lease sale under 
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this section (including the environmental anal-
ysis of the decision) shall be— 
(i) limited to whether the Secretary 
has complied with this section; and 
(ii) based on the administrative record 
of that decision. 
(d) RIGHTS-OF-WAY.—For purposes of section 
1102(4)(A) of the Alaska National Interest Lands Con-
servation Act (16 U.S.C. 3162(4)(A)), any rights-of-way 
or easements across the Coastal Plain for the exploration, 
development, production, or transportation of oil and gas 
shall be considered to be established incident to the man-
agement of the Coastal Plain under this section. 
(e) MAXIMUM SURFACE ACREAGE.—In administering 
this section, the Secretary shall ensure that the maximum 
quantity of surface acreage covered by production and 
support facilities (including airstrips and any area covered 
by gravel berms or piers for support of pipelines) does not 
exceed 2,000 acres on the Coastal Plain. 
Æ 
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