H. R. 1659—2
‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF COMPANY.—In this subsection, the term
‘company’ means a company referred to in subsection (c) or
its assigns or successors.
‘‘(2) EXCHANGE REQUIRED.—Within 60 days after the date
of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary of the Interior
shall acquire by exchange the mineral and geothermal interests
in the Monument of each company.
‘‘(3) MONETARY CREDITS.—
‘‘(A) ISSUANCE.—In exchange for all mineral and geo-
thermal interests acquired by the Secretary of the Interior
from each company under paragraph (2), the Secretary
of the Interior shall issue to each such company monetary
credits with a value of $2,100,000 that may be used for
the payment of—
‘‘(i) not more than 50 percent of the bonus or
other payments made by successful bidders in any
sales of mineral, oil, gas, or geothermal leases under
the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), the
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331
et seq.), or the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30
U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) in the contiguous 48 States;
‘‘(ii) not more than 10 percent of the bonus or
other payments made by successful bidders in any
sales of mineral, oil, gas, or geothermal leases in
Alaska under the laws specified in clause (i);
‘‘(iii) not more than 50 percent of any royalty,
rental, or advance royalty payment made to the United
States to maintain any mineral, oil or gas, or geo-
thermal lease in the contiguous 48 States issued under
the laws specified in clause (i); or
‘‘(iv) not more than 10 percent of any royalty,
rental, or advance royalty payment made to the United
States to maintain any mineral, oil or gas, or geo-
thermal lease in Alaska issued under the laws specified
in clause (i).
‘‘(B) 
VALUE
OF
CREDITS.—The 
total 
credits 
of
$4,200,000 in value issued under subparagraph (A) are
deemed to equal the fair market value of all mineral and
geothermal interests to be conveyed by exchange under
paragraph (2).
‘‘(4) ACCEPTANCE OF CREDITS.—The Secretary of the Interior
shall accept credits issued under paragraph (3)(A) in the same
manner as cash for the payments described in such paragraph.
The use of the credits shall be subject to the laws (including
regulations) governing such payments, to the extent the laws
are consistent with this subsection.
‘‘(5) TREATMENT OF CREDITS FOR DISTRIBUTION TO STATES.—
All amounts in the form of credits accepted by the Secretary
of the Interior under paragraph (4) for the payments described
in paragraph (3)(A) shall be considered to be money received
for the purpose of section 35 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30
U.S.C. 191) and section 20 of the Geothermal Steam Act of
1970 (30 U.S.C. 1019).
‘‘(6) EXCHANGE ACCOUNT.—
‘‘(A) 
ESTABLISHMENT.—Notwithstanding 
any 
other
provision of law, not later than 30 days after the completion
of the exchange with a company required by paragraph
H. R. 1659—3
(2), the Secretary of the Interior shall establish an exchange
account for that company for the monetary credits issued
to that company under paragraph (3). The account for
a company shall be established with the Minerals Manage-
ment Service of the Department of the Interior and have
an initial balance of credits equal to $2,100,000.
‘‘(B) USE
OF
CREDITS.—The credits in a company’s
account shall be available to the company for the purposes
specified in paragraph (3)(A). The Secretary of the Interior
shall adjust the balance of credits in the account to reflect
credits accepted by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant
to paragraph (4).
‘‘(C) TRANSFER OR SALE OF CREDITS.—
‘‘(i) TRANSFER OR SALE AUTHORIZED.—A company
may transfer or sell any credits in the company’s
account to another person.
‘‘(ii) USE OF TRANSFERRED CREDITS.—Credits trans-
ferred or sold under clause (i) may be used in accord-
ance with this subsection only by a person that is
qualified to bid on, or that holds, a mineral, oil, or
gas lease under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C.
181 et seq.), the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act
(43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.), or the Geothermal Steam
Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.).
‘‘(iii) NOTIFICATION.—Within 30 days after the
transfer or sale of any credits by a company, that
company shall notify the Secretary of the Interior of
the transfer or sale. The transfer or sale of any credit
shall not be considered valid until the Secretary of
the Interior has received the notification required
under this clause.
‘‘(D) TIME
LIMIT
ON
USE
OF
CREDITS.—On the date
that is 5 years after the date on which an account is
created under subparagraph (A) for a company, the Sec-
retary of the Interior shall terminate that company’s
account. Any credits that originated in the terminated
account and have not been used as of the termination
date, including any credits transferred or sold under
subparagraph (C), shall become unusable.
‘‘(7) TITLE TO INTERESTS.—On the date of the establishment
of an exchange account for a company under paragraph (6)(A),
title to any mineral and geothermal interests that are held
by the company and are to be acquired by the Secretary of
the Interior under paragraph (2) shall transfer to the United
States.
‘‘(h) OTHER MINERAL AND GEOTHERMAL INTERESTS.—Within 180
days after the date of the enactment of this subsection, the Secretary
shall submit to the Committee on Resources of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
of the Senate a report—
H. R. 1659—4
‘‘(1) identifying all remaining privately held mineral
interests within the boundaries of the Monument referred to
in section 1(a); and
‘‘(2) setting forth a plan and a timetable by which the
Secretary would propose to complete the acquisition of such
interests.’’.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.