I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4535 
To prohibit drilling in the outer Continental Shelf, to prohibit coal leases 
on Federal land, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 11, 2016 
Mr. HUFFMAN (for himself, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Mr. HONDA, Ms. 
LEE, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. NORTON, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, 
Ms. EDWARDS, Mr. GRAYSON, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. 
VAN HOLLEN, Mr. GUTIE´RREZ, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. DESAULNIER, and 
Mr. GRIJALVA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To prohibit drilling in the outer Continental Shelf, to prohibit 
coal leases on Federal land, 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. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Keep It in the Ground 
Act of 2016’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
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(1) from 1880 through 2014, global tempera-
tures have increased by about 0.9 degrees Celsius; 
(2) the vast majority of global warming that 
has occurred over the past 50 years was due to 
human activities, primarily the burning of fossil 
fuels; 
(3) emissions of greenhouse gases and atmos-
pheric concentrations of greenhouse gases continue 
to rise, which results in a continued warming trend; 
(4) global warming already has a significant im-
pact on the economy, including the farming, fishing, 
forestry, and recreation industries; 
(5) the significant impacts of global warming 
that are already occurring will be amplified by a 
global temperature increase of 2 degrees Celsius, 
which will lead to increased droughts, rising seas, 
mass 
extinctions, 
heat 
waves, 
desertification, 
wildfires, acidifying oceans, significant economic dis-
ruption, and security threats; 
(6) to avoid exceeding 2 degrees Celsius warm-
ing, at least 80 percent of carbon from proven fossil 
fuel reserves must be kept in the ground; 
(7) the potential emissions resulting from ex-
tracting and burning all fossil fuels on Federal land 
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and waters amounts to a significant percentage of 
the greenhouse gas emissions limit; and 
(8) ending new leases for fossil fuels will pre-
vent the release of 90 percent of the potential emis-
sions from Federal fossil fuels. 
(b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 
United States that— 
(1) Federal land and waters should be managed 
for the benefit of the people of the United States— 
(A) to avoid the most dangerous impacts 
of climate change; and 
(B) to promote a rapid transition to a 
clean energy economy by keeping fossil fuels in 
the ground; and 
(2) the Federal Government should pursue 
management of Federal land and waters for the ben-
efit of the people of the United States by not issuing 
any new lease or renewing any nonproducing lease 
for coal, oil, or natural gas in any Federal land or 
waters. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) EXTEND.—The term ‘‘extend’’ means the 
act of extending a lease under the Mineral Leasing 
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Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) beyond the existing term 
of the lease. 
(2) NONPRODUCING LEASE.—The term ‘‘non-
producing lease’’ means any lease under which no 
coal, oil, gas, oil shale, tar sands, or other fossil fuel 
approved in the lease contract has been extracted for 
commercial use. 
(3) REINSTATE.—The term ‘‘reinstate’’ means 
the act of reinstating a lease under the Mineral 
Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) after a violation 
of any term of the lease that resulted in suspension 
or cancellation of the lease. 
(4) RENEW.—The term ‘‘renew’’ means the act 
of renewing a lease under the Mineral Leasing Act 
(30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) for a term that is not longer 
than the maximum renewal term for a lease under 
that Act. 
(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
SEC. 4. STOPPING NEW OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASES IN 
THE GULF OF MEXICO AND THE PACIFIC, AT-
LANTIC, AND ARCTIC OCEANS. 
(a) PROHIBITION ON NEW OIL AND GAS LEASING ON 
THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF.—Section 8 of the 
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Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(q) PROHIBITION ON NEW OIL AND GAS LEASING 
ON THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF.— 
‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) EXTEND.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘extend’ 
means the act of extending a lease under 
this Act beyond the existing term of the 
lease. 
‘‘(ii) INCLUSION.—The term ‘extend’ 
includes the act of extending a lease fol-
lowing a suspension under this Act. 
‘‘(B) NONPRODUCING
LEASE.—The term 
‘nonproducing lease’ means any lease under 
which any coal, oil, gas, oil shale, tar sands, or 
other fossil fuel approved in the lease contract 
has been extracted. 
‘‘(C) REINSTATE.—The term ‘reinstate’ 
means the act of reinstating a lease under this 
Act after a violation of any term of the lease 
that resulted in suspension or cancellation of 
the lease. 
‘‘(D) RENEW.—The term ‘renew’ means 
the act of renewing a lease under this Act for 
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a term that is not longer than the maximum re-
newal term for a lease under this Act. 
‘‘(2) PROHIBITION.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of this Act or any other law, the Secretary 
of the Interior shall not issue a new lease, renew, re-
instate, or extend any nonproducing lease, or issue 
any other authorization for the exploration, develop-
ment, or production of oil, natural gas, or any other 
fossil fuel in— 
‘‘(A) the Arctic Ocean; 
‘‘(B) the Atlantic Ocean, including the 
Straits of Florida; 
‘‘(C) the Pacific Ocean; 
‘‘(D) the Gulf of Mexico; or 
‘‘(E) any other area of the outer Conti-
nental Shelf.’’. 
(b) CANCELLATION OF EXISTING LEASES.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of law, not later than 60 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
cancel any lease issued under section 8 of the Outer Conti-
nental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337) on or before the 
date of enactment of this Act in the Beaufort Sea, Cook 
Inlet, or Chukchi Sea. 
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SEC. 5. STOPPING NEW COAL, OIL, TAR SANDS, FRACKED 
GAS, AND OIL SHALE LEASES ON FEDERAL 
LAND. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Sec-
retary shall not conduct any lease sale, enter into any new 
lease, reoffer for lease any land covered by an expiring 
lease, or renew, reinstate, or extend any nonproducing 
lease in existence on or before the date of enactment of 
this Act for onshore fossil fuels, including coal, oil, tar 
sands, oil shale, and gas on land subject to the Mineral 
Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.). 
SEC. 6. EXCEPTIONS. 
(a) NATIONAL SECURITY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 
the Secretary may exempt any provision of this Act 
or an amendment made by this Act for a lease if the 
Secretary determines, on the record and based on 
available information, that— 
(A) there is an imminent national security 
threat; and 
(B) issuing an exemption for the lease 
would significantly reduce the imminent na-
tional security threat. 
(2) DURATION.—An exemption under para-
graph (1) shall continue only for as long as the im-
minent national security threat persists. 
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(b) BREACH OF CONTRACT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 
the Secretary may allow a nonproducing lease to be 
renewed or extended if— 
(A) the nonproducing lease contract was 
signed before the date of enactment of this Act; 
and 
(B) the Secretary determines that giving 
effect to any provision of this Act or an amend-
ment made by this Act is likely to lead to a 
court with jurisdiction ruling that there was a 
material breach of the nonproducing lease con-
tract. 
(2) DURATION.—A renewal or extension under 
paragraph (1) shall be for the shortest time prac-
ticable, consistent with the terms of the nonpro-
ducing lease contract. 
SEC. 7. SEVERABILITY. 
If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by 
this Act, or the application of such a provision or amend-
ment to any person or circumstance is held to be invalid 
or unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act, the amend-
ments made by this Act, and the application of those pro-
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visions and amendments to any person or circumstance 
shall not be affected. 
Æ 
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