I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3736 
To reform the Minerals Management Service by establishing it as an 
independent Federal agency. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 7, 2009 
Mr. ISSA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To reform the Minerals Management Service by establishing 
it as an independent Federal agency. 
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 ‘‘Minerals Management 
Service Reform Act’’. 
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUC-
TURE. 
There is established as an independent establishment 
in the executive branch the Minerals Management Service. 
The Service shall succeed the Minerals Management Serv-
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ice of the Department of the Interior as such department 
is in existence on the day before the effective date of this 
Act. 
SEC. 3. OFFICERS OF SERVICE. 
(a) DIRECTOR.— 
(1) APPOINTMENT.—The Service shall be head-
ed by a Director, who shall be appointed by the 
President, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate, to a 5-year term of office. 
(2) FUNCTIONS.—The Director— 
(A) shall carry out all functions trans-
ferred to the Director by this Act; and 
(B) shall have authority and control over 
all personnel, programs, and activities of the 
Service. 
(3) COMPENSATION.—The Director shall be 
compensated at the rate prescribed for level II of the 
Executive Schedule. 
(b) DEPUTY DIRECTOR.— 
(1) APPOINTMENT.—There shall be in the Serv-
ice a Deputy Director, who shall be appointed by the 
President, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate. 
(2) FUNCTIONS.—The Deputy Director— 
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(A) shall perform such functions and have 
such duties and powers as the Director may 
prescribe; 
(B) shall act for and perform the functions 
of the Director when the Director is absent or 
unable to serve and when the office of the Di-
rector is vacant; and 
(C) shall, to the maximum extent prac-
ticable, assure that procurement actions of the 
Service take advantage of all methods available 
to expedite the procurement process. 
(3) COMPENSATION.—The Deputy Director 
shall be compensated at the rate prescribed for level 
III of the Executive Schedule. 
(c) ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS.— 
(1) APPOINTMENT.—The Director shall appoint 
Associate Directors who shall each have such duties 
as may be prescribed by the Director. 
(2) COMPENSATION.—Each Associate Director 
appointed under this subsection shall be com-
pensated at the rate prescribed for level IV of the 
Executive Schedule. 
(d) CHIEF COUNSEL.— 
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(1) APPOINTMENT.—There shall be in the Serv-
ice a Chief Counsel, who shall be appointed by the 
Director. 
(2) FUNCTIONS.—The Chief Counsel shall be 
the chief legal officer for all legal matters arising 
from the activities of the Service. 
(3) COMPENSATION.—The Chief Counsel shall 
be compensated at the rate prescribed for level IV 
of the Executive Schedule. 
(e) INSPECTOR GENERAL.—The Inspector General 
Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 
(1) in section 12(1), by inserting ‘‘the Minerals 
Management Service;’’ after ‘‘the Export-Import 
Bank;’’; and 
(2) in section 12(2), by inserting ‘‘ ‘the Min-
erals Management Service,’ ’’ after ‘‘the Export-Im-
port Bank,’’. 
SEC. 4. FUNCTIONS OF DIRECTOR. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall— 
(1) exercise all powers and discharge all duties 
of the Service; and 
(2) carry out all functions, powers, and duties 
that are vested in the Department of the Interior on 
the day before the effective date of this Act relating 
to— 
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(A) bidding, leasing, and managing all off-
shore oil and gas, including with respect to the 
Gulf of Mexico and other areas of the Outer 
Continental Shelf; and 
(B) collection of revenue (other than taxes) 
generated by such oil and gas. 
(b) EXISTING LAW.—Except as otherwise provided 
by this Act, in carrying out the functions of the Service 
under this Act, the Director shall be subject to all provi-
sions of law to which the Director was subject on the day 
before the effective date of this Act to the extent such pro-
visions are not inconsistent with this Act. 
(c) NOT SUBJECT TO ENTITIES CREATED BY EXEC-
UTIVE ORDER.—The Director shall not submit decisions 
for the approval of, and shall not be bound by the deci-
sions or recommendations of, any committee, board, or 
other organization created by Executive Order. 
SEC. 5. TRANSFERS AND INCIDENTAL PROVISIONS. 
(a) TRANSFERS.—The following are transferred to 
the Minerals Management Service established by section 
2: 
(1) FUNCTIONS OF MMS.—All functions vested 
by law on the day before the effective date of this 
Act in the Minerals Management Service in the De-
partment of the Interior or its Director, and all 
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functions vested by law on the day before the effec-
tive date of this Act in the Department of the Inte-
rior or the Department of the Interior that are ad-
ministered through the Minerals Management Serv-
ice (including budgetary and procurement functions) 
or related to the Minerals Management Service. 
(2) INCIDENTAL FUNCTIONS.—All functions of 
the Department of the Interior and of the Minerals 
Management Service in the Department of the Inte-
rior on the day before the effective date of this Act 
that are incidental to, helpful to, or necessary for, 
the performance of the functions transferred by 
paragraph (1), or that relate primarily to those 
functions. 
(3) PERSONNEL, PROPERTY, RECORDS, AND 
FUNDS.—So much of the personnel, property, 
records, funds, accounts, and unexpended balances 
of appropriations, allocations, and other funds of the 
Department of the Interior and the Minerals Man-
agement Service as are employed, used, held, avail-
able, or to be made available in connection with the 
functions transferred by paragraphs (1) and (2). 
(b) NO REDUCTION IN CLASSIFICATION OR COM-
PENSATION.—The personnel transferred under this sec-
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tion shall be transferred without reduction in classification 
or compensation. 
(c) EXERCISE OF FUNCTIONS BY DIRECTOR.—The 
Director of the Minerals Management Service shall exer-
cise all functions transferred by subsection (a) of this sec-
tion and any other function vested by any law in the Min-
erals Management Service or the Director of the Minerals 
Management Service after the date of the enactment of 
this Act. 
SEC. 6. RULES; REGULATIONS. 
In the performance of functions pursuant to this Act, 
the Director may make, promulgate, issue, rescind, and 
amend rules and regulations in accordance with chapter 
5 of title 5, United States Code. 
SEC. 7. DELEGATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in 
this Act, the Director may delegate functions to officers 
and employees of the Service, and may authorize succes-
sive redelegations of such functions in the Service, as the 
Director considers necessary or appropriate. 
(b) DIRECTOR REMAINS RESPONSIBLE.—A delega-
tion of functions by the Director under this section or 
under any other provision of this Act shall not relieve the 
Director of responsibility for the administration of such 
functions. 
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SEC. 8. SUPPLEMENTAL PERSONNEL AND SERVICES. 
(a) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—In addition to 
the officers provided for by section 3, the Director may 
obtain the services of experts and consultants in accord-
ance with section 3109 of title 5, United States Code. 
(b) PERSONNEL OF OTHER AGENCIES.—Upon re-
quest of the Director, the head of any Federal agency may 
detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the personnel of 
such agency to assist the Director in carrying out func-
tions of the Service. 
(c) VOLUNTEER SERVICES.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Director may accept 
voluntary services of individuals in accordance with 
the provisions of section 3111 of title 5, United 
States Code and without regard to the provisions of 
section 1342 of title 31, United States Code, if such 
services will not be used to displace Federal employ-
ees employed on a full-time, part-time, or seasonal 
basis. 
(2) INCIDENTAL EXPENSES.—The Director may 
provide for incidental expenses, including transpor-
tation, lodging, and subsistence, for persons who 
provide voluntary services pursuant to this sub-
section to the Director. 
(3) NOT FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—An individual 
who provides voluntary services to the Director pur-
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suant to this subsection shall not be considered to 
be a Federal employee for any purpose other than 
for purposes of chapter 81 of title 5, United States 
Code (relating to compensation for work injuries) 
and chapter 171 of title 28, United States Code (re-
lating to tort claims). 
SEC. 9. CONTRACTS. 
The Director may, without regard to the provisions 
of section 3324 of title 31, United States Code, and sub-
ject to appropriations Acts, enter into and perform con-
tracts, leases, cooperative agreements, and other trans-
actions, on such terms and conditions as the Director con-
siders appropriate, with any Federal agency or any instru-
mentality of the United States, with any State, territory, 
or possession, with any political subdivision thereof, and 
with any person (including any educational institution), as 
may be necessary to carry out the functions of the Direc-
tor and the Service. 
SEC. 10. USE OF SERVICES, EQUIPMENT, PERSONNEL, AND 
FACILITIES OF OTHER AGENCIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—With the consent of the appro-
priate agency, the Director may, with or without reim-
bursement, use the services, equipment, personnel, and fa-
cilities of Federal agencies and other public and private 
agencies, and may cooperate with other public and private 
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