Title: OCEAN Act
Policy area: Energy

Summary:
Outer Continental Shelf Energy Access Now Act or the OCEAN Act
This bill amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to limit the President's authority to prohibit oil and gas leasing on the outer Continental Shelf.
The President may prohibit, through a rule making, oil and gas leasing on areas of the outer Continental Shelf located in a national marine sanctuary.
Any suspension of operations under a lease arising from a state of war or declaration of national emergency shall be for 90 days and may be renewed.
The bill rescinds existing moratoriums on oil and gas leasing on areas of the outer Continental Shelf other than marine sanctuaries and national monuments.
The President may not declare or reserve any ocean waters or lands beneath ocean waters as a national monument.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 956 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 956

 To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to limit the authority 
 of the President to withdraw areas from oil and gas leasing, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 27, 2017

  Mr. Cassidy (for himself and Mr. Kennedy) introduced the following 
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to limit the authority 
 of the President to withdraw areas from oil and gas leasing, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Outer Continental Shelf Energy 
Access Now Act'' or the ``OCEAN Act''.

SEC. 2. LIMITATION OF AUTHORITY OF THE PRESIDENT TO WITHDRAW AREAS OF 
              THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF FROM OIL AND GAS LEASING.

    (a) Withdrawals.--
            (1) Limitation.--Section 12 of the Outer Continental Shelf 
        Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1341) is amended--
                    (A) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 
                following:
    ``(a) Limitation on Withdrawals.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in this 
        section, no unleased land of the outer Continental Shelf may be 
        withdrawn from disposition except by Act of Congress.
            ``(2) National marine sanctuaries.--The President, through 
        a rulemaking under section 553 of title 5, United States Code, 
        may withdraw from disposition any of the unleased land of the 
        outer Continental Shelf located in a national marine 
        sanctuary.''; and
                    (B) in subsection (c)--
                            (i) by striking ``(c) All leases'' and 
                        inserting the following:
    ``(c) National Security Provisions.--
            ``(1) In general.--All leases''; and
                            (ii) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Time period for suspension of operations.--Any 
        suspension of operations under paragraph (1)--
                    ``(A) shall be for a period of not more than 90 
                days; and
                    ``(B) may be renewed for one or more additional 
                periods of not more than 90 days each.''.
            (2) Existing withdrawals.--Any withdrawal from disposition 
        of any of the unleased land of the outer Continental Shelf 
        under section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 
        (43 U.S.C. 1341(a)) (as in effect on the day before the date of 
        enactment of this Act) that occurred before the date of the 
        enactment of this Act (other than a withdrawal from disposition 
        any of the unleased land of the outer Continental Shelf located 
        in a national marine sanctuary or a national monument) shall 
        have no force or effect.
    (b) Termination of Authority To Establish Marine National 
Monuments.--
            (1) Termination of authority.--Section 320301 of title 54, 
        United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
        following:
    ``(e) Limitation of Marine Areas.--Notwithstanding subsections (a) 
and (b), the President may not declare or reserve any ocean waters (as 
defined in section 3 of the Marine Protection, Research, and 
Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (33 U.S.C. 1402)) or land beneath ocean waters 
as a national monument.''.
            (2) Existing monuments not affected.--Nothing in the 
        amendment made by paragraph (1) affects any national monument 
        declared before the date of the enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>