End Polluter Welfare Act of 2012

Bill: 112-s-3080
Sponsor: Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT]
Introduced: 2012-05-10 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Accounting and auditing
Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Advanced technology and technological innovations
Air quality
Business investment and capital
Capital gains tax
Climate change and greenhouse gases
Coal
Competitiveness, trade promotion, trade deficits
Congressional oversight
Department of Energy
Energy research
Energy revenues and royalties
Energy storage, supplies, demand
Environmental technology
Executive agency funding and structure
Government lending and loan guarantees
Government trust funds
Gulf of Mexico
Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
Income tax credits
Income tax deductions
Manufacturing
Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
Marine pollution
Mining
Montana
Motor fuels
Multilateral development programs
Navigation, waterways, harbors
Oil and gas
Pipelines
Pollution liability
Public utilities and utility rates
Railroads
Research administration and funding
Research and development
Sales and excise taxes
Securities
Solid waste and recycling
Tax administration and collection, taxpayers
Taxation of foreign income
Transportation programs funding
U.S. and foreign investments
Water quality
Wyoming

Summary:
action_date: 2012-05-10
text: 
End Polluter Welfare Act of 2012 - Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to repeal the authority of the Secretary of the Interior to reduce or eliminate royalty payments for oil and natural gas leases in the Outer Continental Shelf. 
 
 Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to increase minimum royalty payments for coal, oil, and natural gas leases. 
 
Repeals the program for ultra-deepwater and unconventional natural gas and other petroleum resource exploration and production.
 
Amends the Oil Pollution Act to eliminate the limitation on liability for offshore facilities and pipeline operators for oil spills. 
 
Rescinds all unobligated balances made available to the World Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the Export-Import Bank, the Advanced Research Projects Agency in the Department of Defense (DOD), and other international financing entities to carry out any project that supports coal, oil, or natural gas. 
 
Terminates the Office of Fossil Energy Research and Development in the Department of Energy (DOE) and the authority to carry out any of its programs. 
 
Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to eliminate from the categories of projects eligible for loan guarantees for innovative technologies: (1) projects involving advanced fossil energy technology, and (2) and crude oil refineries.
 
Prohibits the Secretary of Agriculture from making loans under the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to carry out projects that will use coal, oil, or natural gas. 
 
Prohibits the use of Department of Transportation (DOT) funds to award any grant or other direct assistance to any rail or port project that transports coal, oil, or natural gas.
 
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to limit or repeal provisions allowing tax incentives for investment in fossil fuels.
 
Increases the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund financing rate. 
 
Imposes a 13% tax on the removal price of any taxable crude oil or natural gas from the Outer Continental Shelf in the Gulf of Mexico.
 Designates the Powder River Basin in southeast Montana and northeast Wyoming as a coal producing region. 
Eliminates accelerated depreciation for property that is receiving a subsidy for fossil fuel production.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2012-05-10
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2012-05-10
text: Introduced in Senate