jiayi-li23/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Topic: Energy — Natural Gas & Oil
Subject: Energy
Date: 2015-01-06 00:00:00

Domestic Prosperity and Global Freedom Act

Directs the Department of Energy (DOE), for proposals that must also obtain authorization from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or the United States Maritime Administration to site, construct, expand, or operate liquified natural gas (LNG) export facilities, to issue a decision on an application for authorization to export natural gas within 30 days after the later of: (1) the conclusion of the review to site, construct, expand, or operate the LNG facilities required by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA); or (2) the date of enactment of this Act.

Deems any NEPA review to be concluded: (1) 30 days after publication of a required Environmental Impact Statement if the project needs one; (2) 30 days after publication by DOE of a Finding of No Significant Impact if the project needs an Environmental Assessment; and (3) upon a determination by the lead agency that an application is eligible for a categorical exclusion pursuant to regulations under NEPA.

(A "categorical exclusion" under NEPA is a category of actions which do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment and which have been found to have no such effect in procedures adopted by a federal agency in implementing environmental regulations and for which, therefore, neither an Environmental Assessment nor an Environmental Impact Statement is required.) Confers original and exclusive jurisdiction upon the U.S. Court of Appeals for the circuit in which the export facility under an application will be located over any civil action for the review of: (1) a DOE order regarding the application, or (2) DOE failure to issue a final decision on the application.

Requires the Court, if it finds in a civil action that DOE has failed to issue a final decision on an application, to order DOE to issue one within 30 days.

Requires the Court to set any civil action brought under this Act on the docket, for expedited consideration, as soon as practical after the filing date of the initial pleading.

Amends the Natural Gas Act to set as a condition for approval of any authorization to export LNG that the DOE Secretary require the applicant to disclose publicly the specific destination or destinations of any such authorized LNG exports.
Topic: Energy — Natural Gas & Oil
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2015-01-06 00:00:00

Surface Transportation and Taxation Equity Act or the STATE Act 

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the federal excise tax on gasoline and special fuels (but not below two cents per gallon) by corresponding increases in fuel taxes imposed by states as of January 6, 2015 (the date of introduction of this Act).
Topic: Energy — Natural Gas & Oil
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Date: 2015-01-06 00:00:00

Crude Oil Export Act

Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to repeal the authority of the President to restrict exports of: (1) coal, petroleum products, natural gas, or petrochemical feedstocks, and (2) materials or equipment which he determines necessary for either exploration, production, refining, or transportation of energy supplies, or for construction or maintenance of energy facilities within the United States.

Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to repeal limitations on exports of oil.

Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to repeal limitations on export of Outer Continental Shelf oil or gas on the lands within its purview.

Declares without force or effect: (1) the limitation placed upon crude oil exports by the Export Administration Act of 1979, and (2) a specified regulation relating to crude oil.

Directs the Bureau of Industry and Security of the Department of Commerce to grant licenses to export crude oil to a country unless: (1) the country is subject to sanctions or trade restrictions imposed by the United States, or (2) either the President or Congress has designated the country as subject to exclusion for reasons of national security.

Authorizes the President, subject to a congressional resolution of disapproval, to ban the export of crude oil from the United States for a maximum period of 90 days during a national emergency. Permits renewal of such ban during periods of national emergency.

Subjects any act of imposing or renewing a ban to a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act.
Topic: Energy — Natural Gas & Oil
Subject: Energy
Date: 2015-01-06 00:00:00

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Natural Gas Pipeline Permitting Reform Act

 Amends the Natural Gas Act to direct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to approve or deny a certificate of public convenience and necessity for a prefiled project within 12 months after receiving a complete application that is ready to be processed.

 Defines "prefiled project" as a project for the siting, construction, expansion, or operation of a natural gas pipeline with respect to which a prefiling docket number has been assigned by FERC pursuant to a prefiling process established by FERC for the purpose of facilitating the formal application process for obtaining a certificate of public convenience and necessity.

Requires the agency responsible for issuing any federal license, permit, or approval regarding the siting, construction, expansion, or operation of a project for which a certificate is sought to approve or deny issuance of the certificate within 90 days after FERC issues its final environmental document regarding the project.

Requires FERC to grant an agency request for a 30-day extension of the 90-day time period if the agency demonstrates that it cannot otherwise complete the process required to approve or deny the license, permit, or approval, and therefore will be compelled to deny it.

Authorizes FERC, in granting such an extension, to offer technical assistance to the agency in order to address conditions preventing completion of the application review.

Declares that, if the agency fails to approve or deny issuance of a permit, license, or approval within the prescribed time-frame, the license, permit, or approval shall take effect upon expiration of 30 days after the period's end.

 Directs FERC to incorporate into the terms of a license, permit, or approval any conditions proffered by the agency that FERC does not find to be inconsistent with the final environmental document.
Topic: Energy — Natural Gas & Oil
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2015-01-08 00:00:00

Tar Sands Tax Loophole Elimination Act 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to expand the definition of "crude oil" for purposes of the excise tax on petroleum and petroleum products to include any bitumen or bituminous mixture, any oil derived from a bitumen or bituminous mixture (tar sands), and any oil derived from kerogen-bearing sources (oil shale).
Topic: Energy — Natural Gas & Oil
Subject: Energy
Date: 2015-01-13 00:00:00

American Energy Independence and Price Reduction Act

 Directs the Secretary of the Interior to implement a competitive leasing program for the exploration, development, and production of the oil and gas resources on the Coastal Plain of Alaska.

Permits lease sales to be conducted through an Internet leasing program if such a system will result in savings to the taxpayer, an increase in the number of bidders participating, and higher returns than oral bidding or a sealed bidding system.

Amends the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 to repeal the prohibition against leasing or other development leading to production of oil and gas from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

Deems any oil and gas leasing programs and activities authorized by this Act to be in compliance with ANWR purposes.

Authorizes the Secretary to designate up to 45,000 acres of the Coastal Plain as a Special Area, after consultation with the state of Alaska, the city of Kaktovik, and the North Slope Borough.

Permits directional drilling in the Special Area.

Prescribes procedures governing Coastal Plain lease sales, as well as terms and conditions, including: (1) environmental protection; (2) federal and state distribution of revenues; and (3) rights-of-way.

Sets forth: (1) a "no significant adverse effect" standard to govern Coastal Plain activities; and (2) guidelines for expedited judicial review of complaints.

Establishes the ANWR Alternative Energy Trust Fund, into which shall be deposited 50% of the amount of bonus, rental, and royalty revenues from Federal oil and gas leasing and operations authorized under this Act.
Topic: Energy — Natural Gas & Oil
Subject: Energy
Date: 2015-01-14 00:00:00

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

LNG Permitting Certainty and Transparency Act

(Sec. 2) Directs the Department of Energy (DOE), for proposals that must also obtain authorization from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or the United States Maritime Administration to site, construct, expand, or operate liquified natural gas (LNG) export facilities, to issue a decision on an application for authorization to export natural gas within 30 days after the later of: (1) the conclusion of the review to site, construct, expand, or operate the LNG facilities required by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA); or (2) the date of enactment of this Act.

Deems any NEPA review to be concluded: (1) 30 days after publication of a required Environmental Impact Statement if the project needs one; (2) 30 days after publication by DOE of a Finding of No Significant Impact if the project needs an Environmental Assessment; and (3) upon a determination by the lead agency that an application is eligible for a categorical exclusion pursuant to regulations under NEPA.

(A "categorical exclusion" under NEPA is a category of actions which do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment and which have been found to have no such effect in procedures adopted by a federal agency in implementing environmental regulations and for which, therefore, neither an Environmental Assessment nor an Environmental Impact Statement is required.) Confers original and exclusive jurisdiction upon the U.S. Court of Appeals for the circuit in which the export facility under an application will be located over any civil action for the review of: (1) a DOE order regarding the application, or (2) DOE failure to issue a final decision on the application.

Requires the Court, if it finds in a civil action that DOE has failed to issue a final decision on an application, to order DOE to issue one within 30 days.

Requires the Court to set any civil action brought under this Act on the docket for expedited consideration as soon as practical after the filing date of the initial pleading.

(Sec. 3) Amends the Natural Gas Act to set as a condition for approval of any authorization to export LNG that the DOE Secretary require the applicant to disclose publicly the specific destination or destinations of any such authorized LNG exports.
Topic: Energy — Natural Gas & Oil
Subject: Energy
Date: 2015-01-21 00:00:00

Export American Natural Gas Act of 2015

 Amends the Natural Gas Act to direct the Secretary of Energy to either approve or deny an application to export liquefied natural gas (LNG), whether through an onshore or offshore terminal, within 60 days after the later of: (1) receiving a completed application; (2) the applicant's contracting with a customer for the LNG proposed to be exported, and (3) the date of the enactment of this Act.

Deems the application approved if the Secretary has neither approved nor denied it by such 60-day deadline.

Declares this Act inapplicable to applications for export to a nation to which export is prohibited by law. Directs the Secretary of State to report to Congress on: (1) how the economic policies of foreign countries with natural gas resources and reserves relate to the development and production of their natural gas resources and reserves, as well as the extent and status of their natural gas resources and reserves; (2) the potential of such countries to export their natural gas production to the global market, including the impact of such exports upon the global market; and (3) U.S. actions to foster natural gas exports to foreign countries having an interest in importing natural gas from the United States.
Topic: Energy — Natural Gas & Oil
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Date: 2015-01-27 00:00:00

Prohibits the Secretary of the Interior from issuing a lease, permit, or license for oil exploration or extraction from specified submerged Outer Continental Shelf lands located within 125 miles of the coastline of New Jersey, including areas with respect to which a moratorium on oil and gas leasing activities existed before enactment of this Act.
Topic: Energy — Natural Gas & Oil
Subject: Energy
Date: 2015-02-03 00:00:00

Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to repeal authority to restrict the export of: (1) coal, petroleum products, natural gas, or petrochemical feedstocks; and (2) supplies of materials or equipment necessary to maintain or further exploration, production, refining, or transportation of energy supplies, or for the construction or maintenance of energy facilities within the United States.

Prohibits any federal official from imposing or enforcing any restriction on the export of crude oil.

Requires the Secretary of Energy to study and make recommendations on the appropriate size, composition, and purpose of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Topic: Energy — Natural Gas & Oil
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2015-02-03 00:00:00

Update, Promote, and Develop America's Transportation Essentials Act of 2015

Expresses the sense of Congress that by 2024 the gas tax should be repealed and replaced with a more sustainable, stable funding source.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the excise tax on motor fuels, to increase the rate of tax on: (1) gasoline other than aviation gasoline to 26.3 cents per gallon in 2016, 30.3 cents per gallon in 2017, and 33.3 cents per gallon after 2017 and before 2028; (2) diesel fuel or kerosene to 32.3 cents per gallon in 2016, 36.3 cents per gallon in 2017, and 39.3 cents per gallon after 2017 and before 2027; and (3) diesel-water fuel emulsion. Delays the termination of such increased rates from the end of FY2016 to December 31, 2026. Requires an adjustment for inflation to such increased rates beginning after 2017.

Increases allocations in the Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund in 2016 and 2017 and after 2017.

Imposes a floor stocks tax on rate increases for gasoline, diesel fuel, and  kerosene (other than aviation-grade kerosene), subject to specified exemptions for exempt uses and low-volume producers.
Topic: Energy — Natural Gas & Oil
Subject: Energy
Date: 2015-02-04 00:00:00

(Sec. 3) Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to repeal authority to restrict the export of: (1) coal, petroleum products, natural gas, or petrochemical feedstocks; and (2) supplies of materials or equipment necessary to maintain or further exploration, production, refining, or transportation of energy supplies, or for the construction or maintenance of energy facilities within the United States.

Prohibits any federal official from imposing or enforcing any restriction on the export of crude oil.

(Sec. 4) Directs the Department of Energy (DOE) to study: (1) the appropriate size, composition, and purpose of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; and (2) the net greenhouse gas emissions that will result from the repeal of the crude oil export ban.

Directs the Department of Commerce to study the state and national implications of lifting the crude oil export ban with respect to consumers and the economy, including energy prices and employment. (Sec. 5) Declares that this Act does not limit the authority of the President to prohibit exports under either the Constitution, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the National Emergencies Act, the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, Trading with the Enemy Act, or any other law that imposes sanctions on a foreign person or foreign government (or prohibits or restricts U.S. persons from engaging in a transaction with a sanctioned person or government), including a foreign government designated as a state sponsor of terrorism.

(Sec. 6) Increases for FY2017-FY2021 both the authorization of appropriations and payments to contractors for each vessel in the Maritime Security Fleet covered by an operating agreement.

(Sec. 7) Directs DOE to: (1) continue to develop and broaden partnerships with minority serving institutions, including Hispanic Serving Institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the areas of oil and gas exploration, production, midstream, and refining; and (2) encourage public-private partnerships between the energy sector and those institutions.

(Sec. 8) Requires both DOE and the Commerce to report jointly to Congress regarding:

 the impact of lifting the oil export ban under this Act as it relates to promoting U.S. energy and national security; and how lifting the ban will help create opportunities for veterans and women in the United States, while promoting energy and national security. (Sec. 10) Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed as authorizing the export of crude oil, refined petroleum products, and petrochemical products by any entity or person subject to U.S. jurisdiction to any entity or person located in, subject to the jurisdiction of, or sponsored by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Topic: Energy — Natural Gas & Oil
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2015-02-11 00:00:00

Energy Production Fairness Act 

This bill equalizes the excise tax on liquefied petroleum gas and liquefied natural gas by establishing a rate of 18.3 cents per energy equivalent of a gallon of gasoline for liquefied petroleum gas and 24.3 cents per energy equivalent of a gallon of diesel for liquefied natural gas.
Topic: Energy — Natural Gas & Oil
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2015-02-11 00:00:00

LNG Excise Tax Equalization Act of 2015 

 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to adjust the excise tax on liquefied natural gas to 24.3 cents per energy equivalent of a gallon of diesel.
Topic: Energy — Natural Gas & Oil
Subject: Health
Date: 2015-02-12 00:00:00

Appalachian Communities Health Emergency Act or ACHE Act

 Requires the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to conduct or support comprehensive studies on the health impacts of mountaintop removal coal mining on individuals in the surrounding communities. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, upon receipt of a report on study results, to publish a determination of whether such mining presents any health risks to individuals in those communities. Defines "mountaintop removal coal mining" as surface coal mining that uses blasting with explosives in the steep slope regions of Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia.

Prohibits issuance of an authorization for any mountaintop removal coal mining project (or expansion), under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) or the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, until and unless the Secretary publishes a determination that such mining does not present any health risk to individuals in the surrounding communities. Imposes requirements for continuous monitoring of air, noise, and water pollution and frequent monitoring of soil until a determination by the Secretary is made.

Directs the President, acting through the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement of the Department of the Interior, to assess a one-time fee upon persons that conduct such mining projects, sufficient to cover the federal cost of the health studies and pollution monitoring required by this Act.
Topic: Energy — Natural Gas & Oil
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2015-03-19 00:00:00

Focused Reduction of Effluence and Stormwater runoff through Hydrofracking Environmental Regulation Act of 2015 or the FRESHER Act of 2015 

This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to allow the Environmental Protection Agency to require a permit under the national pollutant discharge elimination system for discharges of stormwater runoff from: (1) mining operations; (2) oil and gas operations; or (3) transmission facilities for collecting and conveying precipitation runoff that are not contaminated by contact with any overburden, raw material, intermediate products, finished product, byproduct, or waste products located on the site of the operations.

The Department of the Interior must study stormwater runoff associated with oil or gas operations, including an analysis of: (1) measurable contamination, (2) groundwater resources, and (3) the susceptibility of aquifers to contamination from stormwater runoff associated with the operations.
Topic: Energy — Natural Gas & Oil
Subject: Energy
Date: 2015-03-26 00:00:00

Protecting States' Rights to Promote American Energy Security Act 

 Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to prohibit the Department of the Interior (Department) from enforcing any federal regulation, guidance, or permit requirement regarding hydraulic fracturing (including any component of that process), relating to oil, gas, or geothermal production activities on or under any land in any state that has regulations, guidance, or permit requirements for that activity.

Defines "hydraulic fracturing" as the process by which fracturing fluids (including a fracturing fluid system) are pumped into an underground geologic formation to generate fractures or cracks, thereby increasing rock permeability near the wellbore and improving production of natural gas or oil.

Requires the Department to recognize and defer to state regulations, permitting, and guidance for all activities regarding hydraulic fracturing relating to oil, gas, or geothermal production activities on federal land.

Requires each state to submit to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) a copy of its regulations that: (1) apply to hydraulic fracturing operations on federal land, and (2) require disclosure of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing operations on federal land.

Directs the Secretary of the Interior to make such state regulations available to the public.

Directs the Comptroller General to examine the economic benefits of domestic shale oil and gas production resulting from hydraulic fracturing, including identification of: (1) state and federal revenue generated as a result of shale gas production, (2) jobs created as a result of shale oil and gas production, and (3) an estimate of potential energy prices without domestic shale oil and gas production.

Prohibits the Department from enforcing any federal regulation, guidance, or permit requirement governing the hydraulic fracturing process, or any of its components, relating to oil, gas, or geothermal production activities on land held either in trust or restricted status for the benefit of Indians except with the express consent of the beneficiary on whose behalf such land is held in trust or restricted status.
Topic: Energy — Natural Gas & Oil
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2015-03-26 00:00:00

Alternative Fuel Tax Parity Act

This bill equalizes the excise tax on liquefied petroleum gas and liquefied natural gas by establishing a rate of 18.3 cents per energy equivalent of a gallon of gasoline for liquefied petroleum gas and 24.3 cents per energy equivalent of a gallon of diesel for liquefied natural gas. The bill also expands the alternative fuel excise tax credit to include liquefied natural gas used in a motor vehicle or motorboat or sold for use as a fuel in aviation.
Topic: Energy — Natural Gas & Oil
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2015-03-26 00:00:00

Bakken Crude Stabilization Act of 2015

This bill authorizes Bakken crude oil to be transported by rail only if it has a Reid vapor pressure of not more than 9.5 pounds per square inch (the maximum volatility set by the New York Mercantile Exchange for crude oil futures contracts).