zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on November 18, 2013. 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.

Date: 2013-05-09
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Energy
Hospital Energy Conservation Act - Directs the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to establish a pilot program to award grants and loan guarantees to no more than six hospitals during FY2014-FY2015 to carry out energy conservation projects for: (1) significantly improving energy efficiency; and (2) encouraging on-site power generation and energy storage, capable of operating independent of the grid, and providing sufficient on-site emergency backup power for essential hospital functions.

Date: 2013-05-14
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Energy
Federal Price Gouging Prevention Act of 2013 - Makes it unlawful for any person, during a proclaimed international crisis affecting the oil market, to sell gasoline or any other petroleum distillate at a price that: (1) is unconscionably excessive, and (2) indicates the seller is taking unfair advantage of the circumstances of the crisis to increase prices unreasonably.

Authorizes the President to issue such a proclamation citing the geographic area, gasoline or other petroleum distillate, and time period (not to exceed 30 consecutive days) covered. Permits such a proclamation to be renewed as the President determines appropriate and to include a period of up to one week preceding a reasonably foreseeable emergency.

Sets forth factors to be considered in determining if a violation of this Act has occurred. Requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to enforce a violation of this Act as an unfair or deceptive act or practice and to give priority to enforcement actions concerning companies with U.S. sales over $10 billion per year. Prescribes civil and criminal penalties for violations, but limits the criminal penalty to criminal actions brought by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Authorizes a state to bring a civil action to enforce this Act.

Declares that nothing in this Act preempts any state law.

Date: 2013-05-21
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Energy
Electric Transportation Advancement Act of 2013 - Amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to direct the Secretary of Energy to make loans as well as (under current law) grants for qualified electric transportation projects, especially near-term projects.

Directs the Secretary to inventory existing electric transportation technologies and hybrid transportation technologies and markets and implement methods of promoting them.

Directs the Secretary to: (1) work with utilities to develop low-cost, simple methods of using off-peak electricity or managing on-peak electricity use; (2) develop systems to enable plug-in electric drive vehicles to enhance the availability of emergency back-up power for consumers and work with utilities to study and demonstrate the implications of the introduction of plug-in electric drive vehicles and other types of electric transportation technology on electrical production from renewable resources; and (3) study and demonstrate the potential value to the electric grid of using energy stored in on-board storage systems of plug-in electric drive vehicles.

Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop a program to certify: (1) emissions of criteria pollutants, fuel economy, and petroleum usage of plug-in hybrid electric drive vehicles; and (2) emissions reductions, fuel economy improvements, and petroleum usage reductions from other forms of electric transportation technology.

Requires the EPA Administrator to establish a task force to recommend certification protocols.

Directs the Secretary of Transportation to study and report to Congress on the benefits of and barriers to the widespread deployment of City Cars with performance capability that exceeds that of low-speed vehicles but is less than that of passenger vehicles, and that may be battery electric, fuel cell electric, or plug-in hybrid electric drive vehicles.

Directs the EPA Administrator to: (1) recommend to Congress how vehicle fuel definitions may be changed to be fuel and technology neutral; and (2) report to Congress on how petroleum, emissions, and pollutant reductions may be incorporated into the fuel and technology neutral mobile source emissions control program.

Limits the amount of certain electric vehicle energy storage research and development funding available to the National Laboratories.

Date: 2013-05-21
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Energy
LNG Excise Tax Equalization Act of 2013 - 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.

Date: 2013-05-23
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Taxation
Gas Price and Refinery Capacity Relief Act of 2013 - Amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to require a refinery owner or operator to report to the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration (EIA): (1) at least one year in advance the schedule for any planned removal from service for maintenance, repair, or modification of any refinery or a unit (planned refinery outage); and (2) as soon as practicable any unplanned refinery outages.

Directs the Secretary of Energy to: (1) review, analyze, and make available to refinery operators information on unplanned refinery outages in order to prevent significant market disruptions; and (2) analyze the costs and benefits of creating a national strategic refined petroleum products reserve for refined petroleum products.

Date: 2013-06-04
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Energy
More Energy More Jobs Act - Instructs the Secretary of the Interior to issue a new oil and gas leasing program under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) for a five-year period in lieu of the existing Five-Year OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program.

Terminates the existing Five-Year OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017.

Prescribes requirements for development of proposed new leasing programs. Requires the Secretary to: (1) allow the governor of a coastal state to nominate for leasing any OCS areas adjacent to state waters, (2) include each nominated area in the draft leasing program, and (3) consider the leasing of such areas as an alternative federal action.

Requires the Secretary to include each state-nominated area in the final program unless the impacts of oil and gas development in a particular area cannot be effectively mitigated and the development is not in the national economic interest.

Date: 2013-06-05
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Energy
American Fuel Protection Act of 2013 - Deems a claim for liability against a qualified entity as a claim against the United States for damages resulting from, or aggravated by, the use of transportation fuel containing ethanol in concentrations greater than 10% to operate an internal combustion engine. Abrogates U.S. sovereign immunity and makes the United States exclusively liable for such claims. Limits awards to actual damages sustained by a claimant.

Defines "qualified entity" to mean an entity engaged in the manufacture, use, sale, or distribution of: (1) transportation fuel or renewable fuel, or (2) products which use transportation fuel.

Grants U.S. district courts exclusive jurisdiction of any civil actions on such claims.

Date: 2013-06-05
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Law
Expedite Our Economy Act of 2013 - Amends the Department of Energy Organization Act to transfer from the Secretary of Energy to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) the regulation of the exportation of natural gas under the Natural Gas Act.

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.

Date: 2013-06-20
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Energy
California Ocean and Coastal Protection Act - Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to prohibit oil and gas preleasing, leasing, and related activities in areas of the Outer Continental Shelf located off the coast of California.

Date: 2013-06-25
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Energy
Open Fuel Standard Act of 2013 - Requires each fleet of a manufacturer of passenger automobiles (including light-duty motor vehicles) to comprise at least: (1) 30% qualified vehicles in model year 2016, and (2) 50% qualified vehicles in model year 2017 and each subsequent year.

Defines "qualified vehicle" as: (1) a vehicle that operates on natural gas, hydrogen, or biodiesel; (2) a flexible fuel vehicle capable of operating on gasoline, E85, and M85; (3) a plug-in electric drive vehicle; or (4) a vehicle propelled solely by fuel cell or by something other than an internal combustion engine.

Authorizes a manufacturer to request an exemption from such requirement from the Secretary of Transportation (DOT).

Date: 2013-06-25
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Fracturing Regulations are Effective in State Hands Act - Grants any state sole authority to promulgate or enforce any regulation, guidance, or permit requirement regarding the treatment of a well by the application of fluids under pressure to which propping agents may be added for the expressly designed purpose of initiating or propagating fractures in a target geologic formation in order to enhance production of oil, gas, or geothermal production activities on or under land within the boundaries of that state.

Subjects such a well treatment on federal land to state law as well.

Date: 2013-06-26
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Energy
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Revises certain minimum pipeline safety standards requirements to delay from January 3, 2012, to January 3, 2015, the requirement that the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) issue a regulation that incorporates by reference any pipeline safety regulatory documents or portions only if such documents are made available to the public, free of charge, on an Internet website.

Eliminates the prohibition against issuing guidance unless such requirements are met.

Eliminates also the restriction that such documents be made available to the public only on the Internet.

Date: 2013-06-28
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Mayflower Oil Spill Tax Relief Act of 2013 - Excludes from gross income, for income tax purposes, any compensation provided to or for the benefit of a victim of the pipeline rupture and oil spill in Mayflower, Arkansas, on March 29, 2013.

Date: 2013-07-18
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Taxation
Expedite Our Economy Act of 2013 - Amends the Natural Gas Act to repeal the authority of the Secretary of Energy over the exportation or importation of natural gas, including the related free trade agreements and applications and approval process.

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.

Date: 2013-07-22
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Energy
Directs the Secretary of Energy (DOE), through the Office of Fossil Energy, to carry out a research, development, and technology demonstration program to improve the efficiency of gas turbines used in power generation systems and to identify the technologies that will lead to gas turbine combined cycle efficiency of 65% or simple cycle efficiency of 50%.

Requires the program to: (1) support first-of-a-kind engineering and detailed gas turbine design for megawatt-scale and utility-scale electric power generation; (2) include technology demonstration through component testing, subscale testing, and full scale testing in existing fleets; (3) include field demonstrations of the developed technology elements to demonstrate technical and economic feasibility; and (4) assess overall combined cycle and simple cycle system performance.

Sets forth as program goals: (1) in phase I, to develop the conceptual design of, and to develop and demonstrate the technology required for, advanced high efficiency gas turbines that can achieve at least 62% combined cycle efficiency or 47% simple cycle efficiency on a lower heating value basis; and (2) in phase II, to develop the conceptual design for advanced high efficiency gas turbines that can achieve at least 65% combined cycle efficiency or 50% simple cycle efficiency on a lower heating value basis.

Directs the Secretary, in selecting program proposals, to emphasize the extent to which the proposal will: (1) stimulate the creation or increased retention of jobs in the United States; and (2) promote and enhance U.S. technology leadership.

Authorizes appropriations.

Date: 2013-07-23
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Energy
Gas Accessibility and Stabilization Act of 2013 - Amends the Clean Air Act to revise procedures for waiver by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of a control or prohibition regarding the use of a fuel or fuel additive by: (1) allowing waiver if the Administrator determines that extreme and unusual fuel or fuel additive supply circumstances are the result of a problem with distribution or delivery equipment necessary for the transportation or delivery of such fuel or additives, (2) allowing extension of a waiver for more than 20 days if it is determined that the waiver conditions will exist beyond 20 days, and (3) deeming a request for a waiver that is not approved or denied within 3 days to be approved for the period requested.

Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to modify a fuel system requirements harmonization study to: (1) include consideration of biofuels, (2) add consideration of the projected effects of EPA Tier III requirements on air quality and motor fuel prices, and (3) extend to June 1, 2014, the date for submission to Congress of a report on the results of the study.

Date: 2013-07-25
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Environmental protection
Describes the following as acts that unreasonably burden and discriminate against interstate commerce, and prohibits states, political subdivisions, and any other taxing authority from: (1) assessing natural gas pipeline property at a value that has a higher ratio to its true market value than the ratio used to assess other commercial and industrial property in the same assessment jurisdiction, (2) levying or collecting a tax on such an assessment, (3) levying or collecting an ad valorem property tax on natural gas pipeline property at a rate that exceeds the rate applicable to commercial and industrial property in the same assessment jurisdiction, or (4) imposing any other tax that discriminates against a natural gas pipeline providing transportation subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

 Grants jurisdiction to U.S. District Courts for claims involving discriminatory taxation of natural gas pipeline property and provides for relief for such claims.

Date: 2013-07-31
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Taxation
End Welfare for Big Oil Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to limit or repeal certain tax benefits for major integrated oil companies (defined as companies with annual gross receipts over $1 billion and an average daily worldwide production of crude oil of at least 500,000 barrels or certain successors in interest of such companies), including: (1) the foreign tax credit for companies that are dual capacity taxpayers; (2) the tax deduction for income attributable to the production, transportation, or distribution of oil, natural gas, or primary products thereof; (3) the tax deduction for intangible drilling and development costs; (4) the percentage depletion allowance for oil and gas wells; and (5) the tax deduction for qualified tertiary injectant expenses.

Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to repeal royalty relief (suspension of royalties) for: (1) natural gas production from deep wells in shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico; and (2) deep water oil and gas production in the Western and Central Planning Area of the Gulf (including the portion of the Eastern Planning Area encompassing whole lease blocks lying west of 87 degrees, 30 minutes west longitude).

Dedicates any increased revenue generated by this Act to the reduction of a federal budget deficit or the federal debt.

Date: 2013-08-01
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Taxation
Coastal States Extension Act of 2013 - Amends the Submerged Lands Act to extend state jurisdiction over submerged lands from 3 geographical miles to 12 nautical miles distant from the coast line of a state.

Authorizes a state admitted subsequent to the date of enactment of this Act to assert its seaward boundaries to a line 12 nautical miles distant from its coast line.

States that any oil lease and natural gas lease executed by the Secretary of the Interior that is in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act, and which covers an area within lands transferred to states under this Act, shall remain in full force and effect until it either expires pursuant to its terms or is cancelled pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA).

Authorizes a state in whose territory the leased area is situated to grant oil and natural leases in such area.

Prohibits a state from granting a lease in an area transferred to it under OCSLA until the Secretary of Commerce determines that the state has either an approved management program, or is making satisfactory progress in developing such a program, pursuant to certain administrative grant requirements of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972.

Date: 2013-08-02
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Energy
Amends the Natural Gas Act to exclude from its jurisdiction persons who would not otherwise be subject to the Act if the sole reason for inclusion would be the person's construction or operation of a facility not otherwise subject to the Act that liquefies, stores, processes, or delivers natural gas for vehicular natural gas or other end use purposes even though natural gas may be reinjected into an interstate pipeline, as long as such reinjections are incidental to the facility's provision of natural gas for end use purposes and are required by certain facility needs.

Date: 2013-09-27
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Energy
End Polluter Welfare Act of 2013 - 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 Energy (DOE), and other international financing entities to carry out any project that supports fossil fuel (i.e., coal, petroleum, natural gas, or any derivatives used for fuel).

Terminates the Office of Fossil Energy Research and Development in 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 fossil fuel.

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 fossil fuel.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) limit or repeal provisions allowing tax incentives for investment in fossil fuels, (2) increase the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund financing rate, and (3) impose 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.

Date: 2013-11-21
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Energy
Update, Promote, and Develop America's Transportation Essentials Act of 2013 - 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 33.3 cents per gallon after 2015 and before 2025, (2) diesel fuel or kerosene to 39.3 cents per gallon after 2015 and before 2025, and (3) diesel-water fuel emulsion. Delays the termination of such increased rates from the end of FY2016 to December 31, 2024.

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.

Date: 2013-12-03
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Taxation
Approve the Pipeline Now Act - Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) issue a Presidential permit approving the pipeline described in a specified application filed by TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. to the Department of State for the Keystone XL pipeline, as supplemented to include the Nebraska reroute evaluated in a certain Final Evaluation Report issued by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality; and (2) issue a final environmental impact statement for such pipeline.

Deems such final environmental impact statement, coupled with the Final Evaluation Report, to satisfy all requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the National Historic Preservation Act, and the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

Prohibits the expenditure of federal funds to pay more than 75% of the salary of any senior official in the Department of State if either the Presidential permit or the final environmental impact statement remains unissued 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

Directs the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of the Army to issue all permits associated with the pipeline project that were applied for before enactment of this Act.

Prohibits the expenditure of federal funds, if the relevant permit remains unissued 30 days after enactment of this Act, to pay more than 75% of the salary of: (1) any senior official in the Department of the Interior, or (2) the Secretary of the Army and the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works.

Date: 2013-12-11
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Energy
Export American Natural Gas Act of 2013 - 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; and (2) the applicant's contracting with a customer for the LNG proposed to be exported.

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.

Date: 2013-12-12
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Energy
Ocean Energy Safety and Technology Improvement Act of 2013 - Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, with respect to the consideration of permits for geological explorations and development and production, to allow the Secretary of the Interior to give priority to reviewing and processing plans and applications that use, develop, or demonstrate new safety-enhancing technologies.

Directs the Secretary to establish: (1) a small business innovation research program or technology transfer program, or both, to broaden participation in the development of safer technologies for offshore oil and gas exploration and development; and (2) an Ocean Energy Safety Institute, as a collaborative federally funded research and development center or university-affiliated research center, to enhance safe and responsible operations across the offshore oil and gas industry. Funds operations of the Institute through an annual fee applicable to areas of the outer Continental Shelf subject to an oil or gas lease under which production is not occurring.

Date: 2013-12-16
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Energy
Oil and Gas Leasing Inflation Adjustment Act - Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to increase from $2 per acre to $4 per acre the national minimum acceptable bid for oil and gas leases.

Increases from $2 per acre to $5 per acre the minimum acceptable bid for a tar sand lease.

Increases the annual rental of a lease from $1.50 per acre to $3 per acre for the first through the fifth year of the lease.

Increases the annual lease rental from $2 per acre to $4 per acre for each year after such fifth year.

Directs the Secretary of the Interior to make a cost-of-living adjustment of such dollar amounts at least once every four years and to publish each one in the Federal Register.

Date: 2014-01-13
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Energy
Declares that it is the policy of Congress that our fuel supply needs to be diverse and one method of diversification is the use of natural gas as a fuel source in long haul trucks.

Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to appoint representatives from DOE, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Commerce, Members of Congress, state governments, and private sector individuals to evaluate: (1) barriers to transition from diesel fuel to natural gas in long haul trucks (commercial vehicles with a 26,000 pound or greater gross vehicle weight rating); (2) environmental benefits, as well as other benefits and drawbacks, of using natural gas in such trucks; (3) the expected price differential between traditional diesel oems and natural gas oems; (4) concerns of the participating representatives appointed by the Secretary of using natural gas in long haul trucks; and (5) the effect of using natural gas in such trucks on the Highway Trust Fund.

Date: 2014-01-28
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Natural Gas Long Haul Truck Competitiveness Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to issue regulations to allow natural gas vehicles to exceed any federal weight limitations to operate on the Interstate Highway System by an amount equal to the weight of the vehicle attributable to the natural gas tank and fueling system, less the weight of a comparable diesel tank and fueling system.

Date: 2014-01-28
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Transportation and public works
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Home Heating Emergency Assistance Through Transportation Act of 2014 or HHEATT Act of 2014 - Declares that a covered emergency exemption from federal motor carrier safety regulations issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) shall remain in effect until May 31, 2014, unless the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) determines that the emergency for which the exemption was provided ends before that date.

Defines "covered emergency exemption" as one issued or extended between February 5, 2014, and the date of enactment of this Act to effect regulatory relief for commercial motor vehicle operations directly assisting the delivery of propane and home heating fuels.

States that nothing in this Act may be construed to prohibit the FMCSA from issuing or extending a covered emergency exemption beyond May 31, 2014, under other federal law.

Date: 2014-02-25
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Fight Russian Energy Exploitation (FREE) Act - Amends the Natural Gas Act to deem consistent with the public interest an expedited application and approval process for the importation or exportation of natural gas to either the member states of the European Union, or to the former Soviet states of Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

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.

Date: 2014-03-05
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Energy
Pipeline Modernization and Consumer Protection Act - Requires each operator of a gas pipeline facility, in accordance with an integrity management program, if applicable, to accelerate the repair, rehabilitation, and replacement of gas piping or equipment that is leaking or may pose high risk of leaking.

Requires each state regulatory authority and each nonregulated gas utility, in complying with such requirements, to: (1) develop prioritized timelines to repair or replace all leaking or high-risk piping or equipment, and (2) require use of best available technology to detect gas leaks.

Directs the Administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to issue non-binding best practices guidelines for identifying and classifying high-risk pipeline infrastructure and leaks for repair or replacement.

Directs the Administrator and the heads of other applicable federal agencies to work jointly to establish and publish forms that adopt a standard definition and methodology for calculating and reporting information on the causes of unaccounted-for gas.

Date: 2014-03-27
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Pipeline Revolving Fund and Job Creation Act - Directs the Administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to offer to enter into agreements to make capitalization grants, including letters of credit, to eligible states for the repair or replacement of natural gas distribution pipelines.

Requires grant funds to be deposited into state revolving loan funds to provide loans or loan guarantees to: (1) facilitate compliance with an intended use plan, or (2) repair or replace those pipelines that have been identified as leak-prone.

Prohibits the use of funds from loans or loan guarantees made by a state to repair or replace natural gas distribution pipelines unless all of the iron, steel, plastic, and manufactured goods used in the repair or replacement are produced in the United States (Buy America).

Date: 2014-03-27
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Transportation and public works
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.

Date: 2014-04-01
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Fossil Energy Encouragement and Accountability Act of 2014 - Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Energy (DOE) for FY2015 for coal, natural gas, and oil research and development.

Prohibits the use of such funds, however, to: (1) transform any element of the National Energy Technology Laboratory into a government-owned, contractor-operated laboratory, or to consider or plan for any such transformation; (2) consolidate or close any element of the Laboratory; or (3) transfer the Laboratory's human resources functions from any laboratory.

Date: 2014-05-01
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Energy
Pipeline Inspection Enforcement Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to require the person purchasing or operating a gas or hazardous liquid pipeline facility to inspect it to confirm the pipeline's status as active or abandoned.

Directs the Secretary to require also, by regulation, that the regulatory authority responsible for inspections of the facility ensure that such an inspection is conducted. Applies this inspection requirement with respect to newly listed abandoned pipelines as well.

Date: 2014-05-20
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Repeal and Rebuild Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) repeal the excise tax on gasoline and tires after 2014, (2) impose an additional $6.75 per barrel tax on crude oil and petroleum products, and (3) provide for double indexation (i.e., the sum of the highway construction cost adjustment and the CAFE fuel saved adjustment) of the diesel fuel tax rate. Transfers revenues from the increased petroleum tax to the Highway Trust Fund.

Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue transportation bonds with a term of 10 years and transfer bond proceeds to the Highway Trust Fund.

Date: 2014-06-11
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Taxation
Country-of-Origin Labeling for Fuels Act - Directs the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to study and make recommendations to Congress on appropriate methods and standards for requiring: (1) motor vehicle fuel suppliers to disclose to the next person in the motor vehicle fuel supply chain information regarding each country in which the fuel or any of its components were extracted, refined, or otherwise processed; and (2) motor vehicle fuel retailers to disclose this information to consumers.

Requires the Secretary to prescribe regulations requiring disclosure of country-of-origin information by motor vehicle fuel suppliers and retailers in accordance with such recommendations. Prohibits such regulations, however, from requiring the listing of more than one country-of-origin for a fuel blend containing fuel 70% or more of which originated in a single country.

Authorizes the Secretary to impose a civil penalty of up to $10,000 on any person that knowingly violates such regulations.

Date: 2014-07-16
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Energy
Growing American Shipping Act of 2014 - Amends the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2006 to expand the directive to the Department of Transportation (DOT) to develop and implement a program to promote the transportation of imports of liquefied natural gas to the United States on U.S.-flag vessels to include the promotion of the transportation of exports of the gas from the United States.

Amends the Deepwater Port Act of 1974 to require DOT to give top priority to the processing of a license for liquefied natural gas facilities at a deepwater port that will supply the gas to be exported on U.S.-flag vessels in addition to the priority currently given to the processing of licenses for imports of the gas.

Date: 2014-07-30
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Transportation and public works
America's Energy Security Trust Fund Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an excise tax, beginning in calendar year 2016, on any taxable carbon substance sold by its manufacturer, producer, or importer. Defines "taxable carbon substance" as: (1) coal (including lignite and peat); (2) petroleum and any petroleum products; and (3) natural gas that is extracted, manufactured, or produced in the United States, or entered into the United States for consumption, use, or warehousing.

Establishes in the Treasury the America's Energy Security Trust Fund to assist industries negatively affected by this Act, make transfers to the Highway Trust Fund to cover shortfalls, and provide payroll tax relief.

Allows individual taxpayers a tax credit equal to carbon tax rebate amounts calculated by the Secretary of the Treasury.

Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to study and report to Congress on the best methods to assess and collect taxes on non-carbon greenhouse gases.

Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should establish binding agreements with major greenhouse gas emitting nations to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.

Date: 2014-07-31
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Taxation
Propane Supply and Security Act of 2014 - Directs the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration (EIA) to publish weekly inventory data on propane storage and propane markets, including pricing data for residential customers in states that voluntarily choose to participate in the State Heating Oil and Propane Program (SHOPP) of the EIA.

Directs the Administrator to publish data on storage at: (1) major market centers, and (2) the regions reported in specified weekly and monthly inventory data.

Directs the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to lead and coordinate federal and state emergency response efforts regarding propane supply emergencies in any state or region characterized by either sudden increases in consumer prices for propane, or propane supply shortages that threaten public safety or livestock safety.

Amends the Propane Education and Research Act of 1996 to direct the Propane Education and Research Council to develop for propane distributors and consumers training programs on strategies to mitigate negative effects of future propane price spikes.

Directs the Secretary to study the effectiveness and feasibility of establishing propane storage facilities operated separately from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Authorizes the Secretary to submit to Congress and the President a plan describing such regional propane reserve.

Amends the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to include within the storage facility loan program funding for propane storage and handling facilities used for drying and heating.

Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to study facilities appurtenant to propane pipelines that are not subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to determine: (1) whether the nonjurisdictional nature of the facilities had an impact on the propane price spike during the winter of 2013-2014, or (2) whether such finding demonstrates it would be in the public interest to place such facilities under FERC jurisdiction.

Date: 2014-09-15
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Energy
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Authorizes TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. to construct, connect, operate, and maintain the pipeline and cross-border facilities specified in an application filed by TransCanada Corporation to the Department of State on May 4, 2012.

Deems the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement regarding the pipeline issued by the Secretary of State in January 2014 to fully satisfy the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and any law that requires federal agency consultation or review, including the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

Declares any applicable federal permit or authorization issued before enactment of this Act to remain in effect.

Restricts any legal challenges regarding a federal agency action and such facilities to judicial review on direct appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Declares that this Act does not alter any federal, state, or local process or condition in effect on the date of enactment of this Act that is necessary to secure access from an owner of private property to construct the pipeline and cross-border facilities.

Date: 2014-11-12
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Energy
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Propane Education and Research Enhancement Act of 2014 - Amends the Propane Education and Research Act of 1996 to direct the Propane Education and Research Council to develop for propane distributors and consumers training programs on strategies to mitigate negative effects of future propane price spikes.

Directs the Secretary of Commerce to use the refiner price to end users of consumer grade propane as published by the Energy Information Administration when preparing the annual analysis of changes in the price of propane relative to other energy sources.

Date: 2014-11-13
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Energy
Freedom From Foreign Influence Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to issue promptly permits allowing energy resources exploration and extraction in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Date: 2014-11-17
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Energy
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 (DOE) to study and make recommendations on the appropriate size, composition, and purpose of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Date: 2014-12-09
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Energy
Protect Our Public Lands Act - Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to prohibit a lessee from conducting any activity under the lease for the purpose of hydraulic fracturing.

Makes this Act applicable only upon the renewal or adjustment of a lease.

Date: 2014-12-10
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
West Coast Ocean Protection Act of 2013 - Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from issuing a lease for the exploration, development, or production of oil or natural gas in any area of the outer Continental Shelf off the coast of California, Oregon, or Washington.

Date: 2013-01-22
Topic: Energy (Natural Gas & Oil)
Subject: Energy