[Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 112th Congress]
[112nd Congress]
[House Document 111-157]
[Legislate Procedures Enacted in Law]
[Pages 1230-1232]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]



     23. Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, Sec. 8 [43 U.S.C. 1337]


  Sec. 8. (a)(1) The Secretary is authorized to grant to the highest 
responsible qualified bidder or bidders by competitive bidding, under 
regulations promulgated in advance, any oil and gas lease on submerged 
lands of the Outer Continental Shelf which are not covered by leases 
meeting the requirements of subsection (a) of section 6 of this Act [43 
U.S.C. 1335(a)]. * * *


                                  * * *

  (4)(A) The Secretary of Energy shall submit any bidding system 
authorized in subparagraph (H) of paragraph (1) to the Senate and House 
of Representatives. The Secretary may institute such bidding system 
unless either the Senate or the House of Representatives passes a 
resolution of disapproval within thirty days after receipt of the 
bidding system.

  (B) Subparagraphs (C) through (J) of this paragraph are enacted by 
Congress--

          (i) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate and 

        the House of Representatives, respectively, and as such they are 

        deemed a part of the rules of each House, respectively, but they 

        are applicable only with respect to the procedures to be 

        followed in that House in the case of resolutions described by 



[[Page 1231]]


rules only to the 
        this paragraph, and they supersede other 

        extent that they are inconsistent therewith; and

          (ii) with full recognition of the constitutional right of 

        either House to change the rules (so far as relating to the 

        procedure of that House) at any time, in the same manner, and to 

        the same extent as in the case of any other rule of that House.

  (C) A resolution disapproving a bidding system submitted pursuant to 
this paragraph shall immediately be referred to a committee (and all 
resolutions with respect to the same request shall be referred to the 
same committee) by the President of the Senate or the Speaker of the 
House of Representatives, as the case may be.

  (D) If the committee to which has been referred any resolution 
disapproving the bidding system of the Secretary has not reported the 
resolution at the end of ten calendar days after its referral, it shall 
be in order to move either to discharge the committee from further 
consideration of the resolution or to discharge the committee from 
further consideration of any other resolution with respect to the same 
bidding system which has been referred to the committee.

  (E) A motion to discharge may be made only by an individual favoring 
the resolution, shall be highly privileged (except that it may not be 
made after the committee has reported a resolution with respect to the 
same recommendation), and debate thereon shall be limited to not more 
than one hour, to be divided equally between those favoring and those 
opposing the resolution. An amendment to the motion shall not be in 
order, and it shall not be in order to move to reconsider the vote by 
which the motion is agreed to or disagreed to.

  (F) If the motion to discharge is agreed to or disagreed to, the 
motion may not be renewed, nor may another motion to discharge the 
committee be made with respect to any other resolution with respect to 
the same bidding system.



[[Page 1232]]


to move to reconsider the vote 
by which the motion is agreed to or disagreed to.
  (G) When the committee has reported, or has been discharged from 
further consideration of, a resolution as provided in this paragraph, it 
shall be at any time thereafter in order (even though a previous motion 
to the same effect has been disagreed to) to move to proceed to the 
consideration of the resolution. The motion shall be highly privileged 
and shall not be debatable. An amendment to the motion shall not be in 
order, and it shall not be in order 

  (H) Debate on the resolution is limited to not more than two hours, to 
be divided equally between those favoring and those opposing the 
resolution. A motion further to limit debate is not debatable. An 
amendment to, or motion to recommit, the resolution is not in order, and 
it is not in order to move to reconsider the vote by which the 
resolution is agreed to or disagreed to.

  (I) Motions to postpone, made with respect to the discharge from the 
committee, or the consideration of a resolution with respect to a 
bidding system, and motions to proceed to the consideration of other 
business, shall be decided without debate.

  (J) Appeals from the decisions of the Chair relating to the 
application of the rules of the Senate or the House of Representatives, 
as the case may be, to the procedure relating to a resolution with 
respect to a bidding system shall be decided without debate.




                                                          Sec. 1130(24A)