[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4535 Introduced in House (IH)]
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114th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4535
To prohibit drilling in the outer Continental Shelf, to prohibit coal
leases on Federal land, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 11, 2016
Mr. Huffman (for himself, Mr. Ted Lieu of California, Mr. Honda, Ms.
Lee, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Norton, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms.
Edwards, Mr. Grayson, Mr. McDermott, Mr. Hastings, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr.
Gutierrez, Mr. McGovern, Mr. DeSaulnier, and Mr. Grijalva) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural
Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit drilling in the outer Continental Shelf, to prohibit coal
leases on Federal land, 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 ``Keep It in the Ground Act of 2016''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; STATEMENT OF POLICY.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) from 1880 through 2014, global temperatures have
increased by about 0.9 degrees Celsius;
(2) the vast majority of global warming that has occurred
over the past 50 years was due to human activities, primarily
the burning of fossil fuels;
(3) emissions of greenhouse gases and atmospheric
concentrations of greenhouse gases continue to rise, which
results in a continued warming trend;
(4) global warming already has a significant impact on the
economy, including the farming, fishing, forestry, and
recreation industries;
(5) the significant impacts of global warming that are
already occurring will be amplified by a global temperature
increase of 2 degrees Celsius, which will lead to increased
droughts, rising seas, mass extinctions, heat waves,
desertification, wildfires, acidifying oceans, significant
economic disruption, and security threats;
(6) to avoid exceeding 2 degrees Celsius warming, at least
80 percent of carbon from proven fossil fuel reserves must be
kept in the ground;
(7) the potential emissions resulting from extracting and
burning all fossil fuels on Federal land and waters amounts to
a significant percentage of the greenhouse gas emissions limit;
and
(8) ending new leases for fossil fuels will prevent the
release of 90 percent of the potential emissions from Federal
fossil fuels.
(b) Statement of Policy.--It is the policy of the United States
that--
(1) Federal land and waters should be managed for the
benefit of the people of the United States--
(A) to avoid the most dangerous impacts of climate
change; and
(B) to promote a rapid transition to a clean energy
economy by keeping fossil fuels in the ground; and
(2) the Federal Government should pursue management of
Federal land and waters for the benefit of the people of the
United States by not issuing any new lease or renewing any
nonproducing lease for coal, oil, or natural gas in any Federal
land or waters.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Extend.--The term ``extend'' means the act of extending
a lease under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.)
beyond the existing term of the lease.
(2) Nonproducing lease.--The term ``nonproducing lease''
means any lease under which no coal, oil, gas, oil shale, tar
sands, or other fossil fuel approved in the lease contract has
been extracted for commercial use.
(3) Reinstate.--The term ``reinstate'' means the act of
reinstating a lease under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C.
181 et seq.) after a violation of any term of the lease that
resulted in suspension or cancellation of the lease.
(4) Renew.--The term ``renew'' means the act of renewing a
lease under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) for
a term that is not longer than the maximum renewal term for a
lease under that Act.
(5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
SEC. 4. STOPPING NEW OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASES IN THE GULF OF MEXICO
AND THE PACIFIC, ATLANTIC, AND ARCTIC OCEANS.
(a) Prohibition on New Oil and Gas Leasing on the Outer Continental
Shelf.--Section 8 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C.
1337) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(q) Prohibition on New Oil and Gas Leasing on the Outer
Continental Shelf.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Extend.--
``(i) In general.--The term `extend' means
the act of extending a lease under this Act
beyond the existing term of the lease.
``(ii) Inclusion.--The term `extend'
includes the act of extending a lease following
a suspension under this Act.
``(B) Nonproducing lease.--The term `nonproducing
lease' means any lease under which any coal, oil, gas,
oil shale, tar sands, or other fossil fuel approved in
the lease contract has been extracted.
``(C) Reinstate.--The term `reinstate' means the
act of reinstating a lease under this Act after a
violation of any term of the lease that resulted in
suspension or cancellation of the lease.
``(D) Renew.--The term `renew' means the act of
renewing a lease under this Act for a term that is not
longer than the maximum renewal term for a lease under
this Act.
``(2) Prohibition.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
this Act or any other law, the Secretary of the Interior shall
not issue a new lease, renew, reinstate, or extend any
nonproducing lease, or issue any other authorization for the
exploration, development, or production of oil, natural gas, or
any other fossil fuel in--
``(A) the Arctic Ocean;
``(B) the Atlantic Ocean, including the Straits of
Florida;
``(C) the Pacific Ocean;
``(D) the Gulf of Mexico; or
``(E) any other area of the outer Continental
Shelf.''.
(b) Cancellation of Existing Leases.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall cancel any lease issued under section 8
of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337) on or before
the date of enactment of this Act in the Beaufort Sea, Cook Inlet, or
Chukchi Sea.
SEC. 5. STOPPING NEW COAL, OIL, TAR SANDS, FRACKED GAS, AND OIL SHALE
LEASES ON FEDERAL LAND.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary shall not
conduct any lease sale, enter into any new lease, reoffer for lease any
land covered by an expiring lease, or renew, reinstate, or extend any
nonproducing lease in existence on or before the date of enactment of
this Act for onshore fossil fuels, including coal, oil, tar sands, oil
shale, and gas on land subject to the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C.
181 et seq.).
SEC. 6. EXCEPTIONS.
(a) National Security.--
(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary
may exempt any provision of this Act or an amendment made by
this Act for a lease if the Secretary determines, on the record
and based on available information, that--
(A) there is an imminent national security threat;
and
(B) issuing an exemption for the lease would
significantly reduce the imminent national security
threat.
(2) Duration.--An exemption under paragraph (1) shall
continue only for as long as the imminent national security
threat persists.
(b) Breach of Contract.--
(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary
may allow a nonproducing lease to be renewed or extended if--
(A) the nonproducing lease contract was signed
before the date of enactment of this Act; and
(B) the Secretary determines that giving effect to
any provision of this Act or an amendment made by this
Act is likely to lead to a court with jurisdiction
ruling that there was a material breach of the
nonproducing lease contract.
(2) Duration.--A renewal or extension under paragraph (1)
shall be for the shortest time practicable, consistent with the
terms of the nonproducing lease contract.
SEC. 7. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by this Act, or the
application of such a provision or amendment to any person or
circumstance is held to be invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder
of this Act, the amendments made by this Act, and the application of
those provisions and amendments to any person or circumstance shall not
be affected.
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