[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3822 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3822
To prohibit the President from promulgating new oil and gas regulations
until after Russian troops have withdrawn from Ukraine, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 10 (legislative day, March 7), 2022
Mr. Lankford (for himself, Mr. Cornyn, and Mr. Sullivan) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit the President from promulgating new oil and gas regulations
until after Russian troops have withdrawn from Ukraine, and for other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 ``Energy Regulations Certainty Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) the United States has a demonstrable history of
providing assistance to allies of the United States when those
allies face threats to democracy or are suffering as a result
of geopolitical instability;
(2) the invasion by the Russian Federation of the sovereign
nation of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, threatens the energy
security of Ukraine and other European allies;
(3) Europe relies on Russia for approximately 40 percent of
its natural gas and about 25 percent of its oil;
(4) the United States has demonstrated in recent years that
the United States is fully capable of--
(A) producing sufficient energy resources
domestically to become energy independent;
(B) supplying energy resources to allies of the
United States; and
(C) providing stability in international energy
markets; and
(5) recent and prospective administrative actions
jeopardize the ability of the United States to continue to
serve the role described in paragraph (4), which is critical to
the national security of the United States and allies of the
United States.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON NEW OIL AND GAS REGULATIONS.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Covered action.--The term ``covered action'' means--
(A) any provision of Executive Order 13990 (42
U.S.C. 4321 note; relating to protecting public health
and the environment and restoring science to tackle the
climate crisis) that would impact the cost of energy
development;
(B) any provision of Executive Order 14008 (42
U.S.C. 4321 note; relating to tackling the climate
crisis at home and abroad) that would impact the cost
of energy development;
(C) the final decisions of the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency in the document
entitled ``Review of the Ozone National Ambient Air
Quality Standards'' (85 Fed. Reg. 87256 (December 31,
2020));
(D) the final decisions of the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency in the document
entitled ``Review of the National Ambient Air Quality
Standards for Particulate Matter'' (85 Fed. Reg. 82684
(December 18, 2020));
(E) the final rule of the Environmental Protection
Agency entitled ``Oil and Natural Gas Sector: Emission
Standards for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources
Reconsideration'' (85 Fed. Reg. 57398 (September 15,
2020));
(F) the updated policy statement of the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission entitled ``Updated Policy
Statement on Certification of New Interstate Natural
Gas Facilities'' (Docket No. PL18-1-000 (February 18,
2022); 87 Fed. Reg. 11548 (March 1, 2022));
(G) the interim policy statement of the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission entitled ``Consideration
of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Natural Gas
Infrastructure Project Reviews'' (Docket No. PL21-3-000
(February 18, 2022));
(H) the final rule of the Environmental Protection
Agency entitled ``Oil and Natural Gas Sector: Emission
Standards for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources
Review'' (85 Fed. Reg. 57018 (September 14, 2020));
(I) the final rule of the Corps of Engineers and
the Environmental Protection Agency entitled ``The
Navigable Waters Protection Rule: Definition of `Waters
of the United States''' (85 Fed. Reg. 22250 (April 21,
2020));
(J) Instruction Memorandum No. 2018-034 of the
Department of the Interior entitled ``Updating Oil and
Gas Leasing Reform--Land Use Planning and Lease Parcel
Reviews'' (January 31, 2018);
(K) the final rule of the Department of the
Interior entitled ``Oil and Gas; Hydraulic Fracturing
on Federal and Indian Lands; Rescission of a 2015
Rule'' (82 Fed. Reg. 61924 (December 29, 2017));
(L) the document entitled ``Technical Support
Document: Social Cost of Carbon, Methane, and Nitrous
Oxide Interim Estimates under Executive Order 13990'',
published by the Interagency Working Group on Social
Cost of Greenhouse Gases, United States Government, in
February 2021; and
(M) any action by the Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System or other Federal financial
regulator that would restrict access to capital or
lending to companies in the oil and natural gas
subsector of critical infrastructure.
(2) Covered period.--The term ``covered period'' means the
period--
(A) beginning on the date of enactment of this Act;
and
(B) ending on the date that is 180 days after the
date on which the President determines that the Russian
Federation has withdrawn all troops from the territory
of Ukraine.
(b) Prohibitions.--
(1) In general.--During the covered period, the President
shall not carry out, promulgate any regulations pursuant to, or
carry out any policy described in or required by, a covered
action.
(2) Reversion.--During the covered period--
(A) all covered actions, including any regulations
promulgated, or other agency actions taken, pursuant to
the covered actions, shall have no force and effect;
and
(B) all applicable regulations and agency policies
that were in effect on January 19, 2021, shall have
full force and effect.
SEC. 4. KEYSTONE PIPELINE.
TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. may construct, connect,
operate, and maintain the pipeline facilities at the international
border of the United States and Canada under the terms described in the
Presidential Permit of March 29, 2019 (84 Fed. Reg. 13101 (April 3,
2019)).
SEC. 5. SENSE OF THE SENATE RELATING TO NATURAL GAS EXPORTS AND
OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASE SALES.
It is the sense of the Senate that--
(1) the Secretary of Energy should act expeditiously to
approve applications under subsection (a) of section 3 of the
Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b) to export natural gas from the
United States to foreign countries not described in subsection
(c) of that section;
(2) the Attorney General should appeal the decision of the
United States District Court for the District of Columbia in
the memorandum opinion dated January 27, 2022, in Friends of
the Earth v. Haaland, No. 1:21-cv-02317-RC;
(3) not later than June 30, 2022, the Secretary of the
Interior should approve a new final 5-year oil and gas leasing
program under section 18(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf
Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344(a)) that includes at least as many
lease sales as are included in the 2017-2022 Outer Continental
Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Final Program (November
2016); and
(4) the Secretary of State should coordinate with the
energy-producing allies of the United States to ensure that the
resource needs of the energy-insecure allies of the United
States are met.
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