What This Bill Does
This bill requires the Secretary of the Interior to hold a minimum number of oil and gas lease sales each year in specific ocean areas. It also prevents the President from delaying or canceling these leasing processes without approval from Congress.
Who It Affects
The Secretary of the Interior, the President, oil and gas companies bidding on leases, and Congress.
Key Provisions
• The Secretary of the Interior must conduct at least 2 oil and gas lease sales every year in the Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area and at least 2 more in the Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Area, starting in fiscal year 2023 (Sec. 2(a))
• The Secretary of the Interior must conduct at least 2 oil and gas lease sales every year in the Alaska region of the Outer Continental Shelf, starting in fiscal year 2023 (Sec. 2(b))
• Each lease sale must include all areas that are available for leasing and not restricted as of the sale date (Sec. 2(c))
• The President cannot pause, cancel, delay, or otherwise block Federal energy mineral leasing processes without approval from Congress (Sec. 2(d))
What Changes
The bill creates a legal requirement for minimum annual lease sales in specific ocean regions and legally prevents the President from stopping or delaying these sales without Congress voting to approve the action.
Important Definitions
None defined in bill text.
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 356
To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a minimum number
of oil and gas lease sales in certain areas, to prevent delays in oil
and gas leasing, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 13, 2023
Mr. CARL
(for himself, Mr. GRAVES
of Louisiana, Ms. FOXX, Mr.
ROSENDALE, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Mr. GUEST, Mr. ROGERS of Alabama,
Ms. LETLOW, Ms. VAN DUYNE, Ms. TENNEY, Mr. STAUBER, Mr. MOORE
of Alabama, Mr. WEBER of Texas, and Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Nat-
ural Resources
A BILL
To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a min-
imum number of oil and gas lease sales in certain areas,
to prevent delays in oil and gas leasing, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Unleashing American
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Energy Act’’.
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•HR 356 IH
SEC. 2. OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASING.
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(a) GULF
OF MEXICO REGION ANNUAL LEASE
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SALES.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, be-
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ginning in fiscal year 2023, the Secretary of the Interior
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shall annually conduct a minimum of 2 region-wide oil and
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gas lease sales in the following planning areas of the Gulf
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of Mexico region, as described in the 2017–2022 Outer
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Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Final
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Program (November 2016):
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(1) The Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area.
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(2) The Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Area.
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(b) ALASKA REGION ANNUAL LEASE SALES.—Not-
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withstanding any other provision of law, beginning in fis-
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cal year 2023, the Secretary of the Interior shall annually
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conduct a minimum of 2 region-wide oil and gas lease
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sales in the Alaska region of the Outer Continental Shelf,
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as described in the 2017–2022 Outer Continental Shelf
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Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Final Program (November
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2016).
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(c) REQUIREMENTS.—In conducting lease sales
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under subsections (a) and (b), the Secretary of the Inte-
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rior shall—
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(1) issue such leases in accordance with the
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Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1332
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et seq.); and
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•HR 356 IH
(2) include in each such lease sale all unleased
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areas that are not subject to restrictions as of the
2
date of the lease sale.
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(d) OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASING DELAYS.—
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Section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43
5
U.S.C. 1344) is amended—
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(1) in subsection (a), in the first sentence of the
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matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘sub-
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sections (c) and (d) of this section’’ and inserting
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‘‘this section’’;
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(2) by redesignating subsections (f) through (i)
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as subsections (g) through (j), respectively; and
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(3) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol-
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lowing:
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‘‘(f) UNREASONABLE DELAYS.—
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‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The President shall not,
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through Executive order or any other administrative
17
procedure, unreasonably pause, cancel, delay, defer,
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or otherwise impede or circumvent any Federal en-
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ergy mineral leasing processes under this Act, or a
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related rulemaking process required by subchapter II
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of chapter 5, and chapter 7, of title 5, United States
22
Code (commonly known as the ‘Administrative Pro-
23
cedure Act’), without congressional approval.
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•HR 356 IH
‘‘(2) REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION.—There shall
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be a rebuttable presumption that any attempt by the
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President to pause, cancel, delay, defer, or otherwise
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impede or circumvent any Federal energy mineral
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leasing process, or a related rulemaking process, de-
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scribed in paragraph (1), without congressional ap-
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proval, is considered unreasonable for purposes of
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paragraph (1).’’.
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Æ
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