End Polluter Welfare Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4887 To eliminate certain subsidies for fossil-fuel production. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 10, 2020 Mr. SANDERS introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To eliminate certain subsidies for fossil-fuel production. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘End Polluter Welfare 4 Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 6 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title. Sec. 2. Table of contents. TITLE I—ELIMINATION OF SUBSIDIES FOR FOSSIL-FUEL PRODUCTION Sec. 101. Definition of fossil fuel. Sec. 102. Royalty Relief. Sec. 103. Royalties under Mineral Leasing Act. Sec. 104. Elimination of interest payments for royalty overpayments. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Nov 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S4887.IS S4887 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4887 IS Sec. 105. Removal of limits on liability for offshore facilities and pipeline opera- tors. Sec. 106. Restrictions on use of appropriated funds by international financial institutions for projects that support fossil fuel. Sec. 107. Fossil Energy Research and Development Program. Sec. 108. Advanced Research Projects Agency—Energy. Sec. 109. Incentives for innovative technologies. Sec. 110. Rural Utility Service loan guarantees. Sec. 111. Prohibition on use of funds by the United States International Devel- opment Finance Corporation or the Export-Import Bank of the United States for financing projects, transactions, or other ac- tivities that support fossil fuel. Sec. 112. Transportation funds for grants, loans, loan guarantees, and other di- rect assistance. Sec. 113. Elimination of exclusion of certain lenders as owners or operators under CERCLA. Sec. 114. Termination of various tax expenditures relating to fossil fuels. Sec. 115. Termination of certain deductions and credits related to fossil fuels. Sec. 116. Uniform seven-year amortization for geological and geophysical ex- penditures. Sec. 117. Natural gas gathering lines treated as 15-year property. Sec. 118. Termination of last-in, first-out method of inventory for oil, natural gas, and coal companies. Sec. 119. Repeal of percentage depletion for coal and hard mineral fossil fuels. Sec. 120. Termination of capital gains treatment for royalties from coal. Sec. 121. Modifications of foreign tax credit rules applicable to oil and gas in- dustry taxpayers receiving specific economic benefits. Sec. 122. Increase in oil spill liability trust fund financing rate. Sec. 123. Application of certain environmental taxes to synthetic crude oil. Sec. 124. Denial of deduction for removal costs and damages for certain oil spills. Sec. 125. Tax on crude oil and natural gas produced from the outer Conti- nental Shelf in the Gulf of Mexico. Sec. 126. Repeal of corporate income tax exemption for publicly traded partner- ships with qualifying income and gains from activities relating to fossil fuels. Sec. 127. Amortization of qualified tertiary injectant expenses. Sec. 128. Amortization of development expenditures. Sec. 129. Amortization of certain mining exploration expenditures. Sec. 130. Amortization of intangible drilling and development costs in the case of oil and gas wells and geothermal wells. Sec. 131. Permanent excise tax rate for funding of Black Lung Disability Trust Fund. Sec. 132. Termination of renewable electricity production credit eligibility for refined coal. Sec. 133. Treatment of foreign oil related income as subpart F income. Sec. 134. Repeal of exclusion of foreign oil and gas extraction income from the determination of tested income. Sec. 135. Termination of credit for carbon oxide sequestration. Sec. 136. Powder River Basin. Sec. 137. Study and elimination of additional fossil fuel subsidies. TITLE II—ADDITIONAL LIMITATIONS ON CERTAIN FOSSIL-FUEL PRODUCTION SUBSIDIES VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Nov 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S4887.IS S4887 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4887 IS Sec. 201. Limitation on certain forms of assistance under the CARES Act. Sec. 202. Limitations on banks operating fossil fuel companies. Sec. 203. Moratorium on oil and natural gas lease sales, noncompetitive leases for oil or natural gas, the issuance of coal leases, and modifica- tions to certain regulations. Sec. 204. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Sec. 205. Limitation on availability of funds under the Defense Production Act of 1950. Sec. 206. Repeal of royalty relief provisions. Sec. 207. Extension of public comment periods and suspension of rulemaking. TITLE I—ELIMINATION OF SUB- 1 SIDIES FOR FOSSIL-FUEL 2 PRODUCTION 3 SEC. 101. DEFINITION OF FOSSIL FUEL. 4 In this Act, the term ‘‘fossil fuel’’ means coal, petro- 5 leum, natural gas, or any derivative of coal, petroleum, 6 or natural gas that is used for fuel. 7 SEC. 102. ROYALTY RELIEF. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.— 9 (1) OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LANDS ACT.— 10 Section 8(a)(3) of the Outer Continental Shelf 11 Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(a)(3)) is amended— 12 (A) by striking subparagraph (B); and 13 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as 14 subparagraph (B). 15 (2) ENERGY POLICY ACT OF 2005.— 16 (A) INCENTIVES FOR NATURAL GAS PRO- 17 DUCTION FROM DEEP WELLS IN THE SHALLOW 18 WATERS OF THE GULF OF MEXICO.—Section 19 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Nov 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4887.IS S4887 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4887 IS 344 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 1 U.S.C. 15904) is repealed. 2 (B) DEEP WATER PRODUCTION.—Section 3 345 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 4 U.S.C. 15905) is repealed. 5 (b) FUTURE PROVISIONS.—Notwithstanding any 6 other provision of law, royalty relief shall not be permitted 7 under a lease issued under section 8 of the Outer Conti- 8 nental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337). 9 SEC. 103. ROYALTIES UNDER MINERAL LEASING ACT. 10 (a) COAL LEASES.—Section 7(a) of the Mineral 11 Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 207(a)) is amended in the fourth 12 sentence by striking ‘‘121⁄2 per centum’’ and inserting 13 ‘‘183⁄4 percent’’. 14 (b) LEASES ON LAND ON WHICH OIL OR NATURAL 15 GAS IS DISCOVERED.—Section 14 of the Mineral Leasing 16 Act (30 U.S.C. 223) is amended in the fourth sentence 17 by striking ‘‘121⁄2 per centum’’ and inserting ‘‘183⁄4 per- 18 cent’’. 19 (c) LEASES ON LAND KNOWN OR BELIEVED TO 20 CONTAIN OIL OR NATURAL GAS.—Section 17 of the Min- 21 eral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226) is amended— 22 (1) in subsection (b)— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Nov 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4887.IS S4887 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4887 IS (A) in paragraph (1)(A), in the fifth sen- 1 tence, by striking ‘‘12.5 percent’’ and inserting 2 ‘‘183⁄4 percent’’; and 3 (B) in paragraph (2)(A)(ii), by striking 4 ‘‘121⁄2 per centum’’ and inserting ‘‘183⁄4 per- 5 cent’’; 6 (2) in subsection (c)(1), in the second sentence, 7 by striking ‘‘12.5 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘183⁄4 per- 8 cent’’; 9 (3) in subsection (l), by striking ‘‘121⁄2 per cen- 10 tum’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘183⁄4 per- 11 cent’’; and 12 (4) in subsection (n)(1)(C), by striking ‘‘121⁄2 13 per centum’’ and inserting ‘‘183⁄4 percent’’. 14 SEC. 104. ELIMINATION OF INTEREST PAYMENTS FOR ROY- 15 ALTY OVERPAYMENTS. 16 Section 111 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man- 17 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1721) is amended by 18 adding at the end the following: 19 ‘‘(k) PAYMENT OF INTEREST.—Interest shall not be 20 paid on any overpayment.’’. 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Nov 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4887.IS S4887 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4887 IS SEC. 105. REMOVAL OF LIMITS ON LIABILITY FOR OFF- 1 SHORE FACILITIES AND PIPELINE OPERA- 2 TORS. 3 Section 1004(a) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 4 U.S.C. 2704(a)) is amended— 5 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘plus 6 $75,000,000; and’’ and inserting ‘‘and the liability 7 of the responsible party under section 1002;’’; 8 (2) in paragraph (4)— 9 (A) by inserting ‘‘(except an onshore pipe- 10 line transporting diluted bitumen, bituminous 11 mixtures, or any oil manufactured from bitu- 12 men)’’ after ‘‘for any onshore facility’’; and 13 (B) by striking the period at the end and 14 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 15 (3) by adding at the end the following: 16 ‘‘(5) for any onshore facility transporting di- 17 luted bitumen, bituminous mixtures, or any oil man- 18 ufactured from bitumen, the liability of the respon- 19 sible party under section 1002.’’. 20 SEC. 106. RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF APPROPRIATED 21 FUNDS BY INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTI- 22 TUTIONS FOR PROJECTS THAT SUPPORT 23 FOSSIL FUEL. 24 (a) RESCISSION OF UNOBLIGATED FUNDS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Nov 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4887.IS S4887 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4887 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—Of the unobligated balance 1 of amounts appropriated or otherwise made available 2 for a contribution of the United States to an inter- 3 national financial institution, an amount specified in 4 paragraph (2) shall be rescinded if the institution 5 provides support for a project that supports the pro- 6 duction or use of fossil fuels. 7 (2) AMOUNT SPECIFIED.—The amount specified 8 in this paragraph is an amount the Secretary of the 9 Treasury determines to be equivalent to the amount 10 of support provided by an international financial in- 11 stitution described in paragraph (1) for a project 12 that supports the production or use of fossil fuels. 13 (b) PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUTURE FUNDS.—No 14 amounts appropriated or otherwise made available for a 15 contribution of the United States to an international fi- 16 nancial institution may be provided to the institution un- 17 less the institution agrees to not use the amount to provide 18 support for any project that supports the production or 19 use of fossil fuels. 20 (c) INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTION DE- 21 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘international financial 22 institution’’ has the meaning given that term in section 23 1701(c) of the International Financial Institutions Act 24 (22 U.S.C. 262r(c)). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Nov 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4887.IS S4887 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4887 IS SEC. 107. FOSSIL ENERGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 1 PROGRAM. 2 (a) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding 3 any other provision of law, the authority of the Secretary 4 of Energy to carry out the Fossil Energy Research and 5 Development Program of the Department of Energy is 6 terminated. 7 (b) RESCISSION.—Notwithstanding any other provi- 8 sion of law— 9 (1) all amounts made available for the Fossil 10 Energy Research and Development Program that re- 11 main unobligated as of the date of enactment of this 12 Act are rescinded; and 13 (2) no amounts made available after the date of 14 enactment of this Act for the Fossil Energy Re- 15 search and Development Program shall be expended, 16 other than such amounts as are necessary to cover 17 costs incurred in terminating ongoing research of 18 the Fossil Energy Research and Development Pro- 19 gram, as determined by the Secretary of Energy, in 20 consultation with other appropriate Federal agen- 21 cies. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Nov 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4887.IS S4887 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4887 IS SEC. 108. ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY—EN- 1 ERGY. 2 None of the funds made available to the Advanced 3 Research Projects Agency—Energy shall be used to carry 4 out any project that supports fossil fuel. 5 SEC. 109. INCENTIVES FOR INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1703 of the Energy Policy 7 Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16513) is amended— 8 (1) in subsection (b)— 9 (A) by striking paragraph (2); 10 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (3) 11 through (9) as paragraphs (2) through (8), re- 12 spectively; and 13 (C) by striking paragraph (10); 14 (2) by striking subsection (c); and 15 (3) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as 16 subsections (c) and (d), respectively. 17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1704 of the 18 Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16514) is amend- 19 ed— 20 (1) by striking the section designation and 21 heading and all that follows through ‘‘There are’’ in 22 subsection (a) and inserting the following: 23 ‘‘SEC. 1704. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 24 ‘‘There are’’; and 25 (2) by striking subsection (b). 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Nov 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4887.IS S4887 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4887 IS SEC. 110. RURAL UTILITY SERVICE LOAN GUARANTEES. 1 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Sec- 2 retary of Agriculture may not make a loan under title III 3 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 931 4 et seq.) to an applicant for the purpose of carrying out 5 any project that will use fossil fuel. 6 SEC. 111. PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS BY THE UNITED 7 STATES INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT FI- 8 NANCE CORPORATION OR THE EXPORT-IM- 9 PORT BANK OF THE UNITED STATES FOR FI- 10 NANCING PROJECTS, TRANSACTIONS, OR 11 OTHER ACTIVITIES THAT SUPPORT FOSSIL 12 FUEL. 13 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no 14 amounts appropriated or otherwise made available for the 15 United States International Development Finance Cor- 16 poration or the Export-Import Bank of the United States 17 that are available for obligation on or after the date of 18 the enactment of this Act may be obligated or expended 19 to support any project, transaction, or other activity that 20 supports the production or use of fossil fuels. 21 SEC. 112. TRANSPORTATION FUNDS FOR GRANTS, LOANS, 22 LOAN GUARANTEES, AND OTHER DIRECT AS- 23 SISTANCE. 24 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any 25 amounts made available to the Department of Transpor- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:08 Nov 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4887.IS S4887 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4887 IS tation (including the Federal Railroad Administration) 1 may not be used to award any grant, loan, loan guarantee, 2 or provide any other direct assistance to any rail facility 3 or port project that transports fossil fuel. 4 SEC. 113. ELIMINATION OF EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN LEND- 5 ERS AS OWNERS OR OPERATORS UNDER 6 CERCLA. 7 Section 101(20)(F) of the Comprehensive Environ- 8 mental Response, Compens [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]