114th Congress

Second Session

S. 504
_______________

To restore our nations economy and workforce through revitalizing the oil and gas industry by opening all
American lands and territories to oil and gas exploration, making oil production a cleaner process, and
becoming the first energy independent nation.
_____________________
IN THE SENATE
DATE: MARCH 15, 2016
Ms. Savage of North Dakota introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources.
___________ _________

A BILL
To restore our nations economy and workforce through revitalizing the oil and gas industry by opening all
American lands and territories to oil and gas exploration, making oil production a cleaner process, and
becoming the first energy independent nation.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress
assembled,
SECTION 1: SHORT TITLE
(a): This Act may be cited as the Fueling the Future Act of 2016.
SEC. 2: FINDINGS
Congress finds the following:
(1) The price of oil has fallen more than 70% since June of 2014. The current price of oil (as of March 20, 2016) is
$35/barrel, a harsh drop from the $90-$100/barrel norm of the past decade. 1
(2) Major U.S. oil companies, specifically those stationed in Alaska, North Dakota, Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma, have
been forced to decommission up to of their rigs, make sharp cuts in exploration investments, and make cuts in their

1 http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/business/energy-environment/oil-prices.html

workforce.2 250,000 oil workers have lost their jobs since the price of oil dropped in June of 2014. In North Dakota
specifically, only 46/190 drilling rigs that were open two years ago are still active today.3
(3) The production of 2.9 million barrels of oil have halted after 68 of the largest oil and gas companies worldwide (which
have a combined value of $380 billion) have been forced to stop production after the drastic fall in oil prices last June.
Every nations economy is connected when discussing the oil and gas industry.4
(4) Americas oil and gas production is decreasing rapidly because investments in exploration wells are decreasing. There is
an estimated 279 million acres of land with a high chance of oil or gas extraction success in the U.S. under federal
management at this time. In total, 117 billion barrels of U.S. oil is found on lands or waters owned/managed by the U.S.
government. More than half of this land is completely off-limits to drillers. In other words, 62% of the 31 billion barrels
that make up Americas total onshore resource of oil are inaccessible to oil drillers. At this time, the government has made
all new offshore oil exploration off-limits.5
(5) The Crude Oil Export Act (H.R. 156) lifted the ban on American oil exports under the Energy Policy and Conservation
Act and for other purposes.6 In 2015, the U.S. produced over 85% more barrels of crude oil than it did in 2008, however
America still imports of the oil it consumes. This should not be the case being that America is one of the top 3 largest
oil producing countries in the world, with the potential of becoming the top oil producing country in the world. This oil
ban was lifted in early 2016 just as the 2015 oil price plunge showed an economic incentive for exports. Raising our
amount of oil exports can help increase supplies, put pressure on pump prices, and create more American jobs. 7
(6) Between FY 2005-2014, $7.87 billion federal dollars were put towards renewable energy, $6.70 billion federal dollars
were put towards energy efficiency, and $10 billion federal dollars were put towards fossil energy. The United States gets
84% of its total energy from oil, coal, and natural gas (fossil fuels). A combined $14.57 billion federal dollars are going
towards research in the clean energy sector which makes up only 13.4% of the energy used in America, while only $10
billion are being put towards the fossil fuel industry that runs our nations energy sector and economy. 8
(7) While transporting oil across waters and in the event of an oil spill, 90% of oil loss occurs in the first 4 hours alone. This
makes immediate containment crucial. Federal law mandates that response teams are given 4 hours to prepare for the
clean up, excluding travel time. This means that by the time response teams get to the site of the oil spill, the damage has
already been done. OBOCS (OnBoard Oil Containment Systems), is a new system of boom on a reel that can be deployed
off of barges, rigs, platforms, ships and terminals at the site of a spill in under 20 minutes. OBOCS ensures a cleaner
environment and a more prosperous oil industry.9

SEC. 3: DEFINITIONS
In this Act-(1) The term exploration wells are wells drilled to find new reservoirs or pockets of oil with a high potential of economic
benefit. 10

2 http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/08/us/built-up-by-oil-boom-north-dakota-now-has-anemptier-feeling.html

3 http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/business/energy-environment/oil-prices.html
4 http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/business/energy-environment/oil-prices.html
5 http://www.studentnewsdaily.com/daily-news-article/us-policies-put-most-us-oil-off-limits-to-drilling/
6https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/156/text?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22oil%22%5D
%7D&resultIndex=7

7 http://www.oilandexports.com/#/?section=why-export-crude-oil
8 https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RS22858.pdf
9 http://obocs.com
10 http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/business/energy-environment/oil-prices.html

(2) The abbreviation FY stands for: Fiscal Year. A fiscal year can be different than an ordinary year in that it is the period of
time set aside by a company or the government used for accounting or taxing purposes. 11
(3) The term fossil energy refers to energy produced by fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas).

SEC. 4: Terms and Benefits

(1) America has an abundance of oil and gas resources that has the ability to power our nation independently. In order to
become the first energy independent nation in the world, it is mandated that:
(a) The U.S. Federal Government must decrease U.S. oil imports by 10% per year for 3 years commencing on January 1,
2017.
(b) Every U.S. State and Territory shall allow oil and gas exploration both on and off their shores regardless of whether the
lands are federally owned or state owned immediately commencing upon passage of this act.
(i)
With this, oil companies will have an understanding that they must follow all regulations put into place by the owned land.
They will also have an understanding that they must repair and cover the cost of all damages and infringements they
inflict onto the environment surrounding their drilling sites.

(2) To make the oil and gas industry and its production a safer and cleaner process:
(a) Americas federal government must increase federal funding in the research and compliance of cleaner fossil fuel
production by $5 billion commencing at the start of FY 2017. And for maintaining that level of funding annually
thereafter until all emissions have been reduced by 50%.
(b) All companies or entities engaged in the oil and gas industry must utilize the most current technologies available to ensure
safe transportation or transfer of oil and gas products, to include on board oil containment systems capable of immediately
deploying boom at the site of a spill within 30 minutes.

SEC. 5: Cost
[http://208.81.226.245/econgress/demo/writing_index?
_yli_session=d13a77b0b493a285975e2cdbeea0572c ]

Amendment: Ban oil and gas drilling on National Park Lands.

11 http://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/fiscalyear.asp