Recent Federal Bills

Below are summaries of Bills Introduced, Committee Reports, Chamber Actions, and Public Laws reported in the most recent issue of ELR's Weekly Update.

would promote timely exploration for geothermal resources under existing geothermal leases.

would streamline federal review to facilitate renewable energy projects.

would amend the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976 to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct an oil and gas leasing program in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, including at least one lease sale per year in the period 2011 through 2021.

would facilitate the extraction of mineral resources in southeast Arizona by authorizing and directing an exchange of federal and nonfederal land.

would require the Office of Management and Budget to prepare a crosscut budget for restoration activities in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and require EPA to develop and implement an adaptive management plan.

would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for an investment tax credit related to the production of electricity from offshore wind.

would prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from issuing oil and gas leases on portions of the outer continental shelf located off the coast of New Jersey.

would designate certain National Park System land in Olympic National Park as wilderness or potential wilderness.

would authorize the Secretary of Energy to provide loan guarantees for energy efficiency upgrades to existing buildings.

would amend the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to limit the application of that Act with respect to plants and plant products that were imported before the effective date of amendments to that Act enacted in 2008.