House Oil and Gas Fiscal Reform Bills Introduction Messaging and Social Media Toolkit
Overview | Sample Statement | Talking Points | Social Guidance
Overview
On September 17, U.S. Representative Ben McAdams (D-UT-4) and U.S. Representative Francis Rooney (R-FL-19) introduced H.R. 4364, The Taxpayer Fairness for Resource Development Act of 2019, and U.S. Representative Alan Lowenthal (D-CA-47) introduced H.R. 4346, the Bonding Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act of 2019. Both of these bills would reform portions of the federal oil and gas leasing system by adjusting outdated fiscal policies including royalty rates, rental rates, minimum bids and bonding rates.
Please use the guidance below to draft a statement from your organization and amplify on social media with your support for U.S. Representatives Ben McAdams, Francis Rooney, and Alan Lowenthal’s bills and the need for federal oil and gas fiscal reforms.
H.R. 4364 Full Fiscal Bill Text: [LINK]
H.R. 4364 Section-by-Section Summary: [LINK]
H.R. 4346 Full Bonding Bill Text: [LINK]
H.R. 4346 Section-by-Section Summary: [LINK]
Sample Statement
“U.S. Representatives Ben McAdams, Francis Rooney, and Alan Lowenthal’s bills are a crucial first step forward in reforming the outdated federal oil and gas leasing system to stop the misuse of taxpayer resources when oil and gas companies lease and develop on our public lands.
Both pieces of legislation put the public first through commonsense and long overdue reforms to a broken system that protect the taxpayers from bearing the costs of oil and gas development.
The American people deserve a fair deal when their lands and resources are disturbed for energy production. Representatives Ben McAdams, Francis Rooney, and Alan Lowenthal are champions for federal oil and gas leasing reform and we support their efforts to bring these outdated policies into the 21st century.”
Talking Points
General
U.S. Representatives Ben McAdams (D-UT-4), Francis Rooney (R-FL-19) and Alan Lowenthal (D-CA-47) just introduced legislation that would revise the Bureau of Land Management’s outdated oil and gas leasing system to ensure our public lands are fully and fairly valued.
Our nation’s oil and gas fiscal policies are outdated—some policies have not been updated in nearly a century—resulting in taxpayers losing out, not getting a fair return from industry’s use of public lands.
Our public lands are increasingly being valued for other uses, such as hunting, fishing and other forms of recreation. Yet BLM’s approach to oil and gas leasing puts energy first with below-market rates and nearly unlimited access to public lands.
Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt has the power to bring BLM’s oil and gas fiscal policies into the 21st century - but DOI has prioritized corporate interests over the public interest.
Rep. McAdams and Rep. Rooney’s Legislation to Update Royalty Rates, Rental Rates, and Minimum Bid Amounts
U.S. Representative Ben McAdams (D-UT-4) and Francis Rooney (R-FL-19) just introduced a bipartisan bill to address outdated federal onshore oil and gas fiscal policies including royalty rates, rental rates, and minimum bid amounts.
Over the past 15 years, oil and gas production on public lands has boomed -- yet the industry is asked to pay the same rates that were in effect when [insert your preference: you could smoke on planes, before seat belts were standard on automobiles, before Alaska became a state, etc]. These decades-old rates simply haven’t kept pace with inflation, let alone technological change in the industry, and must be modernized.
Rep. McAdams and Rep. Rooney’s bipartisan bill would help ensure that federal oil and gas fiscal policies catch up to current times and stay up to date by requiring the Bureau of Land Management to adjust the national onshore oil and gas minimum bid and rental rates for inflation every four years.
To ensure BLM is making the best use of the nation’s publicly-owned resources, Rep. McAdams and Rep. Rooney’s bill will increase:
Royalty rates - from 12.5% to 18.75%;
Rental rates - from $1.50 / $2.00 per acre to $3.00 / $5.00 per acres; and
Lease bids - from $2.00 per acre to $5.00 per acre.
Currently, companies can buy oil and gas leases for as little as $2.00/acre, with annual rental payments of just $1.50/acre.
Our public lands are worth more, particularly considering the cost of inflation AND that leasing obstructs other, much more valuable uses, such as recreation and critical conservation efforts.
The bargain that companies receive from the federal onshore program is even more apparent when compared to the costs of operating on state lands. While most Western states have strengthened their fiscal policies to ensure fair returns to taxpayers, BLM continues to manage adjacent federal lands with much lower prices. Most notably, the minimum federal royalty rates for onshore development is (and has been since 1920) 12.5%, far below the 18.75% rate charged for offshore production and the typical rates of 16.67%–25% at the state level.
States have proven that increasing royalty rates increases revenue without significantly impacting oil and gas production on their lands. And what’s more, they can return those revenues to their constituents in the way of increased funding for schools and other social services. In fact, both the GAO and CBO concluded that higher royalty rates at the federal level could increase revenues by $20 to $38 million per year.
Rep. Lowenthal’s Legislation to Update Bonding Rates
U.S. Representative Alan Lowenthal (D-CA-47) just introduced a bill to address the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) reclamation bonding rates that haven’t been updated in more than 50 years and do not account for inflation or today’s deeper, more technical wells.
The BLM rarely requires more than the minimum bond amount to reclaim oil and gas wells. This has led to a widening gap between the amount BLM holds in reclamation bonds, which totaled about $164 million in 2008 according to a GAO report, and potential reclamation costs for all producing oil and gas wells on America’s public lands – $6.1 billion, according to a 2018 estimate.
Rep. Lowenthal’s bill would increase the minimum bond amounts for oil and gas leases, and require that these minimums be adjusted for inflation every three years, to hold oil and gas companies operating on public lands more responsible for the full cost of recovery and lessen the misuse of taxpayer funds.
To ensure that the BLM is responsibly overseeing oil and gas drilling operations, Rep. Lowenthal’s bill would require BLM to conduct regular public reviews of bond adequacy and make period adjustments to existing bonds to account for inflationary changes and more technical drilling techniques that result in higher plugging and cleanup costs.
This federal legislation models state level reforms, like S.B. 181 in Colorado, which put in place new bonding rules for oil and gas wells and ensure there's adequate financial coverage to plug abandoned wells, so that taxpayers are not left on the hook to foot the cleanup bills.
It’s the American people who truly bear the costs of reckless oil and gas development by companies more concerned with their profits than their responsibility to clean up after themselves.
Social Guidance
Handles
Federal Agencies
@Interior
@BLMNational
@SecBernhardt
Congressional Leadership
@RepBenMcAdams
@RepRooney
@RepLowenthal
@NRDems
Hashtags
#PublicLands
#Oilandgas
#EnergyDominance
General
BREAKING: @RepBenMcAdams @RepRooney just introduced a bill that would reform federal #oilandgas fiscal policies and reduce the misuse of taxpayer funds.
BREAKING: @RepLowenthal just introduced a bill that would address @BLMNational’s reclamation bonding rates that haven’t been updated in > 50 years!
.@RepBenMcAdams @RepRooney just introduced a bill that would hold #oilandgas companies accountable by ensuring a fair return to taxpayers on natural resources leased and developed on #PublicLands.
TODAY: @RepBenMcAdams @RepRooney and @RepLowenthal introduced new bipartisan legislation that would protect taxpayers and #PublicLands by reforming outdated #oilandgas fiscal policies.
Our nation’s federal #oilandgas fiscal policies are outdated and taxpayers are paying a heavy price. @RepBenMcAdams @RepRooney and @RepLowenthal’s bills would provide the first revisions in over 30 years.
.@SecBernhardt needs to stop prioritizing the welfare of his former clients over taxpayers and start bringing @Interior’s #oilandgas fiscal policies into the 21st century!
50% of all revenue from #oilandgas drilling on #PublicLands goes to the state where the drilling occurs- but with decades old policies on the books taxpayers are losing out on critical funding for schools & infrastructure. We can and must do better!
Updating fiscal rates would have, at most, negligible impacts on #oilandgas production while increasing state and federal revenue.
Fiscal Policy
Our #PublicLands are worth much more than what @Interior policies currently value them at. We need updated policies, like those outlined in @RepBenMcAdams and @RepRooney’s new bill, that reflect the fact that #oilandgas leasing obstructs more valuable uses such as recreation & conservation.
.@RepBenMcAdams and @RepRooney’s bill will do what @Interior has failed to do themselves-- ensure fair market financial returns to the American people and stop taxpayer subsidization of private use of our #PublicLands.
DYK? Regulators can bid on #oilandgas leases for as little as $2.00/acre. Thankfully, @RepBenMcAdams & @RepRooney just introduced a bill that would adjust federal fiscal policies to account for inflation & the true value of our natural resources.
.@RepBenMcAdams and @RepRooney’s bill would increase federal onshore #oilandgas:
✔️Royalty rates from 12.5% to 18.75%
✔️Rental rates from $1.50/$2 per acre to $3/$5 per acre
✔️Lease bids from $2 per acre to $5 per acre
States have proven that increasing royalty rates does not significantly impact #oilandgas productions on their #PublicLands, but does increase revenue. That’s why @RepBenMcAdams and @RepRooney just introduced a bipartisan bill to increase royalty rates at the federal level today!
.@RepBenMcAdams and @RepRooney’s proposal to increase royalty rates for #oilandgas development on #PublicLands would allow the federal government to return those revenues to the American people through increased funding for schools & other social services.
DYK? Federal royalty & rental rates have stayed flat with NO adjustments for inflation for decades. We need reforms to federal #oilandgas fiscal policies now!
Bonding
.@RepLowenthal’s new bill holds the #oilandgas industry accountable for the costs of reckless development by companies more concerned with their profits than their responsibility to respect publicly owned resources.
.@RepLowenthal’s new bill will require #oilandgas regulators operating on #PublicLands to post more money in advance of drilling to avoid taxpayer-funded clean-up costs associated with their activities.
DYK? @Interior reclamation bonding amounts haven’t been updated in nearly 60 years. @RepLowenthal’s new bill aims to fix that so that taxpayers don’t bear the burden of #oilandgas operations on #PublicLands.
.@Interior’s outdated #oilandgas policies don’t account for modernized drilling technologies or inflation. @RepLowenthal’s bill will ensure that as the costs associated with reclaiming #oilandgas wells increase, so will the costs companies pay to use & develop on #PublicLand
At the end of the day, it’s the American people who bear the costs of outdated #oilandgas policies. While @SecBernhardt continues to push Trump’s #EnergyDominance agenda, @RepLowenthal’s bill will protect taxpayers & #PublicLands.
By requiring @BLMNational to conduct regular reviews of #oilandgas reclamation bonds, @RepLowenthal’s bill will ensure that the agency is making the best use of our #PublicLands.