OCS leasing bill pulled from House floor

Dec. 11, 2006
US House leaders pulled the Senate’s Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas leasing reform bill from the floor on Dec. 5 because there were not enough votes to pass it under special fast-track rules.

US House leaders pulled the Senate’s Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas leasing reform bill from the floor on Dec. 5 because there were not enough votes to pass it under special fast-track rules.

Proponents had pushed to get S. 3711 on the calendar under a rules suspension to keep it from being amended. But they apparently lacked the votes to reach the two-thirds majority required in such cases. The bill must pass the House without amendments to avoid a conference and move directly to the president for enactment.

Louisiana representatives and senators from both parties say passage of the Senate’s OCS bill is vital since it contains a provision giving Gulf Coast states except Florida a portion of federal OCS oil and gas revenue.

Louisiana Reps. Bobby Jindal (R) and Charlie Melancon (D) were the two primary sponsors of HR 4761, a more aggressive OCS leasing reform bill that would have given coastal states beyond the Gulf of Mexico a means to share federal revenue in exchange for allowing leasing off their coastlines.