Energy and Mineral Issues in the FY2006 Budget Reconciliation Bill

RS22313 -- Energy and Mineral Issues in the FY2006 Budget Reconciliation Bill

Updated November 22, 2005

Summary

Several resource issues that are designed to generate revenue for the federal Treasury have been proposed for the FY2006 budget reconciliation bill. The most controversial of these provisions recommended by the House Resources Committee and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee would open part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for oil and gas development. The House panel also approved a provision that would allow coastal states to "opt out" of the current offshore oil and gas development moratoria, increase fees for hardrock mining and patents, dispose of certain federal lands, and begin an oil shale and tar sands leasing program.

The House Rules Committee, however, approved a closed rule (H.Res. 542) for the budget reconciliation package, including an amendment that would remove from the bill, the ANWR and OCS provisions described above. On November 18, 2005, the House approved its version of the budget bill, H.R. 4241, passed as S. 1932 (without the ANWR and OCS provisions), by a vote of 217-215.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates offsetting receipts from resource development on federal lands in the House-approved bill to be $286 million and in the Senate version to be $2.66 billion between 2006-2010. This report will be updated.