§ 719f. — Congressional review.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 15USC719f]
TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND TRADE
CHAPTER 15C--ALASKA NATURAL GAS TRANSPORTATION
Sec. 719f. Congressional review
(a) Effectiveness of decision designating transportation system for
approval upon enactment of joint resolution
Any decision under section 719e(a) of this title or subsection (b)
of this section designating for approval a transportation system for the
delivery of Alaska natural gas shall take effect upon enactment of a
joint resolution within the first period of 60 calendar days of
continuous session of Congress beginning on the date after the date of
receipt by the Senate and House of Representatives of a decision
transmitted pursuant to section 719e(b) of this title or subsection (b)
of this section.
(b) New decision: statement of reasons for proposal; transmittal to
Congress
If the Congress does not enact such a joint resolution within such
60-day period, the President, not later than the end of the 30th day
following the expiration of the 60-day period, may propose a new
decision and shall provide a detailed statement concerning the reasons
for such proposal. The new decision shall be submitted in accordance
with section 719e(a) of this title and transmitted to the House of
Representatives and the Senate on the same day while both are in session
and shall take effect pursuant to subsection (a) of this section. In the
event that a resolution respecting the President's decision was defeated
by vote of either House, no new decision may be transmitted pursuant to
this subsection unless such decision differs in a material respect from
the previous decision.
(c) Sessions of Congress
For purposes of this section--
(1) continuity of session of Congress is broken only by an
adjournment sine die; and
(2) the days on which either House is not in session because of
an adjournment of more than 3 days to a day certain are excluded in
the computation of the 60-day calendar period.
(d) Rules under rulemaking powers of Congress; change of rules;
``resolution'' defined; referral to Congressional committees;
debate limitation; motion for consideration of resolution;
debate on resolution; nondebatable motions and appeals from
procedural decisions
(1) This subsection is enacted by Congress--
(A) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of each House of
Congress, respectively, and as such it is deemed a part of the rules
of each House, respectively, but applicable only with respect to the
procedure to be followed in that House in the case of resolutions
described by paragraph (2) of this subsection; and it supersedes
other rules only to the extent that it is inconsistent therewith;
and
(B) with full recognition of the constitutional right of either
House to change the rules (so far as those rules relate to the
procedure of that House) at any time, in the same manner and to the
same extent as in the case of any other rule of such House.
(2) For purposes of this chapter, the term ``resolution'' means (A)
a joint resolution, the resolving clause of which is as follows: ``That
the House of Representatives and Senate approve the Presidential
decision on an Alaska natural gas transportation system submitted to the
Congress on _____, 19 , and find that any environmental impact
statements prepared relative to such system and submitted with the
President's decision are in compliance with the Natural \1\
Environmental Policy Act of 1969.''; the blank space therein shall be
filled with the date on which the President submits his decision to the
House of Representatives and the Senate; or (B) a joint resolution
described in subsection (g) of this section.
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\1\ So in original. Probably should be ``National''.
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(3) A resolution once introduced with respect to a Presidential
decision on an Alaska natural gas transportation system shall be
referred to one or more committees (and all resolutions with respect to
the same Presidential decision on an Alaska natural gas transportation
system shall be referred to the same committee or committees) by the
President of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
as the case may be.
(4)(A) If any committee to which a resolution with respect to a
Presidential decision on an Alaska natural gas transportation system has
been referred has not reported it at the end of 30 calendar days after
its referral, it shall be in order to move either to discharge such
committee from further consideration of such resolution or to discharge
such committee from consideration of any other resolution with respect
to such Presidential decision on an Alaska natural gas transportation
system which has been referred to such committee.
(B) A motion to discharge may be made only by an individual favoring
the resolution, shall be highly privileged (except that it may not be
made after the committee has reported a resolution with respect to the
same Presidential decision on an Alaska natural gas transportation
system), and debate thereon shall be limited to not more than 1 hour, to
be divided equally between those favoring and those opposing the
resolution. An amendment to the motion shall not be in order, and it
shall not be in order to move to reconsider the vote by which the motion
was agreed to or disagreed to.
(C) If the motion to discharge is agreed to or disagreed to, the
motion may not be made with respect to any other resolution with respect
to the same Presidential decision on an Alaska natural gas
transportation system.
(5)(A) When any committee has reported, or has been discharged from
further consideration of, a resolution, but in no case earlier than 30
days after the date of receipt of the President's decision to the
Congress, it shall be at any time thereafter in order (even though a
previous motion to the same effect has been disagreed to) to move to
proceed to the consideration of the resolution. The motion shall be
highly privileged and shall not be debatable. An amendment to the motion
shall not be in order, and it shall not be in order to move to
reconsider the vote by which the motion was agreed to or disagreed to.
(B) Debate on the resolution described in paragraph (2)(A) of this
subsection shall be limited to not more than 10 hours and on any
resolution described in subsection (g) of this section to one hour. This
time shall be divided equally between those favoring and those opposing
such resolution. A motion further to limit debate shall not be
debatable. An amendment to, or motion to recommit the resolution shall
not be in order, and it shall not be in order to move to reconsider the
vote by which such resolution was agreed to or disagreed to or,
thereafter within such 60-day period, to consider any other resolution
respecting the same Presidential decision.
(6)(A) Motions to postpone, made with respect to the discharge from
committee, or the consideration of a resolution and motions to proceed
to the consideration of other business, shall be decided without debate.
(B) Appeals from the decision of the Chair relating to the
application of the rules of the Senate or the House of Representatives,
as the case may be, to the procedures relating to a resolution shall be
decided without debate.
(e) Presidential finding respecting and supplementation or modification
of environmental impact statement; submittal to Congressional
committees
The President shall find that any required environmental impact
statement relative to the Alaska natural gas transportation system
designated for approval by the President has been prepared and that such
statement is in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 [42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.]. Such finding shall be set forth in the
report of the President submitted under section 719e of this title. The
President may supplement or modify the environmental impact statements
prepared by the Commission or other Federal officers or agencies. Any
such environmental impact statement shall be submitted contemporaneously
with the transmittal to the Senate and House of Representatives of the
President's decision pursuant to section 719e(b) of this title or
subsection (b) of this section.
(f) Report of Commission: submittal to Congress; Council on
Environmental Quality: hearings, report, submittal to Congress;
Congressional committee hearings
Within 20 days of the transmittal of the President's decision to the
Congress under section 719e(b) of this title or under subsection (b) of
this section, (1) the Commission shall submit to the Congress a report
commenting on the decision and including any information with regard to
that decision which the Commission considers appropriate, and (2) the
Council on Environmental Quality shall provide an opportunity to any
interested person to present oral and written data, views, and arguments
on any environmental impact statement submitted by the President
relative to any system designated by him for approval which is different
from any system reported on by the Commission under section 719c(c) of
this title, and shall submit to the Congress a report summarizing any
such views received. The committees in each House of Congress to which a
resolution has been referred under subsection (d)(3) of this section
shall conduct hearings on the Council's report and include in any report
of the committee respecting such resolution the findings of the
committee on the legal and factual sufficiency of any environmental
impact statement submitted by the President relative to any system
designated by him for approval.
(g) Waiver; submittal to Congress
(1) At any time after a decision designating a transportation system
is submitted to the Congress pursuant to this section, if the President
finds that any provision of law applicable to actions to be taken under
subsection (a) or (c) of section 719g of this title require waiver in
order to permit expeditious construction and initial operation of the
approved transportation system, the President may submit such proposed
waiver to both Houses of Congress.
(2) Such provision shall be waived with respect to actions to be
taken under subsection (a) or (c) of section 719g of this title upon
enactment of a joint resolution pursuant to the procedures specified in
subsections (c) and (d) of this section (other than subsection (d)(2)
thereof) within the first period of 60 calendar days of continuous
session of Congress beginning on the date after the date of receipt by
the Senate and House of Representatives of such proposal.
(3) The resolving clause of the joint resolution referred to in this
subsection is as follows: ``That the House of Representatives and Senate
approve the waiver of the provision of law ( ) as proposed by the
President, submitted to the Congress on , 19 .'' The first
blank space therein being filled with the citation to the provision of
law and the second blank space therein being filled with the date on
which the President submits his decision to the House of Representatives
and the Senate.
(4) In the case of action with respect to a joint resolution
described in this subsection, the phrase ``a waiver of a provision of
law'' shall be substituted in subsection (d) of this section for the
phrase ``the Alaska natural gas transportation system.''.
(Pub. L. 94-586, Sec. 8, Oct. 22, 1976, 90 Stat. 2909.)
References in Text
The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, referred to in
subsecs. (d)(2) and (e), is Pub. L. 91-190, Jan. 1, 1970, 83 Stat. 852,
as amended, which is classified generally to chapter 55 (Sec. 4321 et
seq.) of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete
classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out
under section 4321 of Title 42 and Tables.
Transfer of Functions
Enforcement functions authorized by, and supplemental enforcement
authority created by this chapter with respect to pre-construction,
construction, and initial operation of transportation system for
Canadian and Alaskan natural gas transferred to Federal Inspector,
Office of Federal Inspector for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation
System, until first anniversary of date of initial operation of Alaska
Natural Gas Transportation System, see Reorg. Plan No. 1 of 1979,
Secs. 102(h)(1), 203(a), 44 F.R. 33663, 33666, 93 Stat. 1373, 1376,
effective July 1, 1979, set out under section 719e of this title. Office
of Federal Inspector for the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System
abolished and functions and authority vested in Inspector transferred to
Secretary of Energy by section 3012(b) of Pub. L. 102-486, set out as an
Abolition of Office of Federal Inspector note under section 719e of this
title.
Federal Power Commission terminated and functions, personnel,
property, funds, etc., transferred to Secretary of Energy (except for
certain functions transferred to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission)
by sections 7151(b), 7171(a), 7172(a)(1), 7291, and 7293 of Title 42,
The Public Health and Welfare.
Congressional Approval of Presidential Recommendations for Waiver of Law
To Permit Expeditious Construction and Initial Operation of System
Pub. L. 97-93, Dec. 15, 1981, 95 Stat. 1204, provided: ``That the
House of Representatives and Senate approve the waiver of the provision
of law (Public Law 95-158 [set out as a note below], Public Law numbered
688, Seventy-fifth Congress, second session [section 717 et seq. of this
title], and Public Law 94-163 [42 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.]) as proposed by
the President, submitted to the Congress on October 15, 1981.'' [The
Message of the President, dated Oct. 15, 1981, submitting the findings
and proposed waiver of law, is set out in 17 Weekly Compilation of
Presidential Documents 1135, Oct. 19, 1981.]
Congressional Approval of Presidential Decision on Alaska Natural Gas
Transportation System
Pub. L. 95-158, Nov. 8, 1977, 91 Stat. 1268, provided: ``That the
House of Representatives and Senate approve the Presidential decision on
an Alaska natural gas transportation system submitted to the Congress on
September 22, 1977, and find that any environmental impact statements
prepared relative to such system and submitted with the President's
decision are in compliance with the Natural [National] Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 [section 4321 et seq. of Title 42, The Public Health
and Welfare].''
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 719b, 719c, 719d, 719e,
719g, 719h of this title; title 16 sections 3166, 3233; title 43 section
2008.
