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This bill would repeal or limit subsidies for the energy extraction industry that come in the form of reduced or eliminated royalties, tax incentives, limitations on liability for accidents, and loans for projects using fossil fuels.

The ability of the Secretary of the Interior to reduce or eliminate royalty payments for oil and natural gas leases in the Outer Continental Shelf would be repealed. Minimum royalty payments under the Mineral Leasing Act would be increased for coal, oil and natural gas leases. If a company overpays its royalties to the federal government, it would no longer be able to receive interest on the overpaid portion.

The Internal Revenue Code would be amended to limit or repeal provisions allowing tax incentives for investment in fossil fuels and increase the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund financing rate. It would also impose a 13 percent tax on the removal price of any taxable crude oil or natural gas from the Outer Continental Shelf in the Gulf of Mexico.

All unobligated balances made to the World Bank, the Export-Import Bank, the Advanced Research Projects Agency in the Department of Defense, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation would be rescinded for projects supporting fossil fuel power plants. Such a project could still continue to receive funds, but only if the project is in a Least Developed Country where no economically feasible alternative exists, and it uses the most efficient energy source available.

The Department of Transportation could not award a grant or other direct assistance to a rail or port project that transports fossil fuel. The Department of Agriculture would be prohibited from making loans under the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to projects that will use fossil fuel.

The corporate income tax exemption for publicly traded partnerships with qualifying income and gains from activities relating to fossil fuels would be repealed. Accelerated depreciation for property that is receiving a subsidy for fossil fuel production would be eliminated.

","official_title":"A bill to eliminate certain subsidies for fossil-fuel production.","short_title":"End Polluter Welfare Act of 2015","popular_title":null,"short_summary":"End Polluter Welfare Act of 2015\n\n Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to repeal the authority of the Department of the Interior to reduce or eliminate royalty payments for oil and natural gas leases in the Outer Continental Shelf.\n\n Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to increase minimum royalty payments for coal, oil, and natural gas leases.\n\nAmends the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 to prohibit payment of interest upon any overpayment of royalties.\n\nAmends the Oil Pollution Act to eliminate the limitation on liability for offshore facilities and pipeline operators for oil spills.\n\nRescinds all unobligated balances made available to the World Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the Export-Import Bank, the Advanced Research Projects Agency in the Department of Energy (DOE), and other international financing entities to carry out any project that supports power plants that operate on fossil fuel (i.e., coal,...","summarized":true,"cost":null,"cost_commentary":"A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.","impact":"Coal, oil, and natural gas companies; transportation projects that involve fossil fuels, federal agencies providing loans or other assistance to covered projects.","argument_for":"The U.S. and the rest of the world need to get past relying on fossil fuels for energy, and cutting off subsidies is a step in that direction that also saves taxpayers money.","argument_against":"If the U.S. eliminates subsidies for the fossil fuel energy industry, why not get rid of subsidies for wind, solar, and biofuels too to make the playing field level?","bill_type":"s","published":true,"type":"FederalBill","id":"s1041-114","bill_id":"s1041-114","formal_id":"S. 1041","chamber":"senate","congress":114,"last_action_at":"2015-04-22T00:00:00.000Z","active":false,"enacted":false,"enacted_at":null,"vetoed":false,"last_vote_at":null,"debated_on":null,"congress_url":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th/senate-bill/1041","plain_text_url":"http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-114s1041is/html/BILLS-114s1041is.htm","shareable_image_url":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/bills/s1041-114.png","congress_full_text_url":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th/senate-bill/1041/text","is_current_congress":false,"last_version_on":"2015-04-22","related_bill_ids":["hr1930-114"],"progress":"Introduced","house_passage_result":false,"senate_passage_result":false,"position_count":2324,"committees":[{"name":"Committee on Finance","chamber":"senate","committee_id":"SSFI","subcommittee":false}],"links":{"rollCalls":"/api/roll_calls?bill_id=s1041-114","details":"/api/bills/s1041-114/details","sharingMessage":"/api/sharing_messages/s1041-114","positionsFor":"/api/bills/s1041-114/positions/for","positionsAgainst":"/api/bills/s1041-114/positions/against"},"upcoming":false,"cosponsors_count":2,"slug":"s1041-114-end-polluter-welfare-act-of-2015","latest_chamber_votes_id":null,"official_url":null,"target_video":true,"following":false,"vote_count":16797,"yea_vote_count":14217,"nay_vote_count":2565,"passed_house":false,"passed_senate":false,"vote_id":null,"my_position_id":null,"topic_ids":["government","public-land-and-resources","energy"],"issue_ids":["government","public-land-and-resources","fossil-fuel","energy"],"sponsor_id":594}],"votes":[],"issues":[{"id":"government","name":"Government","slug":"government","description":"Federal legislation related to the operations of the US Federal Government. 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","page_title":"US Federal legislation about Public Lands, National Parks and Wilderness - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/public-land-and-resources/black_public-land-and-resources-1429042039.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/public-land-and-resources/grey_public-land-and-resources-1429042039.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/public-land-and-resources/white_public-land-and-resources-1429042039.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"fossil-fuel","name":"Fossil Fuel","slug":"fossil-fuel","description":"Vote on the latest federal legislation regarding Fossil Fuel. Make your voice heard about the issues you care about.\r\n","page_title":"Fossil Fuel Legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/fossil-fuel/black_fossil-fuel-1430233274.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/fossil-fuel/grey_fossil-fuel-1430233274.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/fossil-fuel/white_fossil-fuel-1430233274.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"energy","name":"Energy","slug":"energy","description":"The Federal government directly impacts and regulates energy production in the US, including: Coal, Nuclear, Oil and Natural Gas, Electric and alternative and renewable resources (solar, hydrogen, and others). Legislation can relate to regulating public utilities and utility rates, lighting and heating and the auto industry. ","page_title":"Federal legislation related to producing energy for the US - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/energy/black_energy-1429042038.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/energy/grey_energy-1429042038.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/energy/white_energy-1429042038.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false}],"users":[{"name":"FMC","vote_count":29,"photos":{"large":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/3W17Kegm/large_3w17kegm-1486566199.jpg","small":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/3W17Kegm/small_3w17kegm-1486566199.jpg","tiny":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/3W17Kegm/tiny_3w17kegm-1486566199.jpg","facebook":"https://graph.facebook.com/10154263203319140/picture"},"links":{"following":"/api/users/3W17Kegm/following","followers":"/api/users/3W17Kegm/followers"},"about_me":null,"twitter_id":null,"facebook_id":null,"youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":null,"website":null,"slug":"fmc","issue_count":124,"is_following":null,"influence_score":6175,"influence_level":40,"follower_count":9,"following_count":10,"position_count":24,"id":"3W17Kegm","partner_id":null}],"bill_position":{"flagged":false,"id":"f812048f-fff0-46b6-a956-3f899504f406","argument_for":"We should subsidize them if we force them to change the way they generate power. Help them make the transition then no more subsidies. ","argument_against":null,"show_argument_for":true,"show_argument_against":false,"upvote_count":0,"upvotes_for_count":0,"upvotes_against_count":null,"has_upvoted":false,"endorsement_count":0,"links":{"self":"https://www.causes.com/positions/f812048f-fff0-46b6-a956-3f899504f406"},"body":"We should subsidize them if we force them to change the way they generate power. Help them make the transition then no more subsidies. ","stance":"yea","created_at":"2016-06-22T01:14:40.362Z","shareable_image_url":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/positions/f812048f-fff0-46b6-a956-3f899504f406.png","note_color":null,"note_text":null,"bill_id":"s1041-114","user_id":"3W17Kegm","endorser_ids":[]}}

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Eliminating Subsidies for the Oil, Gas, and Coal Industries