Keep It in the Ground Act of 2021
Latest action · Jun 8, 2021 Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedApr 14, 2021
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Keep It in the Ground Act of 2021
This bill eliminates new fossil fuel production projects on federal public land and waters.
Specifically, it prohibits the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) from issuing, renewing, reinstating, or extending any nonproducing lease, or issuing any authorization for the exploration or production of fossil fuel on the Outer Continental Shelf. BOEM must also cancel any lease issued in the Beaufort Sea, Cook Inlet, or Chukchi Sea (three of the five bodies of water that encompass the Alaska Outer Continental Shelf).
Further, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) may not issue, renew, reinstate, or extend any nonproducing lease for the exploration or production of any onshore fossil fuels on land subject to the Mineral Leasing Act.
The bill provides for exceptions if there is an imminent national security threat that would be significantly reduced by granting an exception. In addition, BOEM and the BLM may allow a nonproducing lease to be renewed or extended if (1) the lease contract was signed before enactment of this bill, and (2) it is determined that giving effect to any provision of this bill is likely to lead to a judicial ruling that there was a material breach of the nonproducing lease contract.
Cosponsors 33
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Apr 14, 2021 to May 31, 2022; 15 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-NY | Carolyn B. Maloney | Original | Apr 14, 2021 |
| D-MO | Cori Bush | Original | Apr 14, 2021 |
| D-OR | Earl Blumenauer | Original | Apr 14, 2021 |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Original | Apr 14, 2021 |
| D-MO | Emanuel Cleaver | Original | Apr 14, 2021 |
| D-CT | Jahana Hayes | Original | Apr 14, 2021 |
| D-MD | Jamie Raskin | Original | Apr 14, 2021 |
| D-IL | Janice D. Schakowsky | Original | Apr 14, 2021 |
| D-NY | Jerrold Nadler | Original | Apr 14, 2021 |
| D-NY | Mondaire Jones | Original | Apr 14, 2021 |
| D-CA | Nanette Diaz Barragán | Original | Apr 14, 2021 |
| D-WA | Pramila Jayapal | Original | Apr 14, 2021 |
| D-AZ | Raúl M. Grijalva | Original | Apr 14, 2021 |
| D-CA | Ro Khanna | Original | Apr 14, 2021 |
| D-MA | William R. Keating | Original | Apr 14, 2021 |
| D-TN | Steve Cohen | Jul 21, 2021 | |
| D-CA | Salud O. Carbajal | Sep 24, 2021 | |
| D-MI | Andy Levin | Jan 12, 2022 | |
| D-MI | Rashida Tlaib | Feb 18, 2022 | |
| D-NY | Jamaal Bowman | Feb 28, 2022 | |
| D-IL | Jesús G. "Chuy" García | Mar 7, 2022 | |
| D-MA | Ayanna Pressley | Mar 15, 2022 | |
| D-MN | Ilhan Omar | Mar 15, 2022 | |
| D-NY | Adriano Espaillat | Mar 24, 2022 | |
| D-NY | Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez | Mar 24, 2022 | |
| D-MN | Betty McCollum | Mar 24, 2022 | |
| D-CA | Jimmy Gomez | Mar 24, 2022 | |
| D-WI | Mark Pocan | Mar 24, 2022 | |
| D-MA | James P. McGovern | Mar 28, 2022 | |
| D-IL | Marie Newman | Mar 28, 2022 | |
| D-NY | Grace Meng | Apr 14, 2022 | |
| D-IL | Danny K. Davis | May 6, 2022 | |
| D-CA | Ted Lieu | May 31, 2022 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Natural Resources Committee | Referred Apr 14, 2021 |
| Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee | Referred Jun 8, 2021 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jun 8, 2021Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.
- Apr 14, 2021Introduced in House
- Apr 14, 2021Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 167, no. 64, April 14, 2021, page H1791.
CRS reports 2
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 2
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R46195 | Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA): Background and Current Issues | Report | Dec 21, 2022 |
| IF11909 | Offshore Oil and Gas: Leasing “Pause,” Federal Leasing Review, and Current Issues Archived | Resource | Apr 29, 2022 |
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 1115 | Keep It in the Ground Act of 2021 | Identical bill | Apr 14, 2021 |
| HR 10489 | Keep It in the Ground Act of 2023 | Reintroduced Bill | Dec 18, 2024 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To prohibit drilling in the outer Continental Shelf, to prohibit coal leases on Federal land, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Keep It in the Ground Act of 2021
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Energy.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Apr 14, 2021Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
