Natural Gas Pricing Amendments Act of 1979
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
Natural Gas Pricing Amendments Act of 1979 - Amends the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 to reduce the wellhead ceiling price for new natural gas and certain natural gas produced from the Outer Continental Shelf. Creates an annual inflation adjustment factor for such natural gas price. Reduces the wellhead ceiling price for natural gas produced from new, onshore production wells. Reduces the wellhead ceiling price for natural gas produced from stripper wells. Creates an annual inflation adjustment factor for such natural gas price. Repeals the ceiling price increase provisions in such Act relating to natural gas produced from the above wells. Extends for two years certain provisions relating to: (1) future production ceiling prices on new, onshore production wells of 5,000 feet or less; (2) price ceilings in existing intrastate contracts containing indefinite price increase provisions; (3) the elimination of price controls; (4) standby price control authority; and (5) reports to the Congress. Extends the period for the decontrol of certain high-cost natural gas prices.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on March 21, 1979. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on March 21, 1979: Referred to House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
HAROLD FORD (D-TN) introduced it on March 21, 1979, and 12 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 11 Democrats, 1 Republican.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 21, 1979, 17340 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17340 days ago, on March 21, 1979.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers