Domestic Energy Policy Act of 1979
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Science and Technology.
Domestic Energy Policy Act of 1979 - Establishes energy supply and demand targets in quadrillion Btu's per year for the United States for the years 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, and 2000, for specific forms of domestic energy production, including crude oil and other liquefied fuels, natural gas, coal, nuclear, and renewable energy sources. Directs the President to submit an annual energy report to the Congress reviewing energy targets approved or revised by Congress in the previous year and proposing recommendations to the Congress for further revision of such targets. Specifies other components of such energy report. Requires the Congress to consider such targets in detail to arrive at a consensus set of figures representing the Nation's energy future, and to formalize such consensus by joint resolution. States that no legislative action authorizing new budget authority in any year for energy programs would be in order in any House until such joint resolution has been agreed to by such House. Requires the President to prepare an energy impact report on any public bill or resolution reported out of any committee of the House or Senate. Stipulates that the preparation of energy targets shall not be construed to comprise a "major Federal action significantly affecting the environment" for the purposes of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on September 14, 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 September 14, 1979: Referred to House Committee on Science and Technology.
- 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?
TOM CORCORAN (R-IL) introduced it on September 14, 1979, and 7 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 4 Democrats, 2 Republicans, 1 independent.
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 September 14, 1979, 17163 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17163 days ago, on September 14, 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