A bill to amend the Powerplant and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 1978 to expedite conversions from the use of petroleum and natural gas to the use of mixtures of petroleum and coal or other alternate fuels.
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
Amends the Powerplant and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 1978 to direct the President to establish, by regulation, procedures to expedite the conversion of electric powerplants and major fuel-burning installations from the use of petroleum and natural gas to the use of mixtures of petroleum and coal or other alternate fuels. Provides that during the 15 year period following the granting of an exemption for the use of certain mixtures containing natural gas or petroleum to any new or existing powerplant or installation, the Secretary of Energy may not reduce the minimum percentage of petroleum or natural gas applicable to such facility unless the Secretary finds that the facility: (1) has the technical capability to comply with the lower minimum percentage or could have such capability without physical modification or reduction in the facility's capacity; and (2) is financially able to comply with that lower percentage. Amends such Act to include petroleum within the emergency allocation provisions thereof but only with respect to powerplants or major fuel-burning installations granted an exemption for the use of certain fuel mixtures or using such mixtures to the same extent as if granted such an exemption.
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 26, 1980. 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 26, 1980: 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?
LESTER WOLFF (D-NY) introduced it on March 26, 1980. No cosponsors are recorded.
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 26, 1980, 17016 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17016 days ago, on March 26, 1980.
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