Oil Price Control Act
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means.
Title I: Crude Oil and Imported Petroleum Products: Oil Price Control Act -Amends the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act of 1973 to provide that until the President determines that the Federal Oil Trading Corporation is established and fully operational: (1) no adjustment may be made to the base production control level of any property for the purpose of allowing crude oil to be treated as upper tier; (2) no adjustment may be made to the ceiling prices applicable to the existing categories of controlled crude oil, except to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index; and (3) in the case of categories of domestically produced crude oil not subject to ceiling prices under the Act, a ceiling price shall be established by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for each such category equal to the average wellhead prices on December 1, 1980, for that category and no adjustment shall be made to any such ceiling price, except to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index. Directs the Economic Regulatory Administration to, among other things: (1) conduct a study of the average unit production costs of each category of crude oil produced in the United States and its profitability under the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act of 1973; (2) develop proposed pricing rules, prices, and methods of price adjustment for crude oil; and (3) issue a report to the Congress and the President. Directs the President, within 30 days of receiving the final report, to issue an Executive order prescribing pricing rules, prices and methods of adjustment which shall apply to the Federal Oil Trading Corporation (established by this Act) during its first year of operations. Establishes the Federal Oil Trading Corporation as a nonprofit corporation. Prohibits, after the Corporation is established and fully operational, any person from: (1) selling crude oil to any person other than the Corporation; (2) selling imported crude oil or petroleum products to any person other than the Corporation; and (3) purchasing crude oil or petroleum products from any person other than the Corporation. Directs the Corporation to sell all crude oil and imported petroleum products acquired by it to qualified refiners and other persons requiring crude oil or imported petroleum products for their own use in such amounts as the refiners shall require except: (1) in periods of crude oil shortage or anticipated shortage; and (2) for diversion into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Requires the Corporation to prepare annually and publish a proposed statement specifying the proposed pricing rules which shall apply to the purchase and sale of crude oil and imported petroleum products by the Corporation during the following year. Specifies provisions regarding: (1) a Board of Directors; (2) officers and employees; (3) the general authority of the Corporation; (4) an annual report to Congress; (5) the establishment of the Public Energy Fund into which Corporation revenues shall be deposited; and (6) auditing the Corporation. Title II: Domestic Petroleum Products - Directs the Economic Regulatory Administration to: (1) conduct a study of the profitability of domestic petroleum products to refiners and marketers; (2) develop a proposed price for each petroleum product; (3) determine a method to adjust prices monthly; and (4) issue a report containing the findings of the study, the proposed prices, and the method of adjustment. Directs the President, within 30 days of receiving the final report, to issue an executive order establishing pricing rules for the pricing of oil products at the wholesale, refinery, and retail levels. Title III: Emergency Authorities - Authorizes the President to: (1) require adjustments in the operations of any refinery with respect to the proportions of any petroleum product produced through such operations if such adjustments are determined necessary to assure production of any petroleum product in such proportions as are necessary or appropriate to achieve the objectives of this Act; (2) require adjustments in the amounts or crude oil of any petroleum product held in inventory by persons engaged in importing, producing, refining, marketing, or distributing such oil or oil products; (3) prohibit any person from willfully accumulating crude oil or any petroleum product in excess of the person's reasonable needs; and (4) require the allocation of any petroleum product in specified amounts. Title IV: Administration and Enforcement - Provides that the administration and enforcement provisions of the Emergency Energy Petroleum Allocation Act of 1973 shall apply to this Act.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on December 2, 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 December 2, 1980: Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means.
- 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?
JOHN CONYERS (D-MI) introduced it on December 2, 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 December 2, 1980, 16718 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 16718 days ago, on December 2, 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