Bill Details
S.170 - 119th Congress
Status
Latest action
2025-01-21 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Introduced Date
2025-01-21
Policy Area
Government Operations and Politics
Committees
View committees (1)
Cosponsors
View cosponsors (1)
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AI Summary This summary was generated by AI from the bill text. AI can get information wrong.
This bill would block people with recent top-level ties to the fossil fuel industry from being chosen for certain major government jobs. In general, it says that anyone who has been a fossil fuel company executive, a fossil fuel lobbyist, or a top leader of a fossil fuel trade group at any time in the last 10 years cannot be appointed to a set of important White House and agency positions, or serve in those jobs on an acting basis. The goal is to keep people with close industry ties from leading offices that deal with energy, the environment, science, transportation, and foreign policy.
- The ban covers a long list of senior roles, including White House chief of staff jobs, the Office of Management and Budget, the Energy Department, the EPA, the State Department, the Interior Department, the Defense Department, the Transportation Department, NOAA, NASA, and other related offices.
- It applies to people who served as executives of fossil fuel companies, fossil fuel lobbyists, or executives of fossil fuel trade associations within the 10 years before their appointment.
- The bill defines fossil fuels broadly to include natural gas, coal, oil, gasoline, diesel fuel, and jet fuel.
- It also makes clear that workers focused on renewable energy, such as wind or solar, are not treated as fossil fuel executives under this bill.
Official Summaries
Banning In Government Oil Industry Lobbyists from the Cabinet Act or the BIG OIL from the Cabinet Act
This bill prohibits the appointment of an individual to specified high-level federal positions if that individual has served as an executive officer of a fossil fuel entity, a fossil fuel lobbyist, or an executive officer of a fossil fuel trade association in the previous 10 years.
The applicable federal positions include the Chief of Staff to the President, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of State, and all political appointments in specified agencies.
Current Full Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 170 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 170
To prohibit the appointment of former fossil fuel executive officers
and fossil fuel lobbyists as the heads of certain departments, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 21, 2025
Mr. Markey (for himself and Mr. Merkley) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit the appointment of former fossil fuel executive officers
and fossil fuel lobbyists as the heads of certain departments, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Banning In Government Oil Industry
Lobbyists from the Cabinet Act'' or the ``BIG OIL from the Cabinet
Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Covered department head.--The term ``covered department
head'' means the--
(A) Chief of Staff to the President;
(B) Chief of Staff to the Vice President;
(C) Director of the Office of Management and
Budget;
(D) Chairman of the Council on Environmental
Quality;
(E) Director of the Office of Science and
Technology Policy;
(F) Executive Director of the United States Global
Change Research Program;
(G) Secretary of Energy;
(H) Administrator of the Energy Information
Administration;
(I) Administrator of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration;
(J) Administrator of the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration;
(K) Secretary of Transportation;
(L) Deputy Administrator of the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration;
(M) Administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Administration;
(N) Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission;
(O) Secretary of Agriculture;
(P) Secretary of the Interior;
(Q) Secretary of Defense;
(R) Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency; and
(S) Secretary of State.
(2) Covered political appointee.--The term ``covered
political appointee'' means a political appointee, as defined
in section 714(h) of title 38, United States Code, at--
(A) the Department of the Interior;
(B) the Environmental Protection Agency;
(C) the Department of Energy;
(D) the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission;
(E) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration;
(F) the Council on Environmental Quality;
(G) the Office of Science and Technology Policy;
(H) the Office of Management and Budget; and
(I) the Department of State.
(3) Executive officer.--The term ``executive officer''--
(A) means, with respect to an enterprise--
(i) the president;
(ii) any vice president in charge of a
principal business unit, division, or function,
including sales, administration, or finance;
(iii) any other officer who performs a
policy-making function; or
(iv) an executive officer of a subsidiary
of the enterprise if the executive officer of
the subsidiary performs policy-making functions
for the enterprise; and
(B) does not include an employee of a fossil fuel
entity that works in, or is in charge of, a division
principally responsible for the research, development,
or deployment of--
(i) wind energy;
(ii) solar energy; or
(iii) any other renewable energy source.
(4) Fossil fuel.--The term ``fossil fuel'' means natural
gas, coal, oil, gasoline, diesel fuel, or jet fuel.
(5) Fossil fuel entity.--The term ``fossil fuel entity''
means an entity that is in the business of extracting or
producing fossil fuel.
(6) Fossil fuel lobbyist.--The term ``fossil fuel
lobbyist'' means a lobbyist, as defined in section 3 of the
Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1602), that is
registered or is required to register under section 4(a) of
that Act (2 U.S.C. 1603(a)), who principally lobbies--
(A) for not less than 1 fossil fuel entity or
fossil fuel trade association; and
(B) on issues relating to the extraction or
production of fossil fuels.
(7) Fossil fuel trade association.--The term ``fossil fuel
trade association'' means a trade association that principally
represents one or more fossil fuel entities on issues relating
to the extraction or production of fossil fuels.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION OF APPOINTMENT OF FOSSIL FUEL EXECUTIVES AND
LOBBYISTS.
No individual that has served as an executive officer of a fossil
fuel entity, a fossil fuel lobbyist, or an executive officer of a
fossil fuel trade association for any period of time during the 10-year
period preceding the date of appointment or service shall--
(1) be appointed to serve as a covered department head or a
covered political appointee; or
(2) perform the functions and duties of a covered
department head or a covered political appointee in an acting
capacity.
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