[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 170 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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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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