119-s170

[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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