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1 1 (February 1, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govebmx0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service MaisaieInfo rring th e legislative d ebate since 1914 0 February 1, 2021 Offshore Energy Agency Appropriations, FY2021 Three entities in the Department of the Interior (DOI) share responsibility for managing the nation's ocean energy resources on almost 2.5 billion acres of the U.S. outer continental shelf (OCS). The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) administers offshore energy leasing and mineral development, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) oversees offshore operational safety and environmental protection, and the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) manages public revenues from federally regulated offshore and onshore energy and natural resource projects. BOEM, BSEE, and ONRR receive appropriations in the annual Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill. Issues include determining the aggregate and program- level appropriations for each entity and considering related legislative proposals by the Administration. P.L. 116-260, enacted on December 27, 2020, contained FY2021 appropriations for BOEM, BSEE, and ONRR. Several continuing resolutions had provided appropriations at FY2020 levels prior to enactment of P.L. 116-260, because appropriations were not enacted by the start of the fiscal year. In earlier action, on July 24, 2020, the House passed H.R. 7608 with FY2021 consolidated appropriations (also see H.Rept. 116-448 on H.R. 7612, an earlier stand- alone House bill). On November 10, 2020, the Senate Committee on Appropriations released a draft Interior appropriations bill and explanatory statement. Total budget authority for BOEM and BSEE includes both discretionary appropriations and offsetting collections derived from a portion of OCS rental receipts, cost- recovery fees, and (for BSEE) inspection fees. The discretionary appropriation for each fiscal year is reduced by the amount of eligible receipts and fees that are collected, so that the final amount appropriated to each agency is the net of those collections. Discussions of account- and activity-level funding in the sections below refer to total budget authority, regardless of offsets. ONRR's funding does not include offsetting collections. BOEM Appropriations The Trump Administration requested $188.8 million in total budget authority for BOEM for FY2021. This was a 1% decrease from the total FY2020 budget authority of $191.6 million provided in P.L. 116-94. Net of estimated offsetting collections, the FY2021 request was $125.8 million, 4% less than the net appropriation of $131.6 million for BOEM in FY2020. P.L. 116-260 provided $192.8 million in total FY2021 budget authority for BOEM (Table 1), 1% more than the FY2020 total budget authority and 2% more than requested by the Administration. House-passed H.R. 7608 would have provided $186.8 million in total budget authority, and the Senate committee draft contained $197.8 million. Net of offsetting collections, P.L. 116-260 provided $127.8 million for BOEM, 2% more than requested and 3% less than enacted for FY2020. This includes a $2.0 million rescission of unobligated prior-year funds. The House-passed bill would have provided a net appropriation of $121.8 million; the Senate-passed bill would have provided $134.8 million. BOEM's appropriations are contained in a single budget account, titled Ocean Energy Management. Within this account, the Conventional Energy budget activity ($63.0 million FY2020; $60.5 million FY2021 requested and enacted) funds administration of oil and gas leasing, including the development of forward-looking five-year leasing programs. BOEM had sought a funding reduction, because preparation of its National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2019-2024 was put on hold. The Renewable Energy activity ($23.3 million FY2020; $26.5 million FY2021 request; $28.5 million enacted) supports BOEM's management of renewable ocean energy resources. Congress provided more funding than BOEM requested and stated in the joint explanatory statement for P.L. 116-260 that the increase was to improve BOEM's offshore wind permit processing capacity. The Environmental Assessment activity ($82.5 million FY2020; $75.9 million FY2021 requested and enacted) supports BOEM's responsibilities for assessing the environmental impacts of ocean energy activities to inform planning and policy decisions. BOEM requested increased funding for its Environmental Studies Program but reduced funds for the 2019-2024 leasing program that was on hold. The Marine Minerals activity ($5.7 million FY2020; $8.8 million FY2021 request; $10.8 million enacted) supports BOEM's management of offshore non-energy minerals, particularly sand and gravel, and BOEM's assessment of the supply of critical minerals on the OCS. The joint explanatory statement for P.L. 116-260 directed that at least $2.0 million of the funding increase go to critical mineral assessment. The Executive Direction activity ($17.1 million FY2020; $17.2 million FY2021 requested and enacted) covers leadership, budgeting, technology, and related activities. The requested increase was primarily related to fixed costs. BSEE Appropriations The Administration requested $204.0 million in total budget authority for BSEE for FY2021, a 1% increase over the FY2020 total budget authority of $202.9 million in P.L. 116-94. The requested net appropriation after offsetting ittps://crsreports.conqross.gov

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