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United States · Bill · S

S. 2238 (114th)

Keep It in the Ground Act of 2015

referredUnited States· United States Congress· EN

Introduced

4 November 2015

Last action

4 November 2015 · Introduced

Status

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S7772-7773)

Sponsors

Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR], Sen. Cardin, Benjamin L. [D-MD], Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT], Sen. Boxer, Barbara [D-CA], Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY], Sen. Leahy, Patrick J. [D-VT], Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA], Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI], Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ]

Subjects

Energy, Climate

Source updated

24 March 2026

Energy · Climate

Summary

Keep It in the Ground Act of 2015 This bill states as U.S. policy that: (1) federal land and waters should be managed for the benefit of the people of the United States to avoid the most dangerous impacts of climate change and to promote a rapid transition to a clean energy economy; and (2) the government should pursue management of federal land and waters for the benefit of the people of the United States by not issuing any new lease or renewing any nonproducing lease for coal, oil, or natural gas in any such land or waters. The bill amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to prohibit the Department of the Interior from issuing a new lease, renewing, reinstating, or extending any nonproducing lease under such Act, or issuing any other authorization for the exploration, development, or production of oil, natural gas, or any other fossil fuel in the Arctic Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, or any other area of the outer Continental Shelf. Interior shall: (1) cancel any lease issued under such Act before the date of enactment of this Act in the Beaufort Sea, Cook Inlet, or Chukchi Sea; and (2) not conduct any lease sale, enter into any new lease, reoffer for lease any land covered by an expiring lease, or renew, reinstate, or extend any nonproducing lease in existence before such date for onshore fossil fuels, including coal, oil, tar sands, oil shale, and gas on land subject to the Mineral Leasing Act. Interior may exempt any provision of this Act if it determines that there is an imminent national security threat and that issuing an exemption would significantly reduce such threat, but only for as long as the threat persists. Interior may allow a nonproducing lease to be renewed or extended if: (1) the nonproducing lease contract was signed before enactment of this Act, and (2) Interior determines that giving effect to any provision of this Act is likely to lead to a court ruling that there was a material breach of the contract. Such a renewal or extension shall be for the shortest time practicable under the terms of the contract.

This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.

Timeline

  1. 4 November 2015

    Introduced

    Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S7772-7773)

    Source: IntroReferral

  2. 4 November 2015

    Introduced

    Introduced in Senate

    Source: IntroReferral

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

Documents

3 official files

Introduced in Senate (text)

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  • Introduced in Senate (text)

    Introduced in Senate · EN · 4 November 2015

    ViewDownloadOpen at official source

  • Introduced in Senate (PDF)

    Introduced in Senate · EN · 4 November 2015

    ViewDownloadOpen at official source

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  • Introduced in Senate

    summary · EN · 4 November 2015

    Open at official source

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Sponsors

Related records

Sources

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