PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Sep 21, 2020
Plugging Orphan Wells and Environmental Restoration Act of 2020 or the POWER Act of 2020
This bill addresses orphaned, abandoned, or idled oil and gas wells on federal, tribal, state, or private lands.
The bill reauthorizes through FY2025 the program to remediate, reclaim, and close orphaned, abandoned, or idled oil and gas wells located on federal land.
The Department of the Interior must establish a program to provide grants to states and Indian tribes to remediate, reclaim, and close orphaned oil and gas wells located on state, tribal, or private lands. In providing grants, priority must be given to states and Indian tribes that already have an established program to carry out such activities.
The Department of Energy must provide technical assistance to oil and gas producing states and Indian tribes to ensure practical and economical remedies for environmental problems caused by orphaned or abandoned oil and gas well sites on state, tribal, or private land.
People & committees
Rep. Thompson, Glenn [R-PA-15] · R–PA
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H5439)
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Jan 3, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze H.R.8332 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.8332 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine H.R.8332 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine H.R.8332 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.