PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.

No Cost Stimulus Act of 2009

Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 31.

Official summary

Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Mar 11, 2009

No Cost Stimulus Act of 2009 - Deems the Draft Proposed Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program 2010-2015 issued by the Secretary of the Interior approved as a final oil and gas leasing program under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA). Deems the Secretary to have issued a final environmental impact statement for the program under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA).

Directs the Secretary to conduct a lease sale in each outer Continental Shelf (OCS) planning area for which there is a commercial interest in purchasing federal oil and gas production leases.

Authorizes the Secretary to conduct commercial lease sales of federally-owned resources to: (1) produce renewable energy; or (2) cultivate marine organisms in their natural habitat.

Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.

Read full official summaryShow less

Amends OCSLA to direct the Secretary to develop: (1) a plan to address streamlining the process of making payments to states; and (2) a procedure to provide expedited funding to projects.

Amends the Submerged Lands Act to extend from three geographical miles to 12 nautical miles a coastal state's allowable seaward boundary.

Authorizes the leasing of land within the 1002 Coastal Plain Area of Alaska to any person qualified to obtain a lease for deposits of oil and gas under the Mineral Leasing Act. Prescribes procedures for lease sales and grants of leases.

Directs the Secretary to administer the leasing program, with respect to Coastal Plain environmental protection, according to the No Significant Adverse Effect Standard.

Establishes the Coastal Plain Local Government Impact Aid Assistance Fund to finance local government impact aid and community service assistance.

Establishes an Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) Alternative Energy Trust Fund.

Amends the Oil Shale, Tar Sands, and Other Strategic Unconventional Fuels Act of 2005 to require the Secretary to conduct related lease sales in any state during any period for which there is sufficient support and interest in the state in the development of tar sands and oil shale resources.

Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to repeal the requirement of 30 days' public notice before a hearing on each application for a construction permit for a new new nuclear power plant.

Grants the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia exclusive jurisdiction to hear all causes and claims arising from any covered project of federal land leasing for exploitation of oil, natural gas, or any other source or form of energy.

Amends NEPA to require completion and review of environmental impact statements within 270 days after their commencement or the action concerned shall be considered a final agency action with no significant environmental impact.

Amends the Clean Air Act to declare that carbon dioxide, methane from agriculture or livestock, or water vapor are not air pollutants.

Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) to require the Secretary concerned, upon the declaration of an emergency by a state governor, for the duration of the emergency, to exempt from the prohibition against taking, and against adverse modification of critical habitat, any action reasonably necessary to avoid or ameliorate the impact of the emergency, including the operation of any water supply or flood control project by a federal agency.

Prohibits consideration of the impact of greenhouse gas on any species of fish or wildlife or plant for any purpose in the implementation of the ESA.

Read the summary on Congress.gov
PlainBill analysis is coming later. This page presents official source data. We have not yet published a PlainBill explanation for this bill.

Who introduced it

Sen. Vitter, David [R-LA] · R–LA

Committees

    18 cosponsorship records, including any withdrawals

    Actions

    A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.

    1. Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 31.

    2. Introduced in the Senate. Read the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time.

    3. Introduced in Senate

    Bill text & related measures

    Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.

    Related bills identified by Congress.gov

    Source last updated: Jan 21, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.

    Explore the bill from different angles

    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.

    Neutral evidence review

    Objective

    Analyze S.570 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.

    View full prompt & sources
    Fairness and public impact

    Progressive lens

    Examine S.570 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.

    View full prompt & sources
    Institutions and government scope

    Conservative lens

    Examine S.570 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.

    View full prompt & sources
    Individual rights and government power

    Liberty lens

    Examine S.570 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.

    View full prompt & sources