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S. 3473: A bill to amend the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to authorize advances from Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

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S. 3473: A bill to amend the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to authorize advances from Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

111th Congress · introduced 2010-06-09 · Environmental Protection · Latest: Became Public Law No: 111-191.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2010-06-09 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Sen. Reid, Harry [D-NV] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: 1 recorded vote in our records. Latest: House roll call 354 (2010): On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, S3473 (2010-06-10), Passed. See all
  4. Where it stands now: Became Public Law No: 111-191. (final step reached)
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

A bill to amend the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to authorize advances from Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Plain summary

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.) Amends the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to exempt advances to the Coast Guard in connection with the explosion on, and sinking of, the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon from the requirement that amounts in the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund shall be available only as provided in annual appropriations. Limits such advances to a maximum of $100 million each, with the total amount for all advances subject to limits under existing law (i.e., not to exceed $1 billion for any single incident and $500 million for natural resource damage assessments and claims for any single incident, provided that, except in the case of payments of removal costs, an advance may be made only if the amount in the Fund after such advance will not be less than $30 million). Requires the Coast Guard to notify Congress of the amount advanced and the facts and circumstances necessitating the advance within seven days of the advance. Requires the budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go-Act of 2010, to be determined by reference to the latest statement titled "Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation" for this Act submitted by the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, provided that such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.

Congressional Research Service summary (Passed Senate without amendment), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

A bill to amend the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to authorize advances from Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Passed Senate without amendment)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Reid, Harry [D-NV] · 0 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Recorded votes

Words on this page, explained (5)
Appropriation
Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Authorization
A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Bill
A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Exemption
A rule that removes certain people, property or activities from a tax or requirement.
Statute
A written law passed by a legislature. A statute can be changed by a later law; changing a constitution needs an amendment.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong111-s3473 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong111 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong111