[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7751 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7751

 To enhance the security of the United States and its allies, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 23, 2020

  Mrs. Miller (for herself and Mr. McKinley) introduced the following 
 bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and 
  in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To enhance the security of the United States and its allies, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Energy Security Cooperation with 
Allied Partners in Europe Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States--
            (1) to reduce the dependency of allies and partners of the 
        United States on Russian energy resources, especially natural 
        gas, in order for those countries to achieve lasting and 
        dependable energy security;
            (2) to condemn the Government of the Russian Federation 
        for, and to deter that government from, using its energy 
        resources as a geopolitical weapon to coerce, intimidate, and 
        influence other countries;
            (3) to improve energy security in Europe by increasing 
        access to diverse, reliable, and affordable energy;
            (4) to promote energy security in Europe by working with 
        the European Union and other allies of the United States to 
        develop liberalized energy markets that provide diversified 
        energy sources, suppliers, and routes;
            (5) to continue to strongly oppose the Nord Stream 2 
        pipeline based on its detrimental effects on the energy 
        security of the European Union and the economy of Ukraine and 
        other countries in Central Europe through which natural gas is 
        transported; and
            (6) to support countries that are allies or partners of the 
        United States by expediting the export of energy resources from 
        the United States.

SEC. 3. NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION.

    The President should direct the United States Permanent 
Representative on the Council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization 
(in this Act referred to as ``NATO'') to use the voice and influence of 
the United States to encourage NATO member countries to work together 
to achieve energy security for those countries and countries in Europe 
and Eurasia that are partners of NATO.

SEC. 4. TRANSATLANTIC ENERGY STRATEGY.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the United 
States and other NATO member countries should explore ways to ensure 
that NATO member countries diversify their energy supplies and routes 
in order to enhance their energy security, including through the 
development of a transatlantic energy strategy.
    (b) Transatlantic Energy Strategy.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in 
        coordination with the Administrator of the United States Agency 
        for International Development and the Secretary of Energy, 
        shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 
        transatlantic energy strategy for the United States--
                    (A) to enhance the energy security of NATO member 
                countries and countries that are partners of NATO; and
                    (B) to increase exports of energy, energy 
                technologies, and energy development services from the 
                United States to such countries.
            (2) Appropriate congressional committees defined.--In this 
        subsection, the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' 
        means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
                Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 
                of Representatives.

SEC. 5. EXPEDITED APPROVAL OF EXPORTATION OF NATURAL GAS TO UNITED 
              STATES ALLIES.

    (a) In General.--Section 3(c) of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 
717b(c)) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``For purposes'';
            (2) by striking ``nation with which there is in effect a 
        free trade agreement requiring national treatment for trade in 
        natural gas'' and inserting ``foreign country described in 
        paragraph (2)''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) A foreign country described in this paragraph is--
                    ``(A) a nation with which there is in effect a free 
                trade agreement requiring national treatment for trade 
                in natural gas;
                    ``(B) a member country of the North Atlantic Treaty 
                Organization;
                    ``(C) subject to paragraph (3), Japan; and
                    ``(D) any other foreign country if the Secretary of 
                Energy, in consultation with the Secretary of State and 
                Secretary of Defense, determines that exportation of 
                natural gas to that foreign country would promote the 
                national security interests of the United States.
            ``(3) The exportation of natural gas to Japan shall be 
        deemed to be consistent with the public interest pursuant to 
        paragraph (1), and applications for such exportation shall be 
        granted without modification or delay under that paragraph, 
        during only such period as the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and 
        Security, signed at Washington January 19, 1960, and entered 
        into force June 23, 1960 (11 UST 1632; TIAS 4509), between the 
        United States and Japan, remains in effect.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to applications for the authorization to export 
natural gas under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b) 
that are pending on, or filed on or after, the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
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