II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3704 

To amend the Natural Gas Act to allow the Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission to approve or deny applications for the siting, construction, 

expansion, or operation of facilities to export or import natural gas, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 31, 2024 

Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina (for himself, Mr. HAGERTY, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. 

RISCH, Mr. MULLIN, Ms. ERNST, Mr. HOEVEN, Mr. RICKETTS, Mr. 

SCOTT of Florida, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr. BUDD, Mrs. BRITT, Mr. THUNE, 

Mr. TILLIS, Mr. ROUNDS, Mr. COTTON, Mr. KENNEDY, and Mr. 

LANKFORD) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Natural Gas Act to allow the Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission to approve or deny applications 

for the siting, construction, expansion, or operation of 

facilities to export or import natural gas, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Unlocking Domestic 

5 LNG Potential Act of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ADVANCING UNITED STATES GLOBAL LEADERSHIP. 

2 Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b) 

3 is amended— 

4 (1) by striking subsections (a) through (c); 

5 (2) by redesignating subsections (d), (e), and 

6 (f) as subsections (c), (a), and (b), respectively, and 

7 reordering accordingly; and 

8 (3) by striking the section designation and 

9 heading and all that follows through the period at 

10 the end of paragraph (1) of subsection (a) (as so re11 designated) and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 3. LNG TERMINALS; AUTHORITY OF THE PRESIDENT 

13 TO PROHIBIT IMPORTS OR EXPORTS OF NAT14 URAL GAS. 

15 ‘‘(a) LNG TERMINALS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY OF THE COMMISSION.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Energy 

18 Regulatory Commission shall have the exclusive 

19 authority to approve or deny an application for 

20 the siting, construction, expansion, or operation 

21 of a facility, including an LNG terminal, to ex22 port natural gas from the United States to a 

23 foreign country or import natural gas from a 

24 foreign country. 

25 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC INTEREST.—In determining 

26 whether to approve or deny an application deVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3704.IS S3704

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1 scribed in subparagraph (A), the Federal En2 ergy Regulatory Commission shall deem the im3 portation or exportation of natural gas to be 

4 consistent with the public interest. 

5 ‘‘(C) EFFECT.—Except as specifically pro6 vided in this Act, nothing in this Act affects 

7 otherwise applicable law relating to the author8 ity or responsibility of any Federal agency re9 lating to facilities, including LNG terminals, to 

10 import or export natural gas.’’; and 

11 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION RELATING TO AU13 THORITY TO PROHIBIT IMPORTS OR EXPORTS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF STATE SPONSOR OF TER15 RORISM.—In this subsection, the term ‘state sponsor 

16 of terrorism’ means a country the government of 

17 which the Secretary of State determines has repeat18 edly provided support for international terrorism 

19 pursuant to— 

20 ‘‘(A) section 1754(c)(1)(A) of the Export 

21 Control Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 

22 4813(c)(1)(A)); 

23 ‘‘(B) section 620A of the Foreign Assist24 ance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2371); 


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1 ‘‘(C) section 40 of the Arms Export Con2 trol Act (22 U.S.C. 2780); or 

3 ‘‘(D) any other provision of law. 

4 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

5 this Act limits the authority of the President under 

6 the Constitution or any provision of law described in 

7 paragraph (3) to prohibit imports or exports. 

8 ‘‘(3) PROVISIONS OF LAW DESCRIBED.—The 

9 provisions of law referred to in paragraph (2) are— 

10 ‘‘(A) the International Emergency Eco11 nomic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); 

12 ‘‘(B) the National Emergencies Act (50 

13 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.); 

14 ‘‘(C) part B of title II of the Energy Policy 

15 and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6271 et seq.); 

16 ‘‘(D) the Trading with the Enemy Act (50 

17 U.S.C. 4301 et seq.); and 

18 ‘‘(E) any other provision of law that— 

19 ‘‘(i) imposes sanctions with respect to 

20 a foreign person or foreign government, in21 cluding the government of a country that 

22 is designated as a state sponsor of ter23 rorism; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) prohibits or restricts United 

25 States persons from engaging in a transVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3704.IS S3704

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1 action with a person or government subject 

2 to sanctions imposed by the United 

3 States.’’. 

Æ 


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