II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3828 

To prohibit the export of liquefied natural gas and petroleum products to 

certain countries. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2024 

Mr. MERKLEY (for himself, Mr. BROWN, Mr. KING, and Mr. REED) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To prohibit the export of liquefied natural gas and petroleum 

products to certain countries. 

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 ‘‘Protecting American 

5 Households From Rising Energy Costs Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON EXPORTS OF LIQUEFIED NAT7 URAL GAS AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS TO 

8 CERTAIN COUNTRIES. 

9 (a) PROHIBITIONS.—Notwithstanding any other pro10 vision of law, unless a waiver has been issued under subVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:01 Mar 01, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3828.IS S3828

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1 section (b), no person or entity may export liquefied nat2 ural gas or petroleum products— 

3 (1) to any entity that is under the ownership or 

4 control of the Chinese Communist Party, the Peo5 ple’s Republic of China, the Russian Federation, the 

6 Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or the Is7 lamic Republic of Iran; or 

8 (2) except on the condition that such liquefied 

9 natural gas or petroleum product will not be ex10 ported to the People’s Republic of China, the Rus11 sian Federation, the Democratic People’s Republic 

12 of Korea, or the Islamic Republic of Iran. 

13 (b) WAIVER.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—On application by an ex15 porter, the Secretary of Energy may waive, prior to 

16 the date of the applicable contract, the prohibitions 

17 described in subsection (a) with respect to the sale 

18 of liquefied natural gas or petroleum products. 

19 (2) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of Energy 

20 may issue a waiver under this subsection only if the 

21 Secretary of Energy determines that the waiver is in 

22 the interest of the national security of the United 

23 States. 

24 (3) APPLICATIONS.—An exporter seeking a 

25 waiver under this subsection shall submit to the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:01 Mar 01, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3828.IS S3828

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1 retary of Energy an application by such date, in 

2 such form, and containing such information as the 

3 Secretary of Energy may require. 

4 (4) NOTICE TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 15 

5 days after issuing a waiver under this subsection, 

6 the Secretary of Energy shall provide a copy of the 

7 waiver to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re8 sources of the Senate and the Committee on Energy 

9 and Commerce of the House of Representatives. 

10 SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT PROVISIONS. 

11 (a) UNLAWFUL ACTS.—It shall be unlawful for a per12 son to violate, attempt to violate, conspire to violate, or 

13 cause a violation of any prohibition of, or any waiver, li14 cense, order, or regulation issued pursuant to this Act. 

15 (b) CIVIL PENALTY.—The Secretary of Energy may 

16 impose a civil penalty on any person who commits an un17 lawful act described in subsection (a) in an amount not 

18 to exceed the greater of— 

19 (1) $250,000,000; and 

20 (2) an amount that is twice the amount of the 

21 transaction that is the basis of the violation with re22 spect to which the penalty is imposed. 

23 (c) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—A person who knowingly 

24 commits, knowingly attempts to commit, or knowingly 

25 conspires to commit, or aids or abets in the commission 


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1 of, an unlawful act described in subsection (a) shall be 

2 fined not more than $100,000,000, imprisoned for not 

3 more than 20 years, or both. 

Æ 


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