I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1311 

To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to provide 

for energy security and diplomacy, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 24, 2021 

Mr. PFLUGER (for himself and Mr. VICENTE GONZALEZ of Texas) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 

1956 to provide for energy security and diplomacy, 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 ‘‘Energy Diplomacy 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ENERGY SECURITY AND DIPLOMACY OF THE DE7 PARTMENT OF STATE. 

8 Section 1(c) of the State Department Basic Authori9 ties Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a) is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para2 graph (4); and 

3 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol4 lowing new paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(3) ENERGY RESOURCES.— 

6 ‘‘(A) AUTHORIZATION FOR ASSISTANT SEC7 RETARY.—Subject to the numerical limitation 

8 specified in paragraph (1), there is authorized 

9 to be established in the Department of State an 

10 Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Re11 sources. 

12 ‘‘(B) PERSONNEL.—If the Department of 

13 State establishes an Assistant Secretary of 

14 State for Energy Resources in accordance with 

15 the authorization provided in subparagraph (A), 

16 the Secretary of State shall ensure there are 

17 sufficient personnel dedicated to energy matters 

18 within the Department whose responsibilities 

19 shall include— 

20 ‘‘(i) formulating and implementing 

21 international policies aimed at protecting 

22 and advancing United States energy secu23 rity interests by effectively managing 

24 United States bilateral and multilateral re25 lations; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) ensuring that analyses of the na2 tional security implications of global en3 ergy and environmental developments are 

4 reflected in the decision-making process 

5 within the Department; 

6 ‘‘(iii) incorporating energy security 

7 priorities into the activities of the Depart8 ment; 

9 ‘‘(iv) coordinating energy activities of 

10 the Department with relevant Federal de11 partments and agencies; 

12 ‘‘(v) coordinating with the Office of 

13 Sanctions Coordination on economic sanc14 tions pertaining to the international energy 

15 sector; and 

16 ‘‘(vi) working internationally to— 

17 ‘‘(I) support the development of 

18 energy resources and the distribution 

19 of such resources for the benefit of 

20 the United States and United States 

21 allies and trading partners for their 

22 energy security and economic develop23 ment needs; 

24 ‘‘(II) promote availability of di25 versified energy supplies and a well 


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1 functioning global market for energy 

2 resources, technologies, and expertise 

3 for the benefit of the United States 

4 and United States allies and trading 

5 partners; 

6 ‘‘(III) resolve international dis7 putes regarding the exploration, devel8 opment, production, or distribution of 

9 energy resources; 

10 ‘‘(IV) support the economic and 

11 commercial interests of United States 

12 persons operating in the energy mar13 kets of foreign countries; 

14 ‘‘(V) support and coordinate 

15 international efforts to alleviate en16 ergy poverty; 

17 ‘‘(VI) leading the United States 

18 commitment to the Extractive Indus19 tries Transparency Initiative; and 

20 ‘‘(VII) coordinating energy secu21 rity and other relevant functions with22 in the Department currently under23 taken by— 

24 ‘‘(aa) the Bureau of Eco25 nomic and Business Affairs; 


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1 ‘‘(bb) the Bureau of Oceans 

2 and International Environmental 

3 and Scientific Affairs; and 

4 ‘‘(cc) other offices within the 

5 Department of State.’’. 

Æ 


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