I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 647 

To repeal restrictions on the export and import of natural gas. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 31, 2023 

Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To repeal restrictions on the export and import of natural 

gas. 

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 our Domes5 tic LNG Potential Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ADVANCING UNITED STATES GLOBAL LEADERSHIP. 

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

8 is amended— 

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

10 (2) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as 

11 subsections (a) and (b), respectively; 


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1 (3) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub2 section (c), and moving such subsection after sub3 section (b), as so redesignated; 

4 (4) in subsection (a), as so redesignated, by 

5 amending paragraph (1) to read as follows: ‘‘(1) The 

6 Commission shall have the exclusive authority to ap7 prove or deny an application for the siting, construc8 tion, expansion, or operation of a facility to export 

9 natural gas from the United States to a foreign 

10 country or import natural gas from a foreign coun11 try, including an LNG terminal. Except as specifi12 cally provided in this Act, nothing in this Act is in13 tended to affect otherwise applicable law related to 

14 any Federal agency’s authorities or responsibilities 

15 related to facilities to import or export natural gas, 

16 including LNG terminals.’’; and 

17 (5) by adding at the end the following new sub18 section: 

19 ‘‘(d)(1) Nothing in this Act limits the authority of 

20 the President under the Constitution, the International 

21 Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et 

22 seq.), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et 

23 seq.), part B of title II of the Energy Policy and Conserva24 tion Act (42 U.S.C. 6271 et seq.), the Trading With the 

25 Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. 4301 et seq.), or any other proviVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:47 Feb 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H647.IH H647

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1 sion of law that imposes sanctions on a foreign person or 

2 foreign government (including any provision of law that 

3 prohibits or restricts United States persons from engaging 

4 in a transaction with a sanctioned person or government), 

5 including a country that is designated as a state sponsor 

6 of terrorism, to prohibit imports or exports. 

7 ‘‘(2) In this subsection, the term ‘state sponsor of ter8 rorism’ means a country the government of which the Sec9 retary of State determines has repeatedly provided sup10 port for international terrorism pursuant to— 

11 ‘‘(A) section 1754(c)(1)(A) of the Export Con12 trol Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4318(c)(1)(A)); 

13 ‘‘(B) section 620A of the Foreign Assistance 

14 Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2371); 

15 ‘‘(C) section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act 

16 (22 U.S.C. 2780); or 

17 ‘‘(D) any other provision of law.’’. 

Æ 


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