I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2046 

To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 regarding 

energy diplomacy and security within the Department of State, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 3, 2019 

Mr. WRIGHT (for himself, Mr. MCCAUL, and Mr. 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 regarding energy diplomacy and security within 

the Department of State, 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 Act 

5 of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ENERGY DIPLOMACY AND SECURITY WITHIN THE 

2 DEPARTMENT OF STATE. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (c) of section 1 of the 

4 State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 

5 U.S.C. 2651a) is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para7 graph (4); and 

8 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol9 lowing new paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(3) ENERGY RESOURCES.— 

11 ‘‘(A) AUTHORIZATION FOR ASSISTANT SEC12 RETARY.—Subject to the numerical limitation 

13 specified in paragraph (1), there is authorized 

14 to be established in the Department of State an 

15 Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Re16 sources. 

17 ‘‘(B) PERSONNEL.—The Secretary of 

18 State shall ensure that there are sufficient per19 sonnel dedicated to energy matters within the 

20 Department of State who shall be responsible 

21 for— 

22 ‘‘(i) formulating and implementing 

23 international policies, in coordination with 

24 Secretary of Energy, as appropriate, aimed 

25 at protecting and advancing United States 

26 energy security interests by effectively 


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1 managing United States bilateral and mul2 tilateral relations; 

3 ‘‘(ii) ensuring that analyses of the na4 tional security implications of global en5 ergy and environmental developments are 

6 reflected in the decision making process 

7 within the Department of State; 

8 ‘‘(iii) incorporating energy security 

9 priorities into the activities of the Depart10 ment of State; 

11 ‘‘(iv) coordinating energy activities 

12 within the Department of State and with 

13 relevant Federal agencies; 

14 ‘‘(v) working internationally to— 

15 ‘‘(I) support the development of 

16 energy resources and the distribution 

17 of such resources for the benefit of 

18 the United States and United States 

19 allies and trading partners for their 

20 energy security and economic develop21 ment needs; 

22 ‘‘(II) promote availability of di23 versified energy supplies and a well24 functioning global market for energy 

25 resources, technologies, and expertise 


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1 for the benefit of the United States 

2 and United States allies and trading 

3 partners; 

4 ‘‘(III) resolve international dis5 putes regarding the exploration, devel6 opment, production, or distribution of 

7 energy resources; 

8 ‘‘(IV) support the economic and 

9 commercial interests of United States 

10 persons operating in the energy mar11 kets of foreign countries; and 

12 ‘‘(V) support and coordinate 

13 international efforts to alleviate en14 ergy poverty; 

15 ‘‘(vi) leading the United States com16 mitment to the Extractive Industries 

17 Transparency Initiative; 

18 ‘‘(vii) coordinating within the Depart19 ment of State and with relevant Federal 

20 departments and agencies on developing 

21 and implementing international energy-re22 lated sanctions; and 

23 ‘‘(viii) coordinating energy security 

24 and other relevant functions within the DeVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:50 Apr 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2046.IH H2046

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1 partment of State currently undertaken 

2 by— 

3 ‘‘(I) the Bureau of Economic and 

4 Business Affairs of the Department of 

5 State; 

6 ‘‘(II) the Bureau of Oceans and 

7 International Environmental and Sci8 entific Affairs of the Department of 

9 State; and 

10 ‘‘(III) other offices within the 

11 Department of State.’’. 

12 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 931 of the 

13 Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 

14 U.S.C. 17371) is amended— 

15 (1) by striking subsections (a) and (b); and 

16 (2) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 

17 subsections (a) and (b), respectively. 

Æ 


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