I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1189 

To amend the Natural Gas Act with respect to the exportation of natural 

gas, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 14, 2013 

Mr. MARKEY (for himself and Mr. HOLT) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Natural Gas Act with respect to the 

exportation of 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 ‘‘American Natural Gas 

5 Security and Consumer Protection Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXPORTATION OF NAT7 URAL GAS. 

8 Section 3(a) of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 

9 717b(a)) is amended— 

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1 (1) by inserting before ‘‘After six months from 

2 the date on which’’ the following: ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZA3 TION FOR THE IMPORTATION OF NATURAL GAS.—’’; 

4 (2) by striking ‘‘export any natural gas from 

5 the United States to a foreign country or’’; 

6 (3) by striking ‘‘exportation or’’; and 

7 (4) by adding at the end the following new 

8 paragraphs: 

9 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXPORTATION OF

10 NATURAL GAS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) PROHIBITION.—No person may export 

12 any natural gas from the United States to a foreign 

13 country without first having secured an order of the 

14 Secretary of Energy authorizing such person to do 

15 so. 

16 ‘‘(B) ISSUANCE OF ORDERS.—The Secretary of 

17 Energy may issue an order authorizing a person to 

18 export natural gas from the United States to a for19 eign country, upon application, if the Secretary de20 termines that the proposed exportation will be con21 sistent with the public interest, in accordance with 

22 the regulations issued under paragraph (3)(B). The 

23 Secretary may by order grant such application, in 

24 whole or in part, with such modification and upon 

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1 such terms and conditions as the Secretary may find 

2 necessary or appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(C) TIMING.—No order may be issued by the 

4 Secretary of Energy under this paragraph prior to 

5 the date on which the Secretary issues final regula6 tions under paragraph (3)(B). 

7 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC INTEREST DETERMINATION.— 

8 ‘‘(A) NEPA REVIEW.—The Secretary of Energy 

9 shall issue a detailed statement under section 

10 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act 

11 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) of the environ12 mental impact of the issuance of orders under para13 graph (2), including by conducting an analysis of the 

14 impacts of extraction of exported natural gas on the 

15 environment in communities where the natural gas 

16 is extracted. 

17 ‘‘(B) REGULATIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(i) DEADLINE.—Not later than 2 years 

19 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, 

20 the Secretary of Energy shall issue final regula21 tions, after notice and public comment, for de22 termining whether an export of natural gas 

23 from the United States to a foreign country is 

24 in the public interest for purposes of issuing an 

25 order under paragraph (2). 

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1 ‘‘(ii) CONTENTS.—Regulations issued 

2 under this paragraph shall require the Sec3 retary of Energy to determine, with respect to 

4 each application for export of natural gas from 

5 the United States to a foreign country, whether 

6 such export is in the public interest through— 

7 ‘‘(I) use of the latest available data on 

8 current and projected United States nat9 ural gas demands, production, and price; 

10 ‘‘(II) consideration of the effects of 

11 such natural gas exports on— 

12 ‘‘(aa) household and business en13 ergy expenditures by electricity and 

14 natural gas consumers in the United 

15 States; 

16 ‘‘(bb) the United States economy, 

17 jobs, and manufacturing, including 

18 such effects on wages, investment, 

19 and energy intensive and trade ex20 posed industries, as determined by the 

21 Secretary; 

22 ‘‘(cc) the energy security of the 

23 United States, including the ability of 

24 the United States to reduce its reli25 ance on imported oil; 

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1 ‘‘(dd) the conservation of domes2 tic natural gas supplies to meet the 

3 future energy needs of the United 

4 States; 

5 ‘‘(ee) the potential for natural 

6 gas use in the transportation, indus7 trial, and electricity sectors of the 

8 United States; 

9 ‘‘(ff) the ability of the United 

10 States to reduce greenhouse gas emis11 sions; 

12 ‘‘(gg) the volume of natural gas 

13 produced on public lands in the 

14 United States, and where such nat15 ural gas is consumed; 

16 ‘‘(hh) domestic natural gas sup17 ply and availability, including such ef18 fects on pipelines and other infra19 structure; 

20 ‘‘(ii) the balance of trade of the 

21 United States; and 

22 ‘‘(jj) other issues determined rel23 evant by the Secretary; and 

24 ‘‘(III) consideration of the detailed 

25 statement issued under subparagraph (A). 

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1 ‘‘(4) EXEMPTIONS.—Paragraph (2) does not apply 

2 with respect to any order authorizing the exportation of 

3 natural gas if the natural gas that would be exported as 

4 a result of the order is exported solely to meet a require5 ment imposed pursuant to section 203 of the International 

6 Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702), sec7 tion 5(b) of the Trading with the Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. 

8 App. 5(b)), or part B of title II of the Energy Policy and 

9 Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6271 et seq.). In such cases, 

10 the Secretary of Energy may issue such order upon appli11 cation without modification or delay.’’. 

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