IIB 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5535 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 26, 2018 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

AN ACT 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Energy Diplomacy Act 

3 of 2018’’. 

4 SEC. 2. ENERGY DIPLOMACY AND SECURITY WITHIN THE 

5 DEPARTMENT OF STATE. 

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

7 State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 

8 U.S.C. 2651a) is amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para10 graph (4); and 

11 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol12 lowing new paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(3) ENERGY RESOURCES.— 

14 ‘‘(A) AUTHORIZATION FOR ASSISTANT SEC15 RETARY.—Subject to the numerical limitation 

16 specified in paragraph (1), there is authorized 

17 to be established in the Department of State an 

18 Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Re19 sources. 

20 ‘‘(B) PERSONNEL.—The Secretary of 

21 State shall ensure that there are sufficient per22 sonnel dedicated to energy matters within the 

23 Department of State who shall be responsible 

24 for— 

25 ‘‘(i) formulating and implementing 

26 international policies, in coordination with 


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1 Secretary of Energy, as appropriate, aimed 

2 at protecting and advancing United States 

3 energy security interests by effectively 

4 managing United States bilateral and mul5 tilateral relations in the fields of petro6 leum, natural gas, biofuels, renewable en7 ergy, nuclear, and other energy resources; 

8 ‘‘(ii) ensuring that analyses of the na9 tional security implications of global en10 ergy and environmental developments are 

11 reflected in the decision making process 

12 within the Department of State; 

13 ‘‘(iii) incorporating energy security 

14 priorities into the activities of the Depart15 ment of State; 

16 ‘‘(iv) coordinating energy activities 

17 within the Department of State and with 

18 relevant Federal agencies; 

19 ‘‘(v) working internationally to— 

20 ‘‘(I) support the development of 

21 energy resources and the distribution 

22 of such resources for the benefit of 

23 the United States and United States 

24 allies and trading partners for their 


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1 energy security and economic develop2 ment needs; 

3 ‘‘(II) promote availability of di4 versified energy supplies and a well5 functioning global market for energy 

6 resources, technologies, and expertise 

7 for the benefit of the United States 

8 and United States allies and trading 

9 partners; 

10 ‘‘(III) resolve international dis11 putes regarding the exploration, devel12 opment, production, or distribution of 

13 energy resources; 

14 ‘‘(IV) support the economic and 

15 commercial interests of United States 

16 persons operating in the energy mar17 kets of foreign countries; and 

18 ‘‘(V) support and coordinate 

19 international efforts to alleviate en20 ergy poverty; 

21 ‘‘(vi) leading the United States com22 mitment to the Extractive Industries 

23 Transparency Initiative; 

24 ‘‘(vii) coordinating within the Depart25 ment of State and with relevant Federal 


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1 departments and agencies on developing 

2 and implementing international energy-re3 lated sanctions; and 

4 ‘‘(viii) coordinating energy security 

5 and other relevant functions within the De6 partment of State currently undertaken 

7 by— 

8 ‘‘(I) the Bureau of Economic and 

9 Business Affairs of the Department of 

10 State; 

11 ‘‘(II) the Bureau of Oceans and 

12 International Environmental and Sci13 entific Affairs of the Department of 

14 State; and 

15 ‘‘(III) other offices within the 

16 Department of State.’’. 

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

18 Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 

19 U.S.C. 17371) is amended— 

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


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

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

Passed the House of Representatives July 25, 2018. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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