I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5535 

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 17, 2018 

Mr. MCCAUL (for himself and Mr. ENGEL) 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 2018’’. 


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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 aimed at protecting 

24 and advancing United States energy secu25 rity interests by effectively managing 

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1 lations in the fields of petroleum, natural 

2 gas, biofuels, renewable energy, nuclear, 

3 and other energy resources; 

4 ‘‘(ii) ensuring that analyses of the na5 tional security implications of global en6 ergy and environmental developments are 

7 reflected in the decision making process 

8 within the Department of State; 

9 ‘‘(iii) incorporating energy security 

10 priorities into the activities of the Depart11 ment of State; 

12 ‘‘(iv) coordinating energy activities of 

13 the Department of State with relevant 

14 Federal agencies; 

15 ‘‘(v) working internationally to— 

16 ‘‘(I) support the development of 

17 energy resources and the distribution 

18 of such resources for the benefit of 

19 the United States and United States 

20 allies and trading partners for their 

21 energy security and economic develop22 ment needs; 

23 ‘‘(II) promote availability of di24 versified energy supplies and a well25 functioning global market for energy 


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1 resources, technologies, and expertise 

2 for the benefit of the United States 

3 and United States allies and trading 

4 partners; 

5 ‘‘(III) resolve international dis6 putes regarding the exploration, devel7 opment, production, or distribution of 

8 energy resources; 

9 ‘‘(IV) support the economic and 

10 commercial interests of United States 

11 persons operating in the energy mar12 kets of foreign countries; and 

13 ‘‘(V) support and coordinate 

14 international efforts to alleviate en15 ergy poverty; 

16 ‘‘(vi) leading the United States com17 mitment to the Extractive Industries 

18 Transparency Initiative; 

19 ‘‘(vii) coordinating within the Depart20 ment of State and with relevant Federal 

21 departments and agencies on developing 

22 and implementing international energy-re23 lated sanctions; and 

24 ‘‘(viii) coordinating energy security 

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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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