II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 585 

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

gas, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 26, 2015 

Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. FRANKEN, Mr. SANDERS, and Mrs. BOXER) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

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— 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 585 IS

1 (1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘(a) After 

2 six months’’ and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

4 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION FOR THE IMPORTATION

5 OF NATURAL GAS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) PROHIBITION.—After 6 months’’; 

7 (2) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘The 

8 Commission’’ and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(B) ISSUANCE OF ORDERS.—The Com10 mission’’; 

11 (3) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘The 

12 Commission’’ and inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘(C) MODIFICATION.—The Commission’’; 

14 (4) in paragraph (1)(A) (as so designated), by 

15 striking ‘‘export any natural gas from the United 

16 States to a foreign country or’’; 

17 (5) in paragraph (1)(B) (as so designated), by 

18 striking ‘‘exportation or’’; and 

19 (6) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXPORTATION

21 OF NATURAL GAS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) PROHIBITION.—No person shall ex23 port any natural gas from the United States to 

24 a foreign country without first having secured 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 585 IS

1 an order of the Secretary of Energy authorizing 

2 the exportation. 

3 ‘‘(B) ISSUANCE OF ORDERS.—On receiving 

4 an application, the Secretary of Energy may 

5 issue an order authorizing a person to export 

6 natural gas from the United States to a foreign 

7 country if the Secretary of Energy determines 

8 that the proposed exportation is consistent with 

9 the public interest, in accordance with the regu10 lations promulgated pursuant to paragraph 

11 (3)(B). 

12 ‘‘(C) MODIFICATION.—The Secretary of 

13 Energy may by order grant an application sub14 mitted under subparagraph (B), in whole or in 

15 part, with such modifications and on such 

16 terms and conditions as the Secretary of En17 ergy determines necessary. 

18 ‘‘(D) TIMING.—The Secretary of Energy 

19 shall not issue an order under this paragraph 

20 prior to the date on which the Secretary of En21 ergy promulgates final regulations pursuant to 

22 paragraph (3)(B). 

23 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC INTEREST DETERMINATION FOR

24 EXPORT APPLICATIONS.— 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 585 IS

1 ‘‘(A) NEPA REVIEW.—In accordance with 

2 section 102(2)(C) of the National Environ3 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

4 4332(2)(C)), the Secretary of Energy shall 

5 issue a detailed statement on the environmental 

6 impact of the issuance of an order under para7 graph (2), including a summary of an analysis 

8 conducted on the impact of the extraction of ex9 ported natural gas on the environment in com10 munities where the natural gas is extracted. 

11 ‘‘(B) REGULATIONS.— 

12 ‘‘(i) DEADLINE.—Not later than 2 

13 years after the date of enactment of this 

14 paragraph and after notice and public 

15 comment, the Secretary of Energy shall 

16 promulgate final regulations to establish 

17 the processes for purposes of issuing an 

18 order under paragraph (2) for determining 

19 whether a proposed exportation of natural 

20 gas from the United States to a foreign 

21 country is in the public interest. 

22 ‘‘(ii) CONTENTS.—Regulations pro23 mulgated pursuant to clause (i) shall re24 quire the Secretary of Energy to deter25 mine, with respect to each application for 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 585 IS

1 exportation of natural gas from the United 

2 States to a foreign country, whether the 

3 exportation is in the public interest 

4 through— 

5 ‘‘(I) use of the latest available 

6 data on current and projected United 

7 States natural gas demands, produc8 tion, and price; 

9 ‘‘(II) consideration of the effects 

10 of the natural gas exports on— 

11 ‘‘(aa) household and busi12 ness energy expenditures by elec13 tricity and natural gas consumers 

14 in the United States; 

15 ‘‘(bb) the economy, jobs, and 

16 manufacturing of the United 

17 States, including the effects on 

18 wages, investment, and energy19 intensive and trade-exposed in20 dustries, as determined by the 

21 Secretary; 

22 ‘‘(cc) the energy security of 

23 the United States, including the 

24 ability of the United States to reVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:55 Mar 06, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S585.IS S585

smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 585 IS

1 duce the reliance of the United 

2 States on imported oil; 

3 ‘‘(dd) the conservation of 

4 domestic natural gas supplies to 

5 meet the future energy needs of 

6 the United States; 

7 ‘‘(ee) the potential for nat8 ural gas use in the transpor9 tation, industrial, and electricity 

10 sectors of the United States; 

11 ‘‘(ff) the ability of the 

12 United States to reduce green13 house gas emissions; 

14 ‘‘(gg) the national security 

15 and foreign policy of the United 

16 States; 

17 ‘‘(hh) domestic natural gas 

18 supply and availability, including 

19 the effects on pipelines and other 

20 infrastructure; 

21 ‘‘(ii) the balance of trade in 

22 the United States; and 

23 ‘‘(jj) other issues determined 

24 relevant by the Secretary; and 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 585 IS

1 ‘‘(III) consideration of the de2 tailed statement issued under sub3 paragraph (A). 

4 ‘‘(4) EXEMPTIONS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (2) does 

6 not apply with respect to any order authorizing 

7 the exportation of natural gas if the natural gas 

8 that would be exported as a result of the order 

9 is exported solely to meet a requirement im10 posed pursuant to— 

11 ‘‘(i) part B of title II of the Energy 

12 Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 

13 6271 et seq.); 

14 ‘‘(ii) section 203 of the International 

15 Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

16 U.S.C. 1702); or 

17 ‘‘(iii) section 5(b) of the Trading with 

18 the Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. App. 5(b)). 

19 ‘‘(B) ISSUANCE OF ORDERS.—In the case 

20 of an order described in subparagraph (A), the 

21 Secretary of Energy may issue the order with22 out modification or delay after receiving an ap23 plication.’’. 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 585 IS

1 SEC. 3. EFFECT. 

2 Nothing in this Act or an amendment made by this 

3 Act affects the authority in section 3(c) of the Natural 

4 Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b(c)) regarding the importation 

5 or exportation of natural gas to a nation with which there 

6 is in effect a free trade agreement. 

Æ 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS