Protecting Europe's Energy Security Act of 2019

To impose sanctions with respect to the provision of certain vessels for the construction of Russian energy export pipelines, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Protecting Europe’s Energy Security Act of 2019 2. Sense of Congress on Russian energy projects It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the Government of the Russian Federation, working through Russian state-owned enterprises, uses energy as a tool of coercion and political leverage; (2) the Government of Russia pursues a strategy to make European countries dependent on Russia for energy supplies, so as to increase this political leverage; (3) a central aspect to this Russian strategy is the development of export energy pipelines that are driven not by commercial viability but by the foreign policy goals of Russia; (4) the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and the Turk Stream pipeline are two examples of such Russian energy export pipelines; (5) the President should take action to halt such Russian energy export pipelines unless the President determines that doing so is not in the national interest of the United States; and (6) in making such a determination, the President should consider whether— (A) the non-Russian parties involved in the project have put in place safeguards to minimize the ability of Russia to use the pipeline as a tool of coercion and political leverage, including by requiring unbundling of energy production and transmission, transparency in the energy market, and effective regulatory oversight; and (B) the non-Russian parties involved in the project have taken concrete steps to ensure that it will not result in a significant decrease in the transit of Russian energy exports through existing pipelines in other countries, particularly Ukraine. 3. Sanctions with respect to the provision of pipe-laying vessels for the construction of Russian energy export pipelines (a) In general The President shall impose the sanctions described in subsection (b) on each foreign person that the President determines knowingly, on or after the date of the enactment of this Act, sells, leases, or provides pipe-laying vessels for the construction of any Russian-origin energy export pipeline that makes landfall in Germany or Turkey. (b) Sanctions described (1) In general The sanctions described in this subsection are the following: (A) Asset blocking The blocking, in accordance with the International Emergency Economic Powers Act ( 50 U.S.C. 1701 (B) Inadmissibility to the United States In the case of a foreign person who is an individual— (i) ineligibility to receive a visa to enter the United States or to be admitted to the United States; or (ii) if the individual has been issued a visa or other documentation, revocation, in accordance with section 221(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1201(i) (2) Penalties A person that violates, attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of a measure imposed pursuant to subsection (a) or any regulation, license, or order issued to carry out this section shall be subject to the penalties specified in subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act ( 50 U.S.C. 1705 (3) Exception relating to importation of goods (A) In general The requirement to block and prohibit all transactions in all property and interests in property under subsection (b)(1)(A) does not include the authority to impose sanctions on the importation of goods. (B) Good defined The term good (4) Exception to comply with united nations headquarters agreement Sanctions under paragraph (1)(B) shall not apply with respect to the admission of an alien to the United States if the admission of the alien is necessary to permit the United States to comply with the Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force November 21, 1947, between the United Nations and the United States, or other applicable international obligations. (c) Implementation; regulatory authority (1) Implementation The President may exercise all authorities provided under sections 203 and 205 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act ( 50 U.S.C. 1702 (2) Regulatory authority The President shall issue such regulations, licenses, and orders as are necessary to carry out this section. (d) National interest waiver The President may waive the application of the sanctions under subsection (b) with respect to a foreign person if the President— (1) determines that such a waiver is in the national interest of the United States; and (2) submits to the appropriate congressional committees a notice of and justification for the waiver. (e) Termination and sunset The authority to impose sanctions with regards to a person involved in the construction of a particular Russian energy export pipeline under subsection (b), and any sanctions imposed pursuant to such authority, shall terminate on the earlier of— (1) the date on which the President certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that appropriate safeguards have been put in place to— (A) minimize the ability of Russia to use the pipeline as a tool of coercion and political leverage, including by achieving unbundling of energy production and transmission so that Russian state-owned entities do not control the transmission network for the pipelines, transparency in the energy market, and effective regulatory oversight; and (B) ensure, barring unforeseen circumstances, that the project would not result in a decrease of more than 25 percent in the transit of Russian energy exports through existing pipelines in other countries, particularly Ukraine, relative to the average monthly transit of Russian energy exports through such pipelines in 2018; or (2) the date that is 10 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. (f) Definitions In this section: (1) Admission; admitted; alien The terms admission admitted alien 8 U.S.C. 1101 (2) Appropriate congressional committees The term appropriate congressional committees (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives; and (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate. (3) Foreign person The term foreign person (4) Knowingly The term knowingly (5) Pipe-laying vessel The term pipe-laying vessel (6) United States person The term United States person (A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence to the United States; or (B) an entity organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States, including a foreign branch of such an entity.

Summary: Protecting Europe's Energy Security Act of 2019 This bill directs the President to impose visa- and asset-blocking sanctions on any foreign person that knowingly provides pipe-laying vessels for constructing a Russian-origin energy export pipeline that makes landfall in Germany or Turkey. The President may waive the sanctions as to specific persons if it is in the U.S. national interest to do so and if the President notifies Congress of the decision.