American Energy Independence from Russia Act

To strengthen United States energy security, encourage domestic production of crude oil, petroleum products, and natural gas, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the American Energy Independence from Russia Act 2. Energy security plan The Natural Gas Act is amended by inserting after section 3A ( 15 U.S.C. 717b–1 3B. Energy security plan Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this section, and biennially thereafter, the President shall submit to Congress an energy security plan that includes— (1) an evaluation of United States crude oil, petroleum products, and natural gas imports and exports; (2) an energy security risk assessment, by country of origin, of importing crude oil, petroleum products, and natural gas to the United States; and (3) strategies, including changes to Federal policies and regulations, to encourage increased domestic production of crude oil, petroleum products, and natural gas in order to offset any amounts of crude oil, petroleum products, and natural gas imported to the United States from Russia. . 3. Keystone XL authorization (a) Authorization TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P., may construct, connect, operate, and maintain the pipeline facilities at the international border of the United States and Canada at Phillips County, Montana, for the import of oil from Canada to the United States, as described in the Presidential Permit of March 29, 2019 (84 Fed. Reg. 13101 (April 3, 2019)). (b) No Presidential permit required No Presidential permit (or similar permit) under Executive Order 13867 ( 3 U.S.C. 301 42 U.S.C. 7151 15 U.S.C. 717b 4. Advancing United States global leadership (a) In general Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act ( 15 U.S.C. 717b (1) by striking subsections (a) through (c); (2) by redesignating subsections (d), (e), and (f) as subsections (c), (a), and (b), respectively, and moving subsection (c) (as so redesignated) to appear after subsection (b) (as so redesignated); and (3) by striking the section heading and designation and all that follows through paragraph (1) of subsection (a) (as so redesignated) and inserting the following: 3. LNG terminals; authority of the President to prohibit imports or exports of natural gas (a) LNG terminals (1) Authority of the Commission (A) In general The Commission shall have the exclusive authority to approve or deny an application for the siting, construction, expansion, or operation of a facility, including an LNG terminal, to export natural gas from the United States to a foreign country or to import natural gas from a foreign country. (B) Effect Except as specifically provided in this Act, nothing in this Act affects otherwise applicable law relating to the authority or responsibility of any Federal agency relating to facilities, including LNG terminals, to import or export natural gas. ; and (4) by adding at the end the following: (d) Rule of construction relating to authority To prohibit imports or exports (1) In general Nothing in this Act limits the authority of the President under the Constitution or any provision of law specified in paragraph (2) to prohibit imports or exports. (2) Provisions of law specified The provisions of law specified in this paragraph are— (A) the International Emergency Economic Powers Act ( 50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq. (B) the National Emergencies Act ( 50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq. (C) part B of title II of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act ( 42 U.S.C. 6271 et seq. (D) the Trading With the Enemy Act ( 50 U.S.C. 4301 et seq. (E) any other provision of law that— (i) imposes sanctions with respect to a foreign person or foreign government, including the government of a country that is designated as a state sponsor of terrorism; or (ii) prohibits or restricts United States persons from engaging in a transaction with a person or government subject to sanctions imposed by the United States. (3) State sponsor of terrorism defined In this subsection, the term state sponsor of terrorism (A) section 1754(c)(1)(A) of the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 ( 50 U.S.C. 4318(c)(1)(A) (B) section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 ( 22 U.S.C. 2371 (C) section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act ( 22 U.S.C. 2780 (D) any other provision of law. . (b) Conforming amendment Section 60104(d)(2) of title 49, United States Code, is amended, in the first sentence, by striking to import natural gas or 5. Prohibition on moratoria of new energy leases on certain Federal land and on withdrawal of Federal land from energy development (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Critical mineral The term critical mineral Final List of Critical Minerals 2018 (2) Federal land (A) In general The term Federal land (i) National Forest System land; (ii) public lands (as defined in section 103 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ( 43 U.S.C. 1702 (iii) the outer Continental Shelf (as defined in section 2 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ( 43 U.S.C. 1331 (iv) land managed by the Secretary of Energy. (B) Inclusion The term Federal land (3) President The term President (A) the Secretary of Agriculture; (B) the Secretary of Energy; and (C) the Secretary of the Interior. (b) Prohibitions (1) In general Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the President shall not carry out any action that would prohibit or substantially delay the issuance of any of the following on Federal land, unless such an action has been authorized by an Act of Congress: (A) New oil and gas leases, drill permits, approvals, or authorizations. (B) New coal leases, permits, approvals, or authorizations. (C) New hard rock leases, permits, approvals, or authorizations. (D) New critical minerals leases, permits, approvals, or authorizations. (2) Prohibition on withdrawal Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the President shall not withdraw any Federal land from forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws, location, entry, and patent under the mining laws, or disposition under laws pertaining to mineral and geothermal leasing or mineral materials unless the withdrawal has been authorized by an Act of Congress. 6. Oil and natural gas leasing (a) Onshore lease sales (1) Requirement to immediately resume onshore oil and gas lease sales (A) In general The Secretary of the Interior (referred to in this section as the Secretary Mineral Leasing Act 30 U.S.C. 181 et seq. (B) Requirement The Secretary shall ensure that any oil and gas lease sale under subparagraph (A) is conducted immediately on completion of all applicable scoping, public comment, and environmental analysis requirements under the Mineral Leasing Act 30 U.S.C. 181 et seq. National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. (2) Annual lease sales (A) In general Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in accordance with the Mineral Leasing Act ( 30 U.S.C. 181 et seq. (i) Wyoming. (ii) New Mexico. (iii) Colorado. (iv) Utah. (v) Montana. (vi) North Dakota. (vii) Oklahoma. (viii) Nevada. (ix) Any other State in which there is land available for oil and natural gas leasing under that Act. (B) Requirement In conducting a lease sale under subparagraph (A) in a State described in that subparagraph, the Secretary shall offer all parcels eligible for oil and gas development under the resource management plan in effect for the State. (C) Replacement sales If, for any reason, a lease sale under subparagraph (A) for a calendar year is canceled, delayed, or deferred, including for a lack of eligible parcels, the Secretary shall conduct a replacement sale during the same calendar year. (b) Offshore lease sales (1) In general The Secretary shall conduct all lease sales described in the 2017–2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Final Program (November 2016) that have not been conducted as of the date of enactment of this Act by not later than December 31, 2022. (2) Gulf of Mexico region annual lease sales Notwithstanding any other provision of law, beginning in fiscal year 2022, the Secretary shall conduct a minimum of 2 region-wide oil and natural gas lease sales annually in the Gulf of Mexico Region of the outer Continental Shelf, which shall include the following areas described in the 2017–2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Final Program (November 2016): (A) The Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area. (B) The Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Area. (3) Alaska region annual lease sales Notwithstanding any other provision of law, beginning in fiscal year 2022, the Secretary shall conduct a minimum of 2 region-wide oil and natural gas lease sales annually in the Alaska Region of the outer Continental Shelf, as described in the 2017–2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Final Program (November 2016). (4) Requirements In conducting lease sales under paragraphs (2) and (3), the Secretary shall— (A) issue leases to the highest responsible qualified bidder or bidders; and (B) include in each lease sale all unleased areas that are not subject to restrictions as of the date of the lease sale. (5) Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas leasing program Section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ( 43 U.S.C. 1344 (A) in subsection (a), in the first sentence of the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking subsections (c) and (d) of this section subsections (c) through (f) (B) by redesignating subsections (f) through (h) as subsections (g) through (i), respectively; and (C) by inserting after subsection (e) the following: (f) Subsequent leasing programs (1) In general Not later than 36 months after conducting the first lease sale under an oil and gas leasing program prepared pursuant to this section, the Secretary shall begin preparing the subsequent oil and gas leasing program under this section. (2) Requirement Each subsequent oil and gas leasing program under this section shall be approved not later than 180 days before the expiration of the previous oil and gas leasing program. . 7. Strategic production response plan Section 161 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act ( 42 U.S.C. 6241 (k) Plan (1) In general Except in the case of a severe energy supply interruption described in subsection (d), the Secretary may not execute the first drawdown of petroleum products in the Reserve after the date of enactment of this subsection, whether through sale, exchange, or loan, until the Secretary has developed a plan to increase the percentage of Federal land (including submerged land of the outer Continental Shelf) under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of Defense leased for oil and gas production by the same percentage as the percentage of petroleum in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve that is to be drawn down in that first drawdown and subsequent drawdowns, subject to the limitation described in paragraph (2). (2) Limitation The plan developed under paragraph (1) shall not provide for a total increase in the percentage of Federal land described in paragraph (1) leased for oil and gas production in excess of 10 percent. (3) Consultation The Secretary shall prepare the plan under paragraph (1) in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of Defense. .

Summary: American Energy Independence from Russia Act This bill addresses U.S. energy security, the production of oil and gas, and the importation and exportation of oil and gas. Specifically, the President must submit an energy security plan that (1) evaluates U.S. crude oil, petroleum products, and natural gas imports and exports; (2) assesses the energy security risks of such imports; and (3) includes strategies to encourage increased domestic production of crude oil, petroleum products, and natural gas to offset Russian imports. The bill also approves the TransCanada Keystone Pipeline in Phillips County, Montana for the import of oil from Canada to the United States. In addition, the bill grants the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission the authority to approve or deny applications for facilities to export natural gas from the United States to foreign countries or import natural gas from foreign countries. The President and federal agencies must obtain congressional approval before (1) prohibiting or substantially delaying certain new energy mineral leases or permits on federal lands, or (2) withdrawing certain federal lands from mineral and geothermal leasing activities. The Department of the Interior must resume issuing oil and gas leases on federal lands and offshore submerged lands in the Outer Continental Shelf as specified under the bill. Finally, the bill limits the drawdown of petroleum in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve until the Department of Energy develops a plan to increase the percentage of federal lands leased for oil and gas production.