Title: Energy Security Cooperation with Allied Partners in Europe Act of 2018
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Energy Security Cooperation with Allied Partners in Europe Act of 2018
This bill urges the President to direct the U.S. Permanent Representative on the Council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to encourage NATO member states to work together to achieve energy security.
The Department of State shall submit to Congress a transatlantic energy strategy to enhance the energy security of NATO member and partner countries and to increase U.S. energy exports to such countries.
The bill directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to expedite approvals of natural gas exports to NATO allies, Japan (as long as the U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security remains in effect), and any other foreign country where natural gas exports would promote U.S. national security interests.
The President shall impose five or more specified sanctions against a person that knowingly makes certain investments that contribute to Russia's ability to construct energy export pipelines or sells, leases, or provides Russia with related goods, services, technology, or information.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3229 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3229

 To enhance the security of the United States and its allies, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 18, 2018

Mr. Barrasso (for himself, Mr. Gardner, and Mr. Daines) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                           Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To enhance the security of the United States and its allies, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Energy Security Cooperation with 
Allied Partners in Europe Act of 2018''.

SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States--
            (1) to reduce the dependency of allies and partners of the 
        United States on Russian energy resources, especially natural 
        gas, in order for those countries to achieve lasting and 
        dependable energy security;
            (2) to condemn the Government of the Russian Federation 
        for, and to deter that government from, using its energy 
        resources as a geopolitical weapon to coerce, intimidate, and 
        influence other countries;
            (3) to improve energy security in Europe by increasing 
        access to diverse, reliable, and affordable energy;
            (4) to promote energy security in Europe by working with 
        the European Union and other allies of the United States to 
        develop liberalized energy markets that provide diversified 
        energy sources, suppliers, and routes;
            (5) to continue to strongly oppose the Nord Stream 2 
        pipeline based on its detrimental effects on the energy 
        security of the European Union and the economy of Ukraine and 
        other countries in Central Europe through which natural gas is 
        transported; and
            (6) to support countries that are allies or partners of the 
        United States by expediting the export of energy resources from 
        the United States.

SEC. 3. NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION.

    The President should direct the United States Permanent 
Representative on the Council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization 
(in this Act referred to as ``NATO'') to use the voice, vote, and 
influence of the United States to encourage NATO member countries to 
work together to achieve energy security for those countries and 
countries in Europe and Eurasia that are partners of NATO.

SEC. 4. TRANSATLANTIC ENERGY STRATEGY.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the United 
States and other NATO member countries should explore ways to ensure 
that NATO member countries diversify their energy supplies and routes 
in order to enhance their energy security, including through the 
development of a transatlantic energy strategy.
    (b) Transatlantic Energy Strategy.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in 
        coordination with the Administrator of the United States Agency 
        for International Development and the Secretary of Energy, 
        shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 
        transatlantic energy strategy for the United States--
                    (A) to enhance the energy security of NATO member 
                countries and countries that are partners of NATO; and
                    (B) to increase exports of energy from the United 
                States to such countries.
            (2) Appropriate congressional committees defined.--In this 
        subsection, the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' 
        means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
                Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 
                of Representatives.

SEC. 5. EXPEDITED APPROVAL OF EXPORTATION OF NATURAL GAS TO UNITED 
              STATES ALLIES.

    (a) In General.--Section 3(c) of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 
717b(c)) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``For purposes'';
            (2) by striking ``nation with which there is in effect a 
        free trade agreement requiring national treatment for trade in 
        natural gas'' and inserting ``foreign country described in 
        paragraph (2)''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(2) A foreign country described in this paragraph is--
            ``(A) a nation with which there is in effect a free trade 
        agreement requiring national treatment for trade in natural 
        gas;
            ``(B) a member country of the North Atlantic Treaty 
        Organization;
            ``(C) subject to paragraph (3), Japan; and
            ``(D) any other foreign country if the Secretary of State, 
        in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, determines that 
        exportation of natural gas to that foreign country would 
        promote the national security interests of the United States.
    ``(3) The exportation of natural gas to Japan shall be deemed to be 
consistent with the public interest pursuant to paragraph (1), and 
applications for such exportation shall be granted without modification 
or delay under that paragraph, during only such period as the Treaty of 
Mutual Cooperation and Security, signed at Washington January 19, 1960, 
and entered into force June 23, 1960 (11 UST 1632; TIAS 4509), between 
the United States and Japan, remains in effect.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to applications for the authorization to export 
natural gas under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b) 
that are pending on, or filed on or after, the date of the enactment of 
this Act.

SEC. 6. MANDATORY SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF 
              PIPELINES IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION.

    (a) In General.--The President shall impose five or more of the 
sanctions described in section 235 of the Countering America's 
Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (22 U.S.C. 9529) with respect to a 
person if the President determines that the person knowingly, on or 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, makes an investment 
described in subsection (b) or sells, leases, or provides to the 
Government of the Russian Federation, or to any entity owned or 
controlled by that government, for the construction of Russian energy 
export pipelines, goods, services, technology, information, or support 
described in subsection (c)--
            (1) any of which has a fair market value of $1,000,000 or 
        more; or
            (2) that, during a 12-month period, have an aggregate fair 
        market value of $5,000,000 or more.
    (b) Investment Described.--An investment described in this 
subsection is any contribution of assets, including a loan guarantee or 
any other transfer of value, that directly and significantly 
contributes to the enhancement of the ability of the Government of the 
Russian Federation, or any entity owned or controlled by that 
government, to construct energy export pipelines.
    (c) Goods, Services, Technology, Information, or Support 
Described.--Goods, services, technology, information, or support 
described in this subsection are goods, services, technology, 
information, or support that could directly and significantly 
facilitate the maintenance or expansion of the construction, 
modernization, or repair of energy export pipelines by the Government 
of the Russian Federation or any entity owned or controlled by that 
government.
    (d) Presidential Waiver Authority and Notice to Congress.--
            (1) Presidential waiver authority.--The President may waive 
        the application of sanctions under this section if the 
        President determines that it is in the national security 
        interests of the United States to waive such sanctions.
            (2) Notice to congress.--Not less than 15 days before 
        taking action to waive the application of sanctions under 
        paragraph (1), the President shall submit to the Committee on 
        Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign 
        Affairs of the House of Representatives a notification of, and 
        written justification for, the action.
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