Title: Protecting Europe’s Energy Security Act of 2019
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Protecting Europe's Energy Security Act of 2019
This bill establishes sanctions related to the provision of vessels for the construction of Russian energy export pipelines.
The Department of State must report to Congress (1) a list of vessels engaged in below sea-level pipe laying for the construction of Russian energy export pipelines, and (2) a list of foreign individuals and entities that provided or facilitated the provision of the vessels for such pipeline construction. The State Department shall impose property- and visa-blocking sanctions on (1) the identified foreign individuals and entities, and (2) each corporate officer and principal shareholder with a controlling interest in the identified vessels.
The President may impose various sanctions on foreign individuals and entities that knowingly provide underwriting, insurance, or reinsurance for the identified vessels. The sanctions may include prohibitions from (1) receiving Export-Import Bank export assistance, (2) being designated as a primary dealer of U.S. government debt instruments, or (3) receiving U.S. government procurement contracts.
The State Department shall develop a strategy on improving the energy security of U.S. allies in Europe. The State Department shall also report to Congress (1) on the effects of Russia's Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline on U.S. national security; and (2) a periodically updated list of entities providing goods, services, or technology for the construction or repair of the pipeline and whether such transactions are prohibited under certain U.S. laws.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4818 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4818

 To impose sanctions with respect to the provision of certain vessels 
for the construction of Russian energy export pipelines, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 23, 2019

Mr. Barr (for himself, Mr. Murphy of North Carolina, Mr. Hagedorn, Mr. 
   Mitchell, Mr. Huizenga, Mr. Graves of Louisiana, and Mr. Shimkus) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
 Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, 
  Financial Services, Oversight and Reform, and Ways and Means, for a 
 period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To impose sanctions with respect to the provision of certain vessels 
for the construction of Russian energy export pipelines, 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 ``Protecting Europe's Energy Security 
Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the United States and Europe share a common history, a 
        common identity, and common values built upon the principles of 
        democracy, rule of law, and individual freedoms;
            (2) the United States has encouraged and admired the 
        European project, which has resulted in a common market and 
        common policies, has achieved unprecedented prosperity and 
        stability on the continent, and serves as a model for other 
        countries to reform their institutions and prioritize 
        anticorruption measures;
            (3) the relationships between the United States and Europe 
        and the United States and Germany are critical to the national 
        security interests of the United States as well as to global 
        prosperity and peace, and Germany in particular is a crucial 
        partner for the United States in multilateral efforts aimed at 
        promoting global prosperity and peace;
            (4) the United States should stand against any effort 
        designed to weaken those relationships; and
            (5) Germany has demonstrated leadership within the European 
        Union and in international fora to ensure that sanctions 
        imposed with respect to the Russian Federation for its malign 
        activities are maintained.

SEC. 3. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO PROVISION OF CERTAIN 
              VESSELS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF RUSSIAN ENERGY EXPORT 
              PIPELINES.

    (a) Report Required.--Not later than 60 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and every 90 days thereafter, the Secretary of 
State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report 
that identifies, for the period beginning on the date of the enactment 
of this Act and ending on the date of the report--
            (1) vessels that engaged in pipe-laying at depths of 100 
        feet or more below sea level for the construction of Russian 
        energy export pipelines; and
            (2) foreign persons that have sold, leased, provided, or 
        facilitated the provision of those vessels for the construction 
        of such pipelines.
    (b) Inadmissibility to United States of Identified Persons and 
Corporate Officers.--The Secretary of State shall deny a visa to, and 
the Secretary of Homeland Security shall exclude from the United States 
of, any alien who is--
            (1) a foreign person identified under subsection (a)(2);
            (2) a corporate officer of a person described in paragraph 
        (1); or
            (3) a principal shareholder with a controlling interest in 
        a person described in paragraph (1).
    (c) Blocking of Property of Identified Persons.--The President 
shall exercise all powers granted to the President by the International 
Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the extent 
necessary to block and prohibit all transactions in all property and 
interests in property of any person identified under subsection (a)(2) 
if such property and interests in property are in the United States, 
come within the United States, or are or come within the possession or 
control of a United States person.
    (d) Sanctions for Provision of Underwriting Services or Insurance 
or Reinsurance for Identified Vessels.--
            (1) In general.--The President may impose 5 or more of the 
        sanctions described in paragraph (2) with respect to a foreign 
        person if the President determines that the person knowingly, 
        on or after the date of the enactment of this Act, provides 
        underwriting services or insurance or reinsurance for a vessel 
        identified under subsection (a)(1).
            (2) Sanctions described.--The sanctions that may be imposed 
        with respect to a foreign person under paragraph (1) are the 
        following:
                    (A) Export-import bank assistance for exports to 
                sanctioned persons.--The President may direct the 
                Export-Import Bank of the United States not to give 
                approval to the issuance of any guarantee, insurance, 
                extension of credit, or participation in the extension 
                of credit in connection with the export of any goods or 
                services to the foreign person.
                    (B) Export sanction.--The President may order the 
                United States Government not to issue any specific 
                license and not to grant any other specific permission 
                or authority to export any goods or technology to the 
                foreign person under--
                            (i) the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 
                        (50 U.S.C. 4801 et seq.);
                            (ii) the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 
                        2751 et seq.);
                            (iii) the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 
                        U.S.C. 2011 et seq.); or
                            (iv) any other statute that requires the 
                        prior review and approval of the United States 
                        Government as a condition for the export or 
                        reexport of goods or services.
                    (C) Loans from united states financial 
                institutions.--The United States Government may 
                prohibit any United States financial institution from 
                making loans or providing credits to the foreign person 
                totaling more than $10,000,000 in any 12-month period 
                unless such person is engaged in activities to relieve 
                human suffering and the loans or credits are provided 
                for such activities.
                    (D) Prohibitions on financial institutions.--The 
                following prohibitions may be imposed with respect to 
                the foreign person if the foreign person is a financial 
                institution:
                            (i) Prohibition on designation as primary 
                        dealer.--Neither the Board of Governors of the 
                        Federal Reserve System nor the Federal Reserve 
                        Bank of New York may designate, or permit the 
                        continuation of any prior designation of, such 
                        financial institution as a primary dealer in 
                        United States Government debt instruments.
                            (ii) Prohibition on service as a repository 
                        of government funds.--Such financial 
                        institution may not serve as agent of the 
                        United States Government or serve as repository 
                        for United States Government funds.
                The imposition of either sanction under clause (i) or 
                (ii) shall be treated as 1 sanction for purposes of 
                paragraph (1), and the imposition of both such 
                sanctions shall be treated as 2 sanctions for purposes 
                of paragraph (1).
                    (E) Procurement sanction.--The United States 
                Government may not procure, or enter into any contract 
                for the procurement of, any goods or services from the 
                foreign person.
                    (F) Foreign exchange.--The President may, pursuant 
                to such regulations as the President may prescribe, 
                prohibit any transactions in foreign exchange that are 
                subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and in 
                which the foreign person has any interest.
                    (G) Banking transactions.--The President may, 
                pursuant to such regulations as the President may 
                prescribe, prohibit any transfers of credit or payments 
                between financial institutions or by, through, or to 
                any financial institution, to the extent that such 
                transfers or payments are subject to the jurisdiction 
                of the United States and involve any interest of the 
                foreign person.
                    (H) Property transactions.--The President may, 
                pursuant to such regulations as the President may 
                prescribe, prohibit any person from--
                            (i) acquiring, holding, withholding, using, 
                        transferring, withdrawing, transporting, 
                        importing, or exporting any property that is 
                        subject to the jurisdiction of the United 
                        States and with respect to which the foreign 
                        person has any interest;
                            (ii) dealing in or exercising any right, 
                        power, or privilege with respect to such 
                        property; or
                            (iii) conducting any transaction involving 
                        such property.
                    (I) Ban on investment in equity or debt of 
                sanctioned person.--The President may, pursuant to such 
                regulations or guidelines as the President may 
                prescribe, prohibit any United States person from 
                investing in or purchasing significant amounts of 
                equity or debt instruments of the foreign person.
                    (J) Exclusion of corporate officers.--The President 
                may direct the Secretary of State to deny a visa to, 
                and the Secretary of Homeland Security to exclude from 
                the United States, any alien that the President 
                determines is a corporate officer or principal of, or a 
                shareholder with a controlling interest in, the foreign 
                person.
                    (K) Sanctions on principal executive officers.--The 
                President may impose on the principal executive officer 
                or officers of the foreign person, or on persons 
                performing similar functions and with similar 
                authorities as such officer or officers, any of the 
                sanctions under this paragraph.
    (e) Exceptions.--
            (1) Exception to comply with united nations headquarters 
        agreement.--Sanctions under this subsection 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, the Convention on Consular 
        Relations, done at Vienna April 24, 1963, and entered into 
        force March 19, 1967, or other applicable international 
        obligations.
            (2) Exception relating to importation of goods.--
                    (A) In general.--A requirement or the authority to 
                block and prohibit all transactions in all property and 
                interests in property under this section shall not 
                include the authority to impose sanctions on the 
                importation of goods.
                    (B) Good defined.--In this paragraph, the term 
                ``good'' means any article, natural or man-made 
                substance, material, supply or manufactured product, 
                including inspection and test equipment, and excluding 
                technical data.
    (f) National Security Waiver.--The President may waive the 
application of sanctions under this section with respect to a person if 
the President--
            (1) determines that the waiver is in the national security 
        interests of the United States; and
            (2) submits to the appropriate congressional committees a 
        report on the waiver and the reasons for the waiver.
    (g) Implementation; Penalties.--
            (1) Implementation.--The President may exercise all 
        authorities provided to the President under sections 203 and 
        205 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 
        U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out this section.
            (2) Penalties.--A person that violates, attempts to 
        violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of this 
        section or any regulation, license, or order issued to carry 
        out this section shall be subject to the penalties set forth in 
        subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the International 
        Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same 
        extent as a person that commits an unlawful act described in 
        subsection (a) of that section.
    (h) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Admission; admitted; alien.--The terms ``admission'', 
        ``admitted'', and ``alien'' have the meanings given those terms 
        in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
        1101).
            (2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on 
        Foreign Relations and Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
        Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 
        Committee on Financial Services of the House of 
        Representatives.
            (3) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means an 
        individual or entity that is not a United States person.
            (4) Knowingly.--The term ``knowingly'', with respect to 
        conduct, a circumstance, or a result, means that a person has 
        actual knowledge, or should have known, of the conduct, the 
        circumstance, or the result.
            (5) United states person.--The term ``United States 
        person'' means--
                    (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.

SEC. 4. STRATEGY TO IMPROVE ENERGY SECURITY OF EUROPEAN ALLIES OF THE 
              UNITED STATES.

    (a) In General.--The President shall direct the Secretary of State, 
in coordination with the heads of other Federal agencies, as 
appropriate, to develop a strategy to improve the national and regional 
energy security of allies of the United States in Europe.
    (b) Elements.--The strategy required by subsection (a) shall 
include elements--
            (1) to deepen the role of United States diplomacy in Europe 
        and the Middle East in enhancing the energy security of allies 
        of the United States in Europe;
            (2) to diversify the energy sources of such allies;
            (3) to counter efforts by the Russian Federation to 
        establish energy dominance over Europe; and
            (4) to improve the resilience of energy infrastructure of 
        such allies.

SEC. 5. REPORT ON EFFECTS OF NORD STREAM 2 ON THE NATIONAL SECURITY OF 
              THE UNITED STATES.

    Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
committees (as defined in section 3(h)) a report that includes the 
following:
            (1) An assessment of the effects of the Nord Stream 2 
        natural gas pipeline on the national security of the United 
        States, including an assessment of the effect that increased 
        dependence by countries in Europe on Russian natural gas would 
        have on--
                    (A) the energy security of Europe;
                    (B) the diplomatic security and foreign policy of 
                Ukraine;
                    (C) the diplomatic security and foreign policy of 
                Germany; and
                    (D) United States diplomatic missions and 
                facilities of the United States Government in Europe.
            (2) A description of activities of, or support by, the 
        Government of the Russian Federation aimed at influencing 
        opinions of the public and elites in Europe to generate support 
        for Nord Stream 2 and other Russian energy export projects, 
        including through--
                    (A) propaganda activities through media and digital 
                platforms, including broadcast and satellite-based 
                television, radio, internet, and print media; or
                    (B) funding or otherwise supporting third-party 
                groups in Europe such as think tanks, academic 
                institutions, trade associations, and other 
                nongovernmental organizations.

SEC. 6. REPORT ON ENTITIES INVOLVED IN CONSTRUCTION OR REPAIR OF NORD 
              STREAM 2.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter until the date that is 6 
years after such date of enactment, the Secretary of State shall submit 
to the appropriate congressional committees (as defined in section 
3(h)) a report that includes--
            (1) a list of all entities, including financial 
        institutions, directly or indirectly providing goods, services, 
        information, or technology for the construction or repair of 
        the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline; and
            (2) an assessment of whether each entity on the list 
        required by paragraph (1) has knowingly engaged in a 
        significant transaction with, or provided goods, services, 
        information, or technology to or for--
                    (A) a Russian person the property or interests in 
                property of which have been blocked pursuant to the 
                International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 
                1701 et seq.);
                    (B) any person with respect to which sanctions have 
                been imposed under section 231 of the Countering 
                America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (22 U.S.C 
                9525); or
                    (C) any person with respect to which sanctions have 
                been imposed under--
                            (i) any other provision of title II of the 
                        Countering America's Adversaries Through 
                        Sanctions Act (22 U.S.C. 9501 et seq.);
                            (ii) the Support for the Sovereignty, 
                        Integrity, Democracy, and Economic Stability of 
                        Ukraine Act of 2014 (22 U.S.C. 8901 et seq.); 
                        or
                            (iii) the Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 
                        2014 (22 U.S.C. 8921 et seq.).
    (b) Russian Person Defined.--In this section, the term ``Russian 
person'' has the meaning given that term in section 2 of the Ukraine 
Freedom Support Act of 2014 (22 U.S.C. 8921).
                                 <all>