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

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.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3206 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3206

 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

                             June 11, 2019

  Mr. Kinzinger (for himself, Mr. Pence, and Mr. Heck) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 
 and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, 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 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.

SEC. 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 et seq.), of all transactions in all 
                property and interests in property of a foreign person 
                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.
                    (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)), of the visa or other documentation.
            (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) to the same extent as a person that 
        commits an unlawful act described in subsection (a) of such 
        section.
            (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'' means any 
                article, natural or man-made substance, material, 
                supply or manufactured product, including inspection 
                and test equipment, and excluding technical data.
            (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 and 
        1704) to carry out this section.
            (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'', 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--
                    (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'' 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) Pipe-laying vessel.--The term ``pipe-laying vessel'' 
        means an offshore vessel that can be used in the construction 
        of subsea infrastructure and is engaged in pipe-laying at 
        depths of 100 feet or more below sea level.
            (6) 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.
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