Title: POWERS Act
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Protecting Our Well-being by Expanding Russian Sanctions Act or the POWERS Act
This bill expands existing sanctions against foreign persons engaged in certain activities related to the Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream pipelines, two Russian pipelines that were constructed to supply natural gas to Europe.
Currently, these sanctions apply to foreign persons that (1) provided pipe-laying vessels for the construction of either pipeline, (2) facilitated certain transactions for such vessels, (3) provided certain underwriting services or insurance for such vessels, or (4) provided certain services for such vessels or Nord Stream 2. Under this bill, these sanctions must also apply to any foreign person that engaged in any transaction with such sanctioned persons.
The bill also reinstates any sanctions that were previously waived with respect to Nord Stream 2 AG (the company established to construct and operate the pipeline) or any of its corporate officers. Such reinstated sanctions may not be waived except by an act of Congress.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1764 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1764

   To expand the Protecting Europe's Energy Security Act of 2019 and 
  require the reinstatement of sanctions waived with respect to Nord 
        Stream 2 AG and corporate officers of Nord Stream 2 AG.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 20, 2021

  Mr. Cramer (for himself, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Daines, Mr. 
   Braun, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Scott of Florida, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, Mrs. 
Capito, Mr. Cornyn, Ms. Ernst, Mr. Hoeven, Mr. Cassidy, and Mr. Wicker) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                     Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To expand the Protecting Europe's Energy Security Act of 2019 and 
  require the reinstatement of sanctions waived with respect to Nord 
        Stream 2 AG and corporate officers of Nord Stream 2 AG.

    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 Our Well-being by 
Expanding Russian Sanctions Act'' or the ``POWERS Act''.

SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF PROTECTING EUROPE'S ENERGY SECURITY ACT OF 2019.

    Section 7503(a)(1)(B) of the Protecting Europe's Energy Security 
Act of 2019 (title LXXV of Public Law 116-92; 22 U.S.C. 9526 note) is 
amended--
            (1) in clause (iv), by striking ``; or'' and inserting a 
        semicolon;
            (2) in clause (v), by striking ``; and'' and inserting ``; 
        or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(vi) engaged in any transaction with any 
                        foreign person described in any of clauses (i) 
                        through (v); and''.

SEC. 3. REINSTATEMENT OF WAIVED SANCTIONS.

    Any sanctions under section 7503 of the Protecting Europe's Energy 
Security Act of 2019 (title LXXV of Public Law 116-92; 22 U.S.C. 9526 
note) or any other provision of law waived with respect to Nord Stream 
2 AG or any corporate officer of Nord Stream 2 AG before the date of 
the enactment of this Act--
            (1) shall be reinstated; and
            (2) notwithstanding subsection (f) of that section, may not 
        be waived except pursuant to an Act of Congress.
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