Energy Diplomacy Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1311 To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to provide for energy security and diplomacy, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 24, 2021 Mr. PFLUGER (for himself and Mr. VICENTE GONZALEZ of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to provide for energy security and diplomacy, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Energy Diplomacy 4 Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. ENERGY SECURITY AND DIPLOMACY OF THE DE- 6 PARTMENT OF STATE. 7 Section 1(c) of the State Department Basic Authori- 8 ties Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a) is amended— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:51 Mar 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1311.IH H1311 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1311 IH (1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para- 1 graph (4); and 2 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol- 3 lowing new paragraph: 4 ‘‘(3) ENERGY RESOURCES.— 5 ‘‘(A) AUTHORIZATION FOR ASSISTANT SEC- 6 RETARY.—Subject to the numerical limitation 7 specified in paragraph (1), there is authorized 8 to be established in the Department of State an 9 Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Re- 10 sources. 11 ‘‘(B) PERSONNEL.—If the Department of 12 State establishes an Assistant Secretary of 13 State for Energy Resources in accordance with 14 the authorization provided in subparagraph (A), 15 the Secretary of State shall ensure there are 16 sufficient personnel dedicated to energy matters 17 within the Department whose responsibilities 18 shall include— 19 ‘‘(i) formulating and implementing 20 international policies aimed at protecting 21 and advancing United States energy secu- 22 rity interests by effectively managing 23 United States bilateral and multilateral re- 24 lations; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:51 Mar 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1311.IH H1311 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1311 IH ‘‘(ii) ensuring that analyses of the na- 1 tional security implications of global en- 2 ergy and environmental developments are 3 reflected in the decision-making process 4 within the Department; 5 ‘‘(iii) incorporating energy security 6 priorities into the activities of the Depart- 7 ment; 8 ‘‘(iv) coordinating energy activities of 9 the Department with relevant Federal de- 10 partments and agencies; 11 ‘‘(v) coordinating with the Office of 12 Sanctions Coordination on economic sanc- 13 tions pertaining to the international energy 14 sector; and 15 ‘‘(vi) working internationally to— 16 ‘‘(I) support the development of 17 energy resources and the distribution 18 of such resources for the benefit of 19 the United States and United States 20 allies and trading partners for their 21 energy security and economic develop- 22 ment needs; 23 ‘‘(II) promote availability of di- 24 versified energy supplies and a well 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:51 Mar 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1311.IH H1311 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1311 IH functioning global market for energy 1 resources, technologies, and expertise 2 for the benefit of the United States 3 and United States allies and trading 4 partners; 5 ‘‘(III) resolve international dis- 6 putes regarding the exploration, devel- 7 opment, production, or distribution of 8 energy resources; 9 ‘‘(IV) support the economic and 10 commercial interests of United States 11 persons operating in the energy mar- 12 kets of foreign countries; 13 ‘‘(V) support and coordinate 14 international efforts to alleviate en- 15 ergy poverty; 16 ‘‘(VI) leading the United States 17 commitment to the Extractive Indus- 18 tries Transparency Initiative; and 19 ‘‘(VII) coordinating energy secu- 20 rity and other relevant functions with- 21 in the Department currently under- 22 taken by— 23 ‘‘(aa) the Bureau of Eco- 24 nomic and Business Affairs; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:51 Mar 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1311.IH H1311 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1311 IH ‘‘(bb) the Bureau of Oceans 1 and International Environmental 2 and Scientific Affairs; and 3 ‘‘(cc) other offices within the 4 Department of State.’’. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:51 Mar 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1311.IH H1311 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS