Expediting Natural Gas Exports to Allies Act of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2028 To amend the Natural Gas Act to authorize expedited approval of applications to export natural gas to certain allies of the United States, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 15, 2023 Mr. RUBIO (for himself and Mr. CASSIDY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To amend the Natural Gas Act to authorize expedited ap- proval of applications to export natural gas to certain allies of the United States, 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 ‘‘Expediting Natural 4 Gas Exports to Allies Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. NATURAL GAS EXPORTS TO ALLIES AND STRATEGIC 6 PARTNERS. 7 (a) FINDING.—Congress finds that expediting the ap- 8 proval of natural gas export applications for projects in- 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Jul 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2028.IS S2028 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 2028 IS tended to increase the capacity of the United States to 1 export natural gas to allies and strategic partners will— 2 (1) empower United States natural gas export- 3 ers to better assist the strategic and national secu- 4 rity interests of the United States and allies and 5 strategic partners of the United States; and 6 (2) lead to job growth, economic development, 7 and energy security. 8 (b) NATURAL GAS EXPORTS.—Section 3(c) of the 9 Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b(c)) is amended— 10 (1) by striking ‘‘(c) For purposes’’ and insert- 11 ing the following: 12 ‘‘(c) EXPEDITED APPLICATION AND APPROVAL 13 PROCESS.— 14 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF COVERED NATION.— 15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In this subsection, the 16 term ‘covered nation’— 17 ‘‘(i) means an ally described in section 18 3(b)(2) of the Arms Export Control Act 19 (22 U.S.C. 2753(b)(2)); and 20 ‘‘(ii) during the period described in 21 subparagraph (B), includes Cyprus, 22 Moldova, Sweden, Taiwan, and Ukraine. 23 ‘‘(B) PERIOD DESCRIBED.—The period de- 24 scribed in this subparagraph is the period— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Jul 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2028.IS S2028 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 2028 IS ‘‘(i) beginning on the date of enact- 1 ment of the Expediting Natural Gas Ex- 2 ports to Allies Act of 2023; and 3 ‘‘(ii) ending on December 31, 2030, or 4 such later date as the President determines 5 is in the interest of national defense (as 6 defined in section 702 of the Defense Pro- 7 duction Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4552)) or 8 is otherwise in the interests of the United 9 States. 10 ‘‘(2) EXPEDITED APPROVAL.—Except as pro- 11 vided in paragraph (3), for purposes’’; 12 (2) in paragraph (2) (as so designated), by in- 13 serting ‘‘the exportation of natural gas to a covered 14 nation,’’ before ‘‘or the exportation’’; and 15 (3) by adding at the end the following: 16 ‘‘(3) EXCLUSIONS.— 17 ‘‘(A) NATIONS SUBJECT TO SANCTIONS.— 18 The Commission shall not grant expedited ap- 19 proval under paragraph (2) of an application 20 for exportation of natural gas to any nation 21 that is subject to sanctions or trade restrictions 22 imposed by the United States. 23 ‘‘(B) NATIONS DESIGNATED BY CON- 24 GRESS.—The Commission shall not grant expe- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Jul 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2028.IS S2028 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 2028 IS dited approval under paragraph (2) of an appli- 1 cation for exportation of natural gas to any na- 2 tion designated by an Act of Congress as ex- 3 cluded from such expedited approval for reasons 4 of national security.’’. 5 (c) EFFECT.—The amendments made by subsection 6 (b) shall not affect any Federal authorization to export 7 natural gas from the United States to a foreign nation 8 or to import natural gas into the United States from a 9 foreign nation that is in effect on the date of enactment 10 of this Act. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Jul 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2028.IS S2028 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB