[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6043 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6043

 To restrict participation in offshore oil and gas leasing by a person 
 who engages in any activity for which sanctions may be imposed under 
  section 5 of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996, to require the lessee 
 under an offshore oil and gas lease to disclose any participation by 
 the lessee in certain energy-related joint ventures, investments, or 
       partnerships located outside Iran, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 30, 2010

Mr. Klein of Florida (for himself, Mr. Kirk, Mr. Rothman of New Jersey, 
 Mr. Deutch, Mr. McMahon, Ms. Berkley, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, and Mr. 
    Engel) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
  Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on 
  Foreign Affairs, 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 restrict participation in offshore oil and gas leasing by a person 
 who engages in any activity for which sanctions may be imposed under 
  section 5 of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996, to require the lessee 
 under an offshore oil and gas lease to disclose any participation by 
 the lessee in certain energy-related joint ventures, investments, or 
       partnerships located outside Iran, 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 ``Gulf Security and Iran Sanctions 
Enforcement Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The illicit nuclear activities of the Government of 
        Iran--combined with its development of unconventional weapons 
        and ballistic missiles and support for international 
        terrorism--represent a serious threat to the security of the 
        United States and United States allies in Europe, the Middle 
        East, and around the world.
            (2) Executive Order 12959, issued on May 8, 1995, banned 
        all new investment in Iran by United States individuals and 
        companies.
            (3) On August 5, 1996, the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of 
        1996 (later re-titled the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996) was 
        enacted in order, among other purposes, to encourage foreign 
        persons to withdraw from the Iranian market.
            (4) United Nations Security Council Resolution 1929 (June 
        9, 2010) notes, ``the potential connection between Iran's 
        revenues derived from its energy sector and the funding of 
        Iran's proliferation-sensitive nuclear activities,'' and 
        further notes that ``chemical process equipment and materials 
        required for the petrochemical industry have much in common 
        with those required for certain sensitive nuclear fuel cycle 
        activities''.
            (5) Through its sanctions regime, the United States 
        Government seeks to prevent the Iranian Government and 
        engineers and scientists employed by state-owned Iranian energy 
        companies or companies affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary 
        Guard Corps from gaining access to key domain expertise, 
        technology and equipment that could aid the development of 
        Iran's energy sector and also assist Iran in certain 
        proliferation activities.
            (6) The Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and 
        Divestment Act of 2010, which was signed into law on July 1, 
        2010, included sanctions against goods, services, and 
        technology to modernize Iran's oil and natural gas sector.
            (7) The threat of sanctions has constrained the supply of 
        capital, technology, and services to the Iranian petroleum 
        sector, and several companies have withdrawn their business 
        from Iran.
            (8) The Government of Iran is pursuing partnerships outside 
        Iran with foreign energy-related companies, including joint 
        ventures, investments, and partnerships.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the United States should continue to support diplomatic 
        efforts in the International Atomic Energy Agency and the 
        United Nations Security Council to end the Government of Iran's 
        illicit nuclear activities;
            (2) international diplomatic efforts to address the 
        Government of Iran's illicit nuclear efforts and support for 
        international terrorism are more likely to be effective if 
        strong additional sanctions are imposed on the Government of 
        Iran;
            (3) the concerns of the United States regarding the 
        Government of Iran are strictly the result of the actions of 
        the Government of Iran;
            (4) Iranian partnerships outside Iran with foreign energy-
        related companies, including joint ventures, investments and 
        partnerships, could give the Iranian Government and engineers 
        and scientists employed by state-owned Iranian energy companies 
        or companies affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps 
        access to key domain expertise, technology and equipment that 
        could aid the development of Iran's energy sector and also 
        assist Iran in certain proliferation activities;
            (5) joint ventures with Iranian state-owned energy 
        companies serve to interfere with international attempts to 
        build a consensus for action regarding the Government of Iran's 
        ongoing refusal to comply with its international obligations 
        regarding its nuclear program; and
            (6) in order for sanctions to be effective and enabling a 
        diplomatic solution, the Government of Iran should be prevented 
        from disregarding their international obligations by 
        prohibiting foreign companies from receiving Iranian capital, 
        technology, and expertise, and by blocking foreign energy-
        related companies from entering into joint ventures, 
        investments, and partnerships for energy and energy-related 
        projects outside of Iran.

SEC. 4. RESTRICTION ON PARTICIPATION IN OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASING.

    (a) Certification Requirement.--The Secretary of the Interior 
shall--
            (1) include in each lease issued after the date of 
        enactment of this Act that authorizes drilling for oil and gas 
        on the Outer Continental Shelf a provision that requires that--
                    (A) the person that is the lessee to certify 
                annually to the Secretary that the person does not 
                engage in any activity for which sanctions may be 
                imposed under section 5 of the Iran Sanctions Act of 
                1996 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note); and
                    (B) authorizes the Secretary to cancel the lease if 
                the person fails to make such a certification or makes 
                such a certification that is false; and
            (2) upon determination by the Secretary, in consultation 
        with the Secretary of the Treasury, that the person has failed 
        to make a certification required under such provision or made 
        such a certification that is false, shall cancel the lease.
    (b) Disclosure Requirement.--The Secretary of the Interior shall--
            (1) include in each lease issued after the date of 
        enactment of this Act that authorizes drilling for oil and gas 
        on the Outer Continental Shelf a provision that--
                    (A) requires the person that is the lessee to 
                disclose to the Secretary any participation by the 
                person in any energy-related joint venture, investment, 
                or partnership located outside Iran that involves--
                            (i) any person whose property and interests 
                        in property are blocked pursuant to Executive 
                        Order 13224 (66 Fed. Reg. 49079; relating to 
                        blocking property and prohibiting transacting 
                        with persons who commit, threaten to commit, or 
                        support terrorism);
                            (ii) any person whose property and 
                        interests in property are blocked pursuant to 
                        Executive Order 13382 (70 Fed. Reg. 38567; 
                        relating to blocking of property of weapons of 
                        mass destruction proliferators and their 
                        supporters); or
                            (iii) any entity listed on appendix A to 
                        part 560 of title 31, Code of Federal 
                        Regulations (relating to the Iranian 
                        Transactions Regulations); and
                    (B) authorizes the Secretary to cancel the lease if 
                the person fails to make such a disclosure or makes 
                such a disclosure that is false; and
            (2) upon determination by the Secretary, in consultation 
        with the Secretary of the Treasury, that the person has failed 
        to make a disclosure required under such provision or made such 
        a disclosure that is false, shall cancel the lease.
    (c) Waiver.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of the Interior may waive 
        the requirement of subsection (a) or (b) (or both) on a case-
        by-case basis if the Secretary determines and certifies in 
        writing to the appropriate congressional committees that it is 
        in the national interest of the United States to do so.
            (2) Reporting requirement.--Not later than 120 days after 
        the date of the enactment of this Act and semi-annually 
        thereafter, the Secretary of the Interior shall submit to the 
        appropriate congressional committees a report on waivers 
        granted under paragraph (1).
    (d) Reporting Requirement.--The Secretary of the Interior shall 
promptly report to the appropriate congressional committees any 
cancellation of a lease under this section, including an explanation of 
the reasons for the cancellation.
    (e) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' 
        means--
                    (A) the Committee on Natural Resources and the 
                Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
                Representatives; and
                    (B) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 
                and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; 
                and
            (2) the term ``person'' has the meaning given such term in 
        section 14(14) of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 (50 U.S.C. 
        1701 note).

SEC. 5. SUNSET.

    This Act shall terminate 30 days after the date on which the 
President certifies to Congress that the Government of Iran--
            (1) has permanently ceased--
                    (A) providing support for acts of international 
                terrorism and no longer satisfies the requirements for 
                designation as a state sponsor of terrorism for 
                purposes of section 6(j) of the Export Administration 
                Act of 1979, section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act 
                of 1961, section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act, or 
                any other provision of law; and
                    (B) the pursuit, acquisition, and development of 
                nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons and missiles; 
                and
            (2) poses no significant threat to United States national 
        security, interests, or allies.
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