[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 585 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 585

To amend the Natural Gas Act with respect to the exportation of natural 
                      gas, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 26, 2015

  Mr. Markey (for himself, Mr. Franken, Mr. Sanders, and Mrs. Boxer) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
            Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Natural Gas Act with respect to the exportation of natural 
                      gas, 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 ``American Natural Gas Security and 
Consumer Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION FOR THE EXPORTATION OF NATURAL GAS.

    Section 3(a) of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b(a)) is 
amended--
            (1) in the first sentence, by striking ``(a) After six 
        months'' and inserting the following:
    ``(a) In General.--
            ``(1) Authorization for the importation of natural gas.--
                    ``(A) Prohibition.--After 6 months'';
            (2) in the second sentence, by striking ``The Commission'' 
        and inserting the following:
                    ``(B) Issuance of orders.--The Commission'';
            (3) in the third sentence, by striking ``The Commission'' 
        and inserting the following:
                    ``(C) Modification.--The Commission'';
            (4) in paragraph (1)(A) (as so designated), by striking 
        ``export any natural gas from the United States to a foreign 
        country or'';
            (5) in paragraph (1)(B) (as so designated), by striking 
        ``exportation or''; and
            (6) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Authorization for the exportation of natural gas.--
                    ``(A) Prohibition.--No person shall export any 
                natural gas from the United States to a foreign country 
                without first having secured an order of the Secretary 
                of Energy authorizing the exportation.
                    ``(B) Issuance of orders.--On receiving an 
                application, the Secretary of Energy may issue an order 
                authorizing a person to export natural gas from the 
                United States to a foreign country if the Secretary of 
                Energy determines that the proposed exportation is 
                consistent with the public interest, in accordance with 
                the regulations promulgated pursuant to paragraph 
                (3)(B).
                    ``(C) Modification.--The Secretary of Energy may by 
                order grant an application submitted under subparagraph 
                (B), in whole or in part, with such modifications and 
                on such terms and conditions as the Secretary of Energy 
                determines necessary.
                    ``(D) Timing.--The Secretary of Energy shall not 
                issue an order under this paragraph prior to the date 
                on which the Secretary of Energy promulgates final 
                regulations pursuant to paragraph (3)(B).
            ``(3) Public interest determination for export 
        applications.--
                    ``(A) NEPA review.--In accordance with section 
                102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 
                1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)), the Secretary of Energy 
                shall issue a detailed statement on the environmental 
                impact of the issuance of an order under paragraph (2), 
                including a summary of an analysis conducted on the 
                impact of the extraction of exported natural gas on the 
                environment in communities where the natural gas is 
                extracted.
                    ``(B) Regulations.--
                            ``(i) Deadline.--Not later than 2 years 
                        after the date of enactment of this paragraph 
                        and after notice and public comment, the 
                        Secretary of Energy shall promulgate final 
                        regulations to establish the processes for 
                        purposes of issuing an order under paragraph 
                        (2) for determining whether a proposed 
                        exportation of natural gas from the United 
                        States to a foreign country is in the public 
                        interest.
                            ``(ii) Contents.--Regulations promulgated 
                        pursuant to clause (i) shall require the 
                        Secretary of Energy to determine, with respect 
                        to each application for exportation of natural 
                        gas from the United States to a foreign 
                        country, whether the exportation is in the 
                        public interest through--
                                    ``(I) use of the latest available 
                                data on current and projected United 
                                States natural gas demands, production, 
                                and price;
                                    ``(II) consideration of the effects 
                                of the natural gas exports on--
                                            ``(aa) household and 
                                        business energy expenditures by 
                                        electricity and natural gas 
                                        consumers in the United States;
                                            ``(bb) the economy, jobs, 
                                        and manufacturing of the United 
                                        States, including the effects 
                                        on wages, investment, and 
                                        energy-intensive and trade-
                                        exposed industries, as 
                                        determined by the Secretary;
                                            ``(cc) the energy security 
                                        of the United States, including 
                                        the ability of the United 
                                        States to reduce the reliance 
                                        of the United States on 
                                        imported oil;
                                            ``(dd) the conservation of 
                                        domestic natural gas supplies 
                                        to meet the future energy needs 
                                        of the United States;
                                            ``(ee) the potential for 
                                        natural gas use in the 
                                        transportation, industrial, and 
                                        electricity sectors of the 
                                        United States;
                                            ``(ff) the ability of the 
                                        United States to reduce 
                                        greenhouse gas emissions;
                                            ``(gg) the national 
                                        security and foreign policy of 
                                        the United States;
                                            ``(hh) domestic natural gas 
                                        supply and availability, 
                                        including the effects on 
                                        pipelines and other 
                                        infrastructure;
                                            ``(ii) the balance of trade 
                                        in the United States; and
                                            ``(jj) other issues 
                                        determined relevant by the 
                                        Secretary; and
                                    ``(III) consideration of the 
                                detailed statement issued under 
                                subparagraph (A).
            ``(4) Exemptions.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Paragraph (2) does not apply 
                with respect to any order authorizing the exportation 
                of natural gas if the natural gas that would be 
                exported as a result of the order is exported solely to 
                meet a requirement imposed pursuant to--
                            ``(i) part B of title II of the Energy 
                        Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6271 et 
                        seq.);
                            ``(ii) section 203 of the International 
                        Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702); 
                        or
                            ``(iii) section 5(b) of the Trading with 
                        the Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. App. 5(b)).
                    ``(B) Issuance of orders.--In the case of an order 
                described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary of Energy 
                may issue the order without modification or delay after 
                receiving an application.''.

SEC. 3. EFFECT.

    Nothing in this Act or an amendment made by this Act affects the 
authority in section 3(c) of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b(c)) 
regarding the importation or exportation of natural gas to a nation 
with which there is in effect a free trade agreement.
                                 <all>