[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 118 (Tuesday, July 11, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2325-S2326]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 153. Mr. MANCHIN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by 
him to the bill S. 2226, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2024 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the end of subtitle D of title XII, insert the 
     following:

     SEC. 12__. REPORT ON ENERGY POLICY AND COMMERCIAL AND 
                   MILITARY STRATEGIES OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF 
                   CHINA.

       (a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in 
     consultation with the Secretary of Energy, shall submit to 
     the appropriate committees of Congress a report on--
       (1) the extent to which supply vulnerabilities drive the 
     energy policy of the People's Republic of China; and
       (2) the impact of such policy on the commercial and 
     military strategies of the People's Republic of China.
       (b) Elements.--The report required by subsection (a) shall 
     include the following:
       (1) An assessment of the oil insecurity of the People's 
     Republic of China and the policies the Government of the 
     People's Republic of China has adopted to mitigate such oil 
     insecurity.
       (2) Recommendations for actions the United States 
     Government may take to complicate such policies.
       (3) An analysis of actions taken by the navy of the 
     People's Liberation Army to challenge the United States Navy 
     in commercial sea lanes and commercial sea routes that are 
     vital to the People's Republic of China.
       (4) An analysis of the feasibility of and the military 
     requirements for, in the event of a conflict with the 
     People's Republic of China,

[[Page S2326]]

     an effective blockade of energy shipments bound for the 
     People's Republic of China, and recommendations for--
       (A) force requirements necessary in the Indian Ocean, the 
     South China Sea, and the Straight of Malacca; and
       (B) incorporating regional allied and partner countries--
       (i) to effectively deter or defeat the navy of the People's 
     Liberation Army; or
       (ii) to implement such a blockade.
       (5) An analysis of the ability of the People's Republic of 
     China to satisfy its energy needs during a crisis or conflict 
     through--
       (A) pipelines;
       (B) overland shipments;
       (C) rationing; and
       (D) stockpiles.
       (6) An identification of commercial projects in South Asia 
     or Central Asia under consideration by the Government of the 
     People's Republic of China to bypass sea routes, and an 
     assessment of the best method for the United States to 
     frustrate or complicate the implementation of such projects.
       (7) Recommendations on the best methods to leverage, for 
     the benefit of United States commercial and military 
     interests in the region, the dependence of the People's 
     Republic of China on oil imports through sea routes.
       (8) An analysis of the role of oil in the energy policy of 
     the People's Republic of China and in the operation of the 
     People's Liberation Army.
       (9) An assessment of the effect that potential disruptions 
     in oil imports would have on the electricity supply, 
     industrial output, and national security of the People's 
     Republic of China.
       (10) Recommendations for executive and congressional 
     action--
       (A) to disrupt efforts by national oil companies of the 
     People's Republic of China to cultivate relations with oil 
     suppliers in the developing world; and
       (B) to counteract the increasing control exercised by such 
     companies over foreign oil production through the use of oil-
     backed loans.
       (c) Appropriate Committees of Congress Defined.--In this 
     section, the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' 
     means--
       (1) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on 
     Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate; and
       (2) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on 
     Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives.
                                 ______