[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3612-S3613]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 6492. Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself and Mr. Cruz) submitted an 
amendment intended to be proposed by her to the bill S. 4784, to 
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2027 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 E of title XII, add the following:

     SEC. 1271. VERTICAL GAS CORRIDOR ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE 
                   COOPERATION.

       (a) Authorization.--The Secretary of State, in coordination 
     with the Secretary of Energy, is authorized to enter into 
     cooperative agreements to support and enhance dialogue and 
     plan international partnerships between the United States and 
     Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova, 
     Serbia, North Macedonia, Ukraine, Poland, and other relevant 
     countries, to advance the development of the Vertical Gas 
     Corridor, facilitate United States energy exports and support 
     diversification from Russian energy sources.
       (b) Energy Cooperation With Ukraine.--The Secretary of 
     State, in coordination with the Secretary of the Energy, is 
     authorized to utilize the Vertical Gas Corridor project to 
     support the integration of Ukraine's natural gas transmission 
     and storage infrastructure into regional energy markets and 
     post-conflict reconstruction efforts. Such support should 
     include exploring opportunities to leverage cooperation with 
     Ukraine in transmission and energy storage infrastructure to 
     reduce the reliance on Russian coal and natural gas and 
     deliver affordable energy solutions across Central and 
     Eastern Europe.
       (c) United States-European Energy Diversification Center.--
     Not later than one

[[Page S3613]]

     year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
     Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of 
     Energy, may establish a joint United States-European Energy 
     Diversification Center in the United States to leverage the 
     experience, knowledge, and expertise of institutions of 
     higher education, entities in the private sector, and 
     relevant foreign governments and bodies, among other 
     entities, for the purpose of furthering dialogue and 
     collaboration on long-term energy diversification and 
     infrastructure projects to enhance energy resilience in 
     Europe. Such establishment should include broadening the 
     Vertical Gas Corridor to include related clean energy, 
     electricity, telecommunication and data connectivity 
     infrastructure projects and also consider coordination with 
     regional and European Union officials on any necessary 
     regulatory and permitting actions to facilitate enhanced 
     energy trade. The Center may model the Eastern Mediterranean 
     Energy Center authorized in section 204 of the Eastern 
     Mediterranean Security and Energy Partnership Act of 2019 
     (title II of division J of Public Law 116-94; 133 Stat. 
     3051).
       (d) Annual Reports.--If the Secretary of State, in 
     coordination with the Secretary of Energy, enters into 
     agreements authorized under subsection (a), the Secretary of 
     State and the Secretary of Energy shall submit an annual 
     report to the appropriate congressional committees that 
     describes--
       (1) actions taken to implement such agreements;
       (2) any projects undertaken pursuant to such agreements;
       (3) procurement practices related to projects, including 
     certification that open, fair, competitive, and transparent 
     procedures were used in advancing any such agreements or 
     projects;
       (4) efforts undertaken by participating countries to reduce 
     dependence on Russian-origin energy commodities;
       (5) any United States funds or technical assistance 
     provided by the United States to facilitate the cooperative 
     agreement and its implementation; and
       (6) any efforts to coordinate with the United States 
     International Development Finance Corporation, the United 
     States Trade and Development Agency, the Export-Import Bank, 
     and other relevant Federal agencies on projects that support 
     any agreement.
       (e) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this 
     section, the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' 
     means--
       (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
       (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
     Representatives;
       (3) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 
     Senate;
       (4) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 
     Representatives; and
       (5) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
     Representatives.
                                 ______