[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6960 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6960
To prohibit the importation of fossil fuels from the Russian
Federation, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 7, 2022
Mr. McKinley (for himself, Mr. Upton, Ms. Mace, and Mr. Carter of
Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on
Ways and Means, Foreign Affairs, Oversight and Reform, Financial
Services, Intelligence (Permanent Select), Armed Services,
Transportation and Infrastructure, Natural Resources, and Agriculture,
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 prohibit the importation of fossil fuels from the Russian
Federation, 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 ``Regaining Energy Freedom and
Undeniable SEcurity and Preserving U.S. Trade Interests Now Act'' or
the ``REFUSE PUTIN Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDING; SENSE OF CONGRESS.
(a) Finding.--Congress finds that exports of liquefied natural gas
from the United States to Europe have a lifecycle emissions profile
that is 41 percent lower than natural gas that is exported from the
Russian Federation to Europe.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) any prohibition on the importation of fossil fuels,
including crude oil, petroleum, petroleum products, liquefied
natural gas, and coal, from the Russian Federation must be
offset by an increase in the production of those fossil fuels
in the United States;
(2) United States allies in Europe should take similar
steps to prohibit the importation of Russian fossil fuels so
that the Russian Federation cannot benefit from production of
those fossil fuels; and
(3) energy independence is critical to national security
and should include the production, use, and export of all
available energy sources, including coal, natural gas, oil,
nuclear, and renewables, as well as strategic minerals critical
to electric vehicles and other clean energy sources.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON THE IMPORTATION OF FOSSIL FUELS, INCLUDING CRUDE
OIL, PETROLEUM, PETROLEUM PRODUCTS, LIQUEFIED NATURAL
GAS, AND COAL, FROM THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
effective beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the
President shall prohibit the importation of any fossil fuels, including
crude oil, petroleum, petroleum products, liquefied natural gas, and
coal, from the Russian Federation.
(b) Exception.--The prohibition under subsection (a) shall not
apply with respect to fossil fuels, including crude oil, petroleum,
petroleum products, liquefied natural gas, and coal, that are loaded
for transit or in transit to the United States on the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(c) Requirements or Other Restrictions on the Export of Crude
Oil.--During any time in which the prohibition under subsection (a) is
in effect, the President may not use the authority under section 101(d)
of division O of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (42 U.S.C.
6212a(d)) to impose a ban on the export of crude oil from the United
States.
SEC. 4. EXECUTIVE AND AGENCY ACTION.
On the date of enactment of this Act, the President shall--
(1) rescind the following executive and secretarial orders:
(A) Executive Order 14008 (86 Fed. Reg. 7619;
relating to tackling the climate crisis at home and
abroad);
(B) Executive Order 13990 (86 Fed. Reg. 7037;
relating to protecting public health and the
environment and restoring science to tackle the climate
crisis); and
(C) Secretarial Order 3395 (relating to temporary
suspension of delegated authority); and
(2) direct each Federal agency (including the Council on
Environmental Quality) to, not later than 120 days after the
date of enactment of this Act--
(A) identify and repeal any regulation promulgated
by the Federal agency that has the intent or effect of
substantially reducing the energy independence of the
United States; and
(B) issue regulations and guidance to--
(i) reduce the regulatory burden for energy
producers in the United States; and
(ii) increase the energy output by those
producers.
SEC. 5. INCREASING UNITED STATES PRODUCTION FOR ALLIES.
(a) Applications for the Export of Liquefied Natural Gas.--Section
3 of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b) is amended--
(1) by striking subsections (a) through (c);
(2) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as subsections
(a) and (b), respectively;
(3) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (c), and
moving such subsection after subsection (b), as so
redesignated;
(4) in subsection (a), as so redesignated, by amending
paragraph (1) to read as follows: ``(1) The Commission shall
have the exclusive authority to approve or deny an application
for the siting, construction, expansion, or operation of a
facility to export natural gas from the United States to a
foreign country or import natural gas from a foreign country,
including an LNG terminal. Except as specifically provided in
this Act, nothing in this Act is intended to affect otherwise
applicable law related to any Federal agency's authorities or
responsibilities related to facilities to import or export
natural gas, including LNG terminals.''; and
(5) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(d)(1) Nothing in this Act limits the authority of the President
under the Constitution, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act
(50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601
et seq.), part B of title II of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act
(42 U.S.C. 6271 et seq.), the Trading With the Enemy Act (50 U.S.C.
4301 et seq.), or any other provision of law that imposes sanctions on
a foreign person or foreign government (including any provision of law
that prohibits or restricts United States persons from engaging in a
transaction with a sanctioned person or government), including a
country that is designated as a state sponsor of terrorism, to prohibit
imports or exports of natural gas.
``(2) In this subsection, the term `state sponsor of terrorism'
means a country the government of which the Secretary of State
determines has repeatedly provided support for acts of international
terrorism pursuant to--
``(A) section 1754(c)(1)(A) of the Export Control Reform
Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4318(c)(1)(A));
``(B) section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961
(22 U.S.C. 2371);
``(C) section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C.
2780); or
``(D) any other provision of law.''.
(b) Strategic Petroleum Reserve.--Section 161 of the Energy Policy
and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6241) is amended by adding at the end
the following new subsection:
``(k) Plan.--
``(1) In general.--Except in the case of a severe energy
supply interruption described in subsection (d), the Secretary
may not execute the first drawdown of petroleum products in the
Reserve after the date of enactment of this subsection, whether
through sale, exchange, or loan, until the Secretary has
developed a plan to increase the percentage of Federal lands
(including submerged lands of the Outer Continental Shelf)
under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture, the
Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of the Interior, and the
Secretary of Defense leased for oil and gas production by the
same percentage as the percentage of petroleum in the Strategic
Petroleum Reserve that is to be drawn down in that first and
subsequent drawdowns, subject to the limitation under paragraph
(2).
``(2) Limitation.--The plan required by paragraph (1) shall
not provide for a total increase in the percentage of Federal
lands described in paragraph (1) leased for oil and gas
production in excess of 10 percent.
``(3) Consultation.--The Secretary shall prepare the plan
required by paragraph (1) in consultation with the Secretary of
Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary
of Defense.''.
(c) Keystone XL Pipeline.--
(1) Authorization.--TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. may
construct, connect, operate, and maintain the pipeline
facilities at the international border of the United States and
Canada at Phillips County, Montana, for the import of oil from
Canada to the United States as described in the Presidential
Permit of March 29, 2019 (84 Fed. Reg. 13101 (April 3, 2019)).
(2) Presidential permits.--No Presidential permit or any
other Executive order shall be required for the construction,
connection, operation, or maintenance of the pipeline
facilities described in paragraph (1).
<all>