EUROPE Act

Energy Unleashing in Response to the Offenses of Putin against Europeans Act or the EUROPE Act

This bill expedites approvals for natural gas exports to certain countries, imposes sanctions related to Russia, and addresses various energy-related issues.

Under this bill, an application to export natural gas to a country with a mutual defense treaty with the United States must be (1) deemed consistent with the public interest, and (2) granted without modification or delay. Further, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission must expedite the approval for liquefied natural gas terminals intended for exporting natural gas to one or more of such treaty countries.

The Department of the Interior must immediately resume oil and gas leasing on public land and offshore waters without further review.

The bill also requires the President to, subject to various exceptions and conditions, impose sanctions related to (1) Russia's central bank, and (2) foreign financial institutions that knowingly facilitate transactions with Russia's central bank or other sanctioned Russian financial institutions.

The Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank) must make assistance available to finance exports directly regarding clean energy technology, energy infrastructure, and the production of natural resources, with the goal of using at least 25% of its annual authorizations for such assistance. The Ex-Im Bank must set a goal to maximize the amount financed in certain situations, such as when an international strategic competitor is likely competing against a U.S. exporter for an energy-related contract.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6944 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6944

To impose sanctions with respect to the importation of oil and natural 
                gas from Russia, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 7, 2022

  Mr. Curtis introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
  Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on 
 Financial Services, Energy and Commerce, and Natural Resources, 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 impose sanctions with respect to the importation of oil and natural 
                gas from Russia, 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 ``Energy Unleashing in Response to the 
Offenses of Putin against Europeans Act'' or the ``EUROPE Act''.

SEC. 2. EXPEDITED APPROVALS RELATED TO NATURAL GAS EXPORTS TO TREATY 
              ALLIES AND PARTNERS.

    (a) Exportation of Natural Gas.--Section 3(c) of the Natural Gas 
Act (15 U.S.C. 717b(c)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``or the'' and inserting ``the''; and
            (2) by inserting ``or the exportation of natural gas to a 
        country that is a party to a mutual defense treaty with the 
        United States'' after ``trade in natural gas,''.
    (b) LNG Terminals.--The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall 
expedite the approval of applications under section 3 of the Natural 
Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717b) for the siting, construction, expansion, or 
operation of liquified natural gas terminals that are intended to be 
used for the exportation of natural gas to one or more countries that 
are a party to a mutual defense treaty with the United States.

SEC. 3. OIL AND GAS LEASING AUTHORIZATION.

    The Secretary of the Interior shall, immediately and without 
further review, resume oil and gas leasing on public land and offshore 
waters.

SEC. 4. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO RUSSIAN OIL AND GAS 
              EXPORTS.

    (a) In General.--Except as provided by this section, beginning on 
the enactment of this Act, the President--
            (1) shall prohibit the opening, and prohibit or impose 
        strict conditions on the maintaining, in the United States of a 
        correspondent account or a payable-through account by a foreign 
        financial institution that the President determines has 
        knowingly conducted or facilitated any financial transaction 
        with the Central Bank of Russia or another Russia financial 
        institution designated by the Secretary of the Treasury for the 
        imposition of sanctions pursuant to the International Emergency 
        Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); and
            (2) shall impose sanctions pursuant to the International 
        Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. et seq.) with respect 
        to the Central Bank of Russia.
    (b) Exception for Sales of Food, Medicine, and Medical Devices.--
The President may not impose sanctions under subsection (a) with 
respect to any person for conducting or facilitating a transaction for 
the sale of food, medicine, or medical devices to Russia.
    (c) Applicability of Sanctions With Respect to Foreign Central 
Banks.--Except as provided in subsection (d), sanctions imposed under 
subsection (a)(1) shall apply with respect to a foreign financial 
institution owned or controlled by the government of a foreign country, 
including a central bank of a foreign country, only insofar as it 
engages in a financial transaction for the sale or purchase of 
petroleum or petroleum products to or from Russia conducted or 
facilitated on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (d) Applicability of Sanctions With Respect to Petroleum 
Transactions.--
            (1) Report required.--Not later than 60 days after the date 
        of the enactment of this Act, and every 60 days thereafter, the 
        Administrator of the Energy Information Administration, in 
        consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary 
        of State, and the Director of National Intelligence, shall 
        submit to Congress a report on the availability and price of 
        petroleum and petroleum products produced in countries other 
        than Russia in the 60-day period preceding the submission of 
        the report.
            (2) Determination required.--Not later than 90 days after 
        the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 180 days 
        thereafter, the President shall determine, based on the reports 
        required by paragraph (1), whether the price and supply of 
        petroleum and petroleum products produced in countries other 
        than Russia is sufficient to permit purchasers of petroleum and 
        petroleum products from Russia to reduce significantly in 
        volume their purchases from Russia.
            (3) Application of sanctions.--Except as provided in 
        paragraph (4), sanctions imposed under subsection (a)(1) shall 
        apply with respect to each financial transaction conducted or 
        facilitated by a foreign financial institution on or after the 
        date of the enactment of this Act for the purchase of petroleum 
        or petroleum products from Russia if the President determines 
        pursuant to paragraph (2) that there is a sufficient supply of 
        petroleum and petroleum products from countries other than 
        Russia to permit a significant reduction in the volume of 
        petroleum and petroleum products purchased from Russia by or 
        through foreign financial institutions.
            (4) Exception.--Sanctions imposed pursuant to subsection 
        (a) shall not apply with respect to a foreign financial 
        institution if the President determines and reports to 
        Congress, not later than 90 days after the date on which the 
        President makes the determination required by paragraph (2), 
        and every 180 days thereafter, that the country with primary 
        jurisdiction over the foreign financial institution has 
        significantly reduced its volume of crude oil purchases from 
        Russia during the period beginning on the date on which the 
        President submitted the last report with respect to the country 
        under this subparagraph.

SEC. 5. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK FINANCING FOR CERTAIN ENERGY-RELATED 
              EXPORTS.

    Section 2(b)(1) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 (12 U.S.C. 
635 (b)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(N) The Bank shall make available, from the 
                aggregate loan, guarantee, and insurance authority 
                available to the Bank, an amount to finance exports 
                directly regarding clean energy technology, energy 
                infrastructure, and production of natural resources, 
                which shall have the goal of being not less than 25 
                percent of the authorizations for each fiscal year. It 
                shall be a goal of the Bank to maximize the amount 
                financed in cases in which an international strategic 
                competitor is likely competing against a United States 
                exporter for a contract dealing with energy technology 
                or natural resources, or in cases in which a United 
                States exporter is capable of fulfilling such a 
                contract in a way that would produce lesser 
                environmentally harmful emissions. The Bank shall 
                report to Congress annually as to its progress in 
                meeting these goals.''.
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