S.Amdt. 6492

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.
______