Energy Diplomacy Act of 2018

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5535) to amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 regarding energy diplomacy and security within the Department of State, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include any extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, as America's energy production has increased, and as Chairman Mike McCaul, the author of the measure, can tell you, our Nation's influence in global energy policy has grown.

The U.S. is now the world's top producer of petroleum. It is also the top producer of natural gas for the fifth straight year. I will add to that: The United States has become more energy efficient.

Our abundant supply of energy resources is not only good for our economy, it is also good for our national security. It offers American allies a critical alternative to countries like Russia, which use their energy resources to bully their neighbors, in the case of Vladimir Putin, and, in the case of the global oil cartel OPEC, enrich its member states at the expense of U.S. consumers.

In this moment of heightened American energy leadership, it is critical that the State Department have the leadership and direction needed to fulfill its statutory responsibilities governing international energy diplomacy.

This bill, the Energy Diplomacy Act, will elevate America's energy security and diplomacy priorities. It authorizes an Assistant Secretary for Energy Resources at the State Department. This Assistant Secretary will replace the Coordinator for International Energy Affairs, demonstrating the importance of energy issues to our foreign policy and our national interests.

The Assistant Secretary will be responsible for developing and implementing policies to advance U.S. energy interests abroad by managing our relations in petroleum, in natural gas, in biofuels, in renewable energy, and in nuclear and other energy resources.

This bill also requires the State Department to use diplomacy to support the development of U.S. energy resources to bolster our energy security, grow our economy, and support our allies.

Mr. Speaker, for years, the world's leading petroleum producers have been rigging the world market by cutting production to drive up gasoline prices, and this hurts families in places like our home States. It is in our interests to promote the availability of diversified energy supplies in a functioning global market for energy resources, technologies, and expertise. That is exactly what this bill requires.

Energy policy expertise must be more deeply integrated in our foreign policy. As a major energy producing nation, it is time we elevate this important issue within our diplomatic ranks, which is what this bill will do.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman McCaul for his work on this important measure with us today.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul), who is the chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security and a senior member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. The gentleman is the author of this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleagues, Chairman McCaul, Ranking Member Engel, and Mr. Sires, for crafting bipartisan legislation to ensure that the State Department has the leadership and the direction to support America's energy diplomacy priorities.

Working with our allies and partners in the private sector, we can counter Putin's weaponization of his energy resources and provide our allies with a stable alternative to unreliable energy suppliers whose priorities are self-enrichment and geopolitical self-interest at the expense of a functioning market.

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this bipartisan bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my legislation, the Energy Diplomacy Act. Across the globe, our friends and allies want a stable and reliable supply of American energy. America, in turn, must actively engage our friends and allies to provide alternatives to energy from rogue regimes.

Look what is happening in Europe. For over a decade, Russia has used their natural gas pipelines flowing into Eastern and Central Europe as a point of leverage over these countries. Ukraine has been most affected, with Russia turning off their natural gas supply in the winter of 2008 and during the annexation of Crimea in 2014. By twisting a knob and turning off Ukrainian heat, they were able to exert an outsized amount of influence on Ukraine.

Now, Russia's proposed Nord Stream II pipeline with Germany further threatens to expand Russia's energy influence throughout Eastern and Central Europe.

Make no mistake: Russia is a destabilizing regime that constantly exploits the vulnerabilities posed by Europe's reliance on their natural gas. The United States must be involved to curb this influence.

Over the past decade, the United States has reduced our reliance on foreign sources of energy in order to achieve energy independence. As a result, we are now exporting energy abroad, including from my home State of Texas. In fact, in 2015, I helped champion the repeal of the outdated crude oil export ban. Now, U.S. producers are finding new customers in both Asia and Europe.

That is why I authored the Energy Diplomacy Act. It elevates the Bureau of Energy Resources at the State Department. It replaces the International Energy Affairs Coordinator with an Assistant Secretary. This Assistant Secretary will carry out the State Department's functions on behalf of the United States.

It also ensures the State Department is staffed with sufficient personnel to support this mission. This will empower the State Department to promote and advance a bold U.S. energy diplomacy policy.

As energy-rich adversaries expand their malign influence and our allies continue to purchase from such states, the United States must project strong energy diplomacy now more than ever.

It is not just Russia with whom we are contending. One of Iran's main goals in negotiating their nuclear deal was to open up their energy markets to more foreign investment and to expand their oil exports globally.

Since the U.S. departed from the JCPOA, our European allies and our strategic partner India are deciding between complying with United States sanctions or ignoring them and buying Iranian oil.

We also need our diplomats on the front lines promoting reliable American energy.

These two circumstances underscore the need for an Assistant Secretary for Energy Resources to project U.S. energy diplomacy throughout the world.

I want to thank Chairman Royce for his leadership, as well as Ranking Member Engel, an original cosponsor of my bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5535.

I would like to thank Congressman McCaul, Chairman Royce, and Ranking Member Engel for their bipartisan work on this timely issue.

As it has for decades, energy will continue to play a key role in shaping United States foreign policy. But the international landscape is changing, and so are the players.

Global energy demand is set to rise 30 percent by the year 2030. This reflects an expanding global economy, rapid industrialization, population growth, urbanization, and improved energy access among developing countries.

For the United States to maintain a leading role on the global stage, the State Department must be positioned to protect and promote favorable energy policies abroad. The Energy Diplomacy Act of 2018 helps this effort by creating an Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources and requiring the State Department to employ sufficient personnel dedicated to international energy matters.

By passing this legislation, we can prepare the State Department to engage in robust energy diplomacy and encourage strong international partnerships that promote our own political, economic, environmental, and national security concerns.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, the United States has long recognized that global energy security and cooperation are necessary to advance our economic, foreign policy, and national security interests. We must work with our established friends and allies to seize the opportunities and address the challenges we face. We must also work with the emerging economies that account for an ever-increasing amount of energy consumption and production.

H.R. 5535, the Energy Diplomacy Act, takes an important step toward ensuring that the State Department has the leadership and the capacity it needs to appropriately advance this critical aspect of U.S. foreign policy.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.