Bipartisan Bill Would Equate NATO Members and Japan as FTA Nations for Gas Exports
U.S. Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), and John Cornyn (R-TX) today introduced the “Expedited LNG for American Allies Act of 2013,” a bill which would amend the Natural Gas Act’s gas export provisions to include North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member nations and Japan as equivalent to countries with a Free Trade Agreement with the United States. Additionally, the Act would allow exports to any other nation if the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, finds that exports of natural gas to that country would promote the national security interests of the United States. Senators Mark Begich (D-AK), Tom Coburn (R-OK), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), John Hoeven (R-ND), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Mike Lee (R-UT), and David Vitter (R-LA) are also cosponsors of the bill. Read more in the press release.