,,ii #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #cede ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,december #ag1 #bjbe,mr4 ,markey 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,warren1 ,mr4 ,wyden1 ,mr4 ,merkley1 and ,mr4 ,sanders7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,banking1 ,housing1 and ,urban ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,energy ,policy and ,conservation ,act to ban the export of natural gas produced in the ,united ,states1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,lowering ,american ,energy ,costs ,act of #bjbe4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds that-- 7#a7 the ,federal ,government has repeatedly found that natural gas exports lead to increased domestic gas and electricity prices1 as evidenced by-- 7,a7 a ,november #bjbe analysis by the ,energy ,information ,administration1 which predicts that natural gas prices in #bjbf will be #af percent higher than in #bjbe due to increased liquefied natural gas 7referred to in this section as ,,lng7 exports2 7,b7 a ,december #bjbd study by the ,department of ,energy1 which determined that-- 7i7 unconstrained exports of ,united ,states ,,lng are projected to increase wholesale domestic natural gas prices by #ca percent by #bjej1 not accounting for the additional price impact of ,,lng exports on natural gas price volatility2 7ii7 volatility in the global natural gas market will further increase costs on domestic consumers and industry as ,united ,states natural gas exports increase2 7iii7 ,united ,states households will pay up to an additional #abb per year on average in higher natural gas and electricity costs by #bjej2 and 7iv7 the ,united ,states industrial sector will pay an additional #abe1jjj1jjj1jjj in higher energy costs by #bjej as a result of rising ,united ,states ,,lng exports2 7,c7 a ,january #bjbd report from the ,energy ,information ,administration1 which found that1 in the ,united ,states1 the price of natural gas is the most important driver of wholesale electricity prices because natural gas is often the highest-cost fuel for electricity generation2 7,d7 a #bjah study by the ,department of ,energy1 which found that producing incremental natural gas volumes to support natural gas exports will increase the marginal cost of supplying natural gas and therefore raise domestic natural gas prices42 and 7,e7 a #bjab study by the ,energy ,information ,administration1 which found that increased natural gas exports lead to increased natural gas prices4 and that larger export levels lead to larger domestic price increases1 while rapid increases in export levels lead to large initial price increases42 7#b7 according to research by ,public ,citizen1 from ,january #bjbe through ,september #bjbe1 households in the ,united ,states paid #ab1jjj1jjj1jjj more for natural gas than from the same period in #bjbd1 a #bb percent price increase that translates to a roughly #abd price hike for the average household2 7#c7 according to the ,institute for ,energy ,economics and ,financial ,analysis1 surging ,united ,states ,,lng exports from ,september #bjba to ,december #bjbb led to the sharpest rise of wholesale gas prices in over a decade1 costing domestic consumers #aaa1jjj1jjj1jjj in higher energy bills2 7#d7 the ,united ,states is already the largest producer of natural gas and largest exporter of ,,lng in the world1 and continues to set records for ,,lng exports1 including that-- 7,a7 in #bjbe1 the ,united ,states had multiple record-setting months for ,,lng exports2 and 7,b7 in ,october #bjbe1 the ,united ,states became the first country in the world to surpass #aj1jjj1jjj metric tons worth of ,,lng exports in a single month2 7#e7 natural gas is primarily composed of methane1 which is a dangerous greenhouse gas and the second-largest contributor to atmospheric warming2 and 7#f7 natural gas infrastructure1 including pipelines and ,,lng terminals1 lead to significant negative health outcomes for communities surrounding the pipelines and terminals1 which is compounded by the fact that new natural gas infrastructure is disproportionately sited in communities that already have polluting infrastructure4 #c4 ,domestic use of energy supplies and related materials and equipment 7a7 ,in general ,the ,energy ,policy and ,conservation ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #fbja et seq47 is amended by inserting after section #aja the following3 #ajb4 ,domestic use of energy supplies and related materials and equipment 7a7 ,export restrictions ,the ,president1 by rule1 under such terms and conditions as the ,president determines to be appropriate and necessary to carry out the purposes of this ,act1 shall restrict exports of natural gas for the purpose of keeping domestic energy costs low4 7b7 ,prohibition of export of natural gas 7#a7 ,rule ,subject to paragraph 7#b71 the ,president shall exercise the authority provided under subsection 7a7 to promulgate a rule prohibiting the export of natural gas produced in the ,united ,states4 7#b7 ,exemptions 7,a7 ,in general ,in accordance with subparagraph 7,a71 the ,president may exempt from a prohibition on the export natural gas under paragraph 7#a7 any natural gas exports that the ,president determines-- 7i7 to be consistent with the national interest and will not unreasonably raise costs for residential consumers2 or 7ii7 to be critical for the national security of-- 7,i7 the ,united ,states2 or 7,,ii7 a country that is a strategic international partner or ally of the ,united ,states4 7,b7 ,congressional approval ,before any exemption issued by the ,president may go into effect1 the exemption must be approved by a joint resolution of ,congress4 4 7b7 ,clerical and conforming amendments 7#a7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of contents for the ,energy ,policy and ,conservation ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 prec4 #fbja7 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section #aja the following3 #ajb4 ,domestic use of energy supplies and related materials and equipment4 4 7#b7 ,conforming amendment ,section #aja of division ,o of the ,consolidated ,appropriations ,act1 #bjaf 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #fbab;a71 is amended by striking subsections 7b7 through 7d74