The House approved legislation Monday to create a State Department energy diplomacy bureau akin to an office dismantled last year by the Trump administration.
Lawmakers approved an amended version of H.R. 7037, the “Developing Overseas Mineral Investments and New Allied Networks for Critical Energies (DOMINANCE) Act,” from Reps. Young Kim (R-Calif.) and Ami Bera (D-Calif.). It passed by voice vote.
The legislation would create a Bureau of Energy Security and Diplomacy to be led by a Senate-confirmed assistant secretary. It would help the U.S. deal with international energy events like the Iran conflict, Bera said.
The administration scrapped a similar office — the Bureau of Energy Resources — and folded its work into an economics and business affairs section at the department. That office helped connect U.S. exporters of domestic oil, gas and renewable energy technology to buyers overseas.
