[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5067 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5067

 To require the Secretary of Energy to establish a task force to study 
 and report on supply chains for local electric distribution grids in 
               the United States, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 27, 2023

 Mr. Wittman introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require the Secretary of Energy to establish a task force to study 
 and report on supply chains for local electric distribution grids in 
               the United States, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Empowering Electric Grid Reliability 
Act''.

SEC. 2. TASK FORCE STUDY AND REPORT.

    (a) Establishment of Task Force.--Not later than 3 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall establish 
a task force--
            (1) to conduct a study on supply chains for essential 
        components of local electric distribution grids, as identified 
        by the Secretary of Energy, including substation transformers 
        and equipment and downline facilities that deliver retail 
        electric energy to homes and businesses; and
            (2) to submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 
        report on such study, in accordance with this section.
    (b) Study and Report.--
            (1) Study.--The task force shall conduct a study that--
                    (A) identifies, with respect to each supply chain 
                for an essential component of a local electric 
                distribution grid, the goods and materials that are 
                essential to such supply chain;
                    (B) identifies the manufacturing or other 
                capabilities necessary to produce the goods and 
                materials identified under subparagraph (A), including 
                emerging capabilities;
                    (C) identifies, with respect to each supply chain 
                for an essential component of a local electric 
                distribution grid, the defense, intelligence, cyber, 
                homeland security, health, climate, environmental, 
                natural, market, economic, geopolitical, human-rights, 
                or forced-labor risks or other contingencies that may 
                disrupt, strain, compromise, or eliminate such supply 
                chain and that are sufficiently likely to arise so as 
                to require reasonable preparation for their occurrence, 
                including risks--
                            (i) posed by the reliance of such supply 
                        chain on digital products that may be 
                        vulnerable to failures or exploitation; and
                            (ii) resulting from the elimination of, or 
                        failure to develop domestically, the 
                        capabilities identified under subparagraph (B);
                    (D) reviews the resilience and capacity of domestic 
                supply chains for essential components of local 
                electric distribution grids, and the industrial and 
                agricultural base of the United States, to support 
                national and economic security and emergency 
                preparedness in the event any of the contingencies 
                identified under subparagraph (C) occurs, including 
                identification and review of--
                            (i) the resilience and capacity of the 
                        manufacturing or other needed capabilities of 
                        the United States, including the ability to 
                        modernize to meet future needs;
                            (ii) gaps in domestic manufacturing 
                        capabilities, including nonexistent, extinct, 
                        threatened, or single-point-of-failure 
                        capabilities;
                            (iii) any supply chain for an essential 
                        component of a local electric distribution grid 
                        with a single point of failure, single or dual 
                        suppliers, or limited resilience, especially 
                        for subcontractors (as defined under section 
                        44.101 of title 48, Code of Federal 
                        Regulations);
                            (iv) the location of key manufacturing and 
                        production assets, with any significant risks 
                        identified under subparagraph (C) posed by the 
                        assets' physical location;
                            (v) any exclusive or dominant supply of 
                        goods and materials identified under 
                        subparagraph (A) by or through nations that 
                        are, or are likely to become, unfriendly or 
                        unstable;
                            (vi) the availability of substitutes or 
                        alternative sources for goods and materials 
                        identified under subparagraph (A);
                            (vii) current domestic education and 
                        manufacturing workforce skills for each supply 
                        chain for an essential component of a local 
                        electric distribution grid, and identified 
                        gaps, opportunities, and potential best 
                        practices in meeting the future workforce needs 
                        for such supply chain;
                            (viii) the need for research and 
                        development capacity to sustain leadership in 
                        the development of goods and materials 
                        identified under subparagraph (A); and
                            (ix) the role of transportation systems in 
                        supporting existing supply chains for essential 
                        components of local electric distribution grids 
                        and risks associated with those transportation 
                        systems;
                    (E) examines allied and partner actions regarding 
                supply chains for essential components of local 
                electric distribution grids, including with respect to 
                the goods and materials identified under subparagraph 
                (A), and possible avenues for international engagement; 
                and
                    (F) identifies a prioritization of the goods and 
                materials identified under subparagraph (A) for the 
                purpose of identifying policy recommendations that is 
                based on--
                            (i) statutory or regulatory requirements;
                            (ii) importance to national security, 
                        emergency preparedness, and strengthening the 
                        resilience of supply chains for essential 
                        components of local electric distribution 
                        grids; and
                            (iii) the review conducted pursuant to 
                        subparagraph (D).
            (2) Report.--Not later than 3 months after the task force 
        is established, the task force shall submit to the appropriate 
        congressional committees a report on the study conducted under 
        paragraph (1) that includes--
                    (A) specific policy recommendations for ensuring 
                resilient supply chains for essential components of 
                local electric distribution grids, including 
                recommendations for--
                            (i) sustainably reshoring such supply 
                        chains and developing domestic supplies for 
                        such supply chains;
                            (ii) cooperating with allies and partners 
                        to identify alternative supplies for such 
                        supply chains, including for goods and 
                        materials identified in the study under 
                        paragraph (1)(A);
                            (iii) building redundancy into domestic 
                        supply chains for essential components of local 
                        electric distribution grids;
                            (iv) ensuring and enlarging stockpiles of 
                        goods and materials identified in the study 
                        under paragraph (1)(A);
                            (v) developing workforce capabilities for 
                        producing essential components of local 
                        electric distribution grids, including goods 
                        and materials identified in the study under 
                        paragraph (1)(A);
                            (vi) expanding research and development 
                        with respect to such supply chains; and
                            (vii) addressing risks due to 
                        vulnerabilities in digital products relied on 
                        by any such supply chain;
                    (B) any recommendations for executive, legislative, 
                regulatory, and policy changes and any other actions 
                to--
                            (i) strengthen the capabilities identified 
                        in the study under paragraph (1)(B); and
                            (ii) prevent, avoid, or prepare for any of 
                        the contingencies identified in the study under 
                        paragraph (1)(C); and
                    (C) any recommendations for improving Government-
                wide efforts to strengthen supply chains for essential 
                components of local electric distribution grids, 
                including proposals for coordinating Government 
                actions.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                Transportation of the Senate;
                    (B) the Committee on Environment and Public Works 
                of the Senate;
                    (C) the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
                Pensions of the Senate;
                    (D) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 
                House of Representatives; and
                    (E) the Committee on Education and the Workforce of 
                the House of Representatives.
            (2) Supply chain.--The term ``supply chain'' includes, with 
        respect to minerals, the exploration, mining, concentration, 
        separation, alloying, recycling, and reprocessing of minerals.
            (3) Task force.--The term ``task force'' means the task 
        force established under subsection (a).
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