[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 124 (Tuesday, July 26, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H7091-H7092]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 COST-SHARE ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2022

  Mr. BEYER. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 6933) to amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to require 
reporting relating to certain cost-share requirements.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 6933

       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 ``Cost-Share Accountability 
     Act of 2022''.

     SEC. 2. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

       Section 988 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 
     16352) is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(g) Reporting.--Not later than 120 days after the 
     enactment of the Cost-Share Accountability Act of 2022, and 
     at least quarterly thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to 
     the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and Committee 
     on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the 
     Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the Committee 
     on Appropriations of the Senate, and shall make publicly 
     available, a report on the use by the Department during the 
     period covered by the report of the authority to reduce or 
     eliminate cost-sharing requirements provided by subsections 
     (b)(3) or (c)(2).''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Beyer) and the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Lucas) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BEYER. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on H.R. 6933, the bill now under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BEYER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today to support H.R. 6933, the Cost-Share 
Accountability Act of 2022. Many of the clean-energy technologies 
deployed throughout the Nation today have benefited from financial 
support from the Department of Energy. The Cost-Share Accountability 
Act of 2022 would strengthen reporting requirements related to certain 
cost-share requirements at the Department of Energy. Better reporting 
on financial assistance will help us ensure that taxpayer dollars are 
being spent wisely.
  Madam Speaker, I thank Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee 
Ranking Member Obernolte and Chairman Foster for their work on this 
important legislation, and I urge adoption of H.R. 6933.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LUCAS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6933, the Cost-Share 
Accountability Act of 2022.
  As the ranking member of the House Science Committee, I am proud of 
the work my colleagues and I have done to support innovative research, 
development, demonstration, and commercial application activities for 
the Department of Energy.
  To give just a few examples, last summer, the full House passed H.R. 
3593, our comprehensive reauthorization of the Office of Science. 
Additionally, the committee passed bipartisan legislation authorizing 
cutting-edge R&D activities across a variety of

[[Page H7092]]

fields such as biomanufacturing, abandoned well remediation, 
microelectronics, and low-emissions manufacturing.
  However, directing the Department to conduct these activities is only 
a part of our job. Congress must be an active partner for the 
Department of Energy in ensuring we get the best return on our Federal 
research and development investments. This legislation institutes a 
basic, commonsense reporting requirement that facilitates congressional 
oversight of the Department of Energy's financial awards.
  As a bit of background, for each research, development, 
demonstration, or commercial application award the Department of Energy 
issues, it must require that a non-Federal source pay a certain 
percentage of the cost of the project. However, the Department has the 
authority to reduce or eliminate this requirement under certain 
circumstances and fund a larger percentage of the project's cost.
  This authority to modify these cost-share requirements is useful for 
supporting the development of novel technologies and encouraging new 
potential partner organizations to compete for awards. However, the 
Department must wield this authority carefully and be a responsible 
steward of the taxpayers' dollars.
  The Cost-Share Accountability Act of 2022 requires the Department to 
submit quarterly reports to Congress on the use of its authority to 
modify or eliminate the statutory cost-share requirement for research, 
development, demonstration, and commercial application activities that 
it funds. This legislation requires the Department to make these 
reports public, increasing public awareness and transparency regarding 
the Department's funding decisions.
  The reports will be an important tool for Congress in monitoring the 
Department's energy technology programs and holding it accountable for 
its fiscal decisions. Additionally, these reports can inform future 
legislation on research and development programs and any potential 
adjustments to the cost-share requirements.
  This basic reporting requirement in no way impedes the Department's 
ability to continue to use its authority to waive the cost-share 
requirement. Again, it simply provides Congress and the public with 
more data on how and when the Department exercises its authority.
  Madam Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to support this simple 
reporting requirement, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BEYER. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LUCAS. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Obernolte).
  Mr. OBERNOLTE. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Oklahoma 
(Mr. Lucas), my friend and colleague, for yielding time.
  Research and development grants from the Department of Energy play a 
vital role in catalyzing the development of new energy technology in 
the United States. The awarding of those grants is governed by the 
Energy Policy Act of 2005.
  Among other things, the act requires the DOE to impose a cost-sharing 
requirement on non-Federal applicants for those grants. This is very 
appropriate because it gives the grant applicants some skin in the 
game, some financial participation of their own.
  These cost-sharing requirements can be as low as 20 percent with 
respect to research and development grants and as high as 50 percent 
for grants like commercialization or demonstration projects.
  As the gentleman from Oklahoma said, the DOE is empowered to, in 
appropriate circumstances, waive those cost-sharing requirements.
  Several months ago, the SST Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee 
had a hearing in which we examined some of the circumstances under 
which that discretion to waive or reduce cost-sharing had been applied 
by the DOE.
  Now, to be clear, we actually concluded that the DOE had 
appropriately used its authority in these circumstances. However, we 
were very surprised by the lack of transparency in this process and how 
difficult it was to obtain the information about how often the DOE was 
using this authority and under what circumstances.

  This bill is a very simple answer to that difficulty and a solution 
to this problem. H.R. 6933, the Cost-Share Accountability Act of 2022, 
will impose a reporting requirement on the DOE in which it will be 
required quarterly to make reports to both the relevant committees of 
jurisdiction in the House and the Senate on the number of occasions and 
the circumstances in which it wielded this authority to reduce or 
eliminate cost-shares in grants that it awards.
  This will allow us here in Congress to better fulfill our oversight 
responsibilities toward the Department of Energy.
  Also, and equally importantly, it will provide transparency to the 
applicants for these grants under what circumstances it is appropriate 
for the DOE to waive these cost-sharing requirements.
  This is a basic good-governance bill, and I urge my colleagues to 
support it. I thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Foster), my friend 
and colleague, for being my bipartisan co-lead on this legislation.
  Mr. BEYER. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LUCAS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  The Cost-Share Accountability Act of 2022 institutes a simple 
reporting requirement to assist Congress in monitoring the Department 
of Energy's financial awards under its research, development, 
demonstration, and commercial applications programs.
  The reports required by this bill will provide valuable information 
to Congress on how the Department administers the statutory cost-share 
requirement. They will also assist Congress in fulfilling its 
responsibilities to oversee our Federal agencies' use of taxpayers' 
resources.
  This legislation is a simple improvement to support accounting at the 
Department of Energy for its spending decisions and helps maximize the 
value of our R&D dollars.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BEYER. Madam Speaker, I also urge my colleagues to support H.R. 
6933, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Beyer) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 6933.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. TIFFANY. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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