Open Back Better Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1485 To provide additional funds for Federal and State facility energy resiliency programs, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 2, 2021 Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To provide additional funds for Federal and State facility energy resiliency programs, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Open Back Better Act 4 of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. FACILITIES ENERGY RESILIENCY. 6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 7 (1) COVERED PROJECT.—The term ‘‘covered 8 project’’ means a building project at an eligible facil- 9 ity that— 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:30 Apr 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1485.IH H1485 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1485 IH (A) increases— 1 (i) resiliency, including— 2 (I) public health and safety; 3 (II) power outages; 4 (III) natural disasters; 5 (IV) indoor air quality; and 6 (V) any modifications neces- 7 sitated by the COVID–19 pandemic; 8 (ii) energy efficiency; 9 (iii) renewable energy; and 10 (iv) grid integration; and 11 (B) may have combined heat and power 12 and energy storage as project components. 13 (2) EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PRO- 14 GRAM.—The term ‘‘early childhood education pro- 15 gram’’ has the meaning given the term in section 16 103 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 17 U.S.C. 1003). 18 (3) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘elemen- 19 tary school’’ has the meaning given the term in sec- 20 tion 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 21 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 22 (4) ELIGIBLE FACILITY.—The term ‘‘eligible fa- 23 cility’’ means a public facility, as determined by the 24 Secretary, including— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:30 Apr 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1485.IH H1485 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1485 IH (A) a public school, including an elemen- 1 tary school and a secondary school; 2 (B) a facility used to operate an early 3 childhood education program; 4 (C) a local educational agency; 5 (D) a medical facility; 6 (E) a local or State government building; 7 (F) a community facility; 8 (G) a public safety facility; 9 (H) a day care center; 10 (I) an institution of higher education; 11 (J) a public library; and 12 (K) a wastewater treatment facility. 13 (5) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITY.— 14 The term ‘‘environmental justice community’’ means 15 a community with significant representation of com- 16 munities of color, low income communities, or Tribal 17 and indigenous communities, that experiences, or is 18 at risk of experiencing, higher or more adverse 19 human health or environmental effects. 20 (6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 21 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 22 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 23 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:30 Apr 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1485.IH H1485 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1485 IH (7) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 1 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 2 the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec- 3 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 4 (8) LOW INCOME.—The term ‘‘low income’’, 5 with respect to a household, means an annual house- 6 hold income equal to, or less than, the greater of— 7 (A) 80 percent of the median income of the 8 area in which the household is located, as re- 9 ported by the Department of Housing and 10 Urban Development; and 11 (B) 200 percent of the Federal poverty 12 line. 13 (9) LOW INCOME COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘low 14 income community’’ means a census block group in 15 which not less than 30 percent of households are low 16 income. 17 (10) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec- 18 ondary school’’ has the meaning given the term in 19 section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 20 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 21 (11) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 22 means the Secretary of Energy. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:30 Apr 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1485.IH H1485 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1485 IH (12) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean- 1 ing given the term in section 3 of the Energy Policy 2 and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6202). 3 (13) STATE ENERGY PROGRAM.—The term 4 ‘‘State Energy Program’’ means the State Energy 5 Program established under part D of title III of the 6 Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 7 6321 et seq.). 8 (14) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.— 9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘tribal orga- 10 nization’’ has the meaning given the term in 11 section 3765 of title 38, United States Code. 12 (B) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 13 3765(4) of title 38, United States Code, is 14 amended by striking ‘‘section 4(l) of the Indian 15 Self-Determination and Education Assistance 16 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(l))’’ and inserting ‘‘section 17 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu- 18 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)’’. 19 (b) STATE PROGRAMS.— 20 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 60 days 21 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 22 retary shall distribute grants to States under the 23 State Energy Program, in accordance with the allo- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:30 Apr 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1485.IH H1485 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1485 IH cation formula established under that Program, to 1 implement covered projects. 2 (2) USE OF FUNDS.— 3 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara- 4 graph (B), grant funds under paragraph (1) 5 may be used for technical assistance, project fa- 6 cilitation, and administration. 7 (B) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—A State 8 may use not more than 10 percent of grant 9 funds received under paragraph (1) to provide 10 technical assistance for the development, facili- 11 tation, management, oversight, and measure- 12 ment of results of covered projects implemented 13 using those funds. 14 (C) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND OTHER 15 COMMUNITIES.—To support communities ad- 16 versely impacted by the COVID–19 pandemic, a 17 State shall use not less than 40 percent of 18 grant funds received under paragraph (1) to 19 implement covered projects in environmental 20 justice communities or low income communities. 21 (D) PRIVATE FINANCING.—A State receiv- 22 ing a grant under paragraph (1) shall— 23 (i) to the extent practicable, leverage 24 private financing for cost-effective energy 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:30 Apr 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1485.IH H1485 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1485 IH efficiency, renewable energy, resiliency, and 1 other smart-building improvements, such 2 as by entering into an energy service per- 3 formance contract; but 4 (ii) maintain the use of grant funds to 5 carry out covered projects with more 6 project resiliency, public health, and cap- 7 ital-intensive efficiency and emission reduc- 8 tion components than are typically avail- 9 able through private energy service per- 10 formance contracts. 11 (E) GUIDANCE.—In carrying out a covered 12 project using grant funds received under para- 13 graph (1), a State shall, to the extent prac- 14 ticable, adhere to guidance developed by the 15 Secretary pursuant to the American Recovery 16 and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 17 111–5; 123 Stat. 115) relating to distribution 18 of funds, if that guidance will speed the dis- 19 tribution of funds under this subsection. 20 (3) NO MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—Notwith- 21 standing any other provision of law, a State receiv- 22 ing a grant under paragraph (1) shall not be re- 23 quired to provide any amount of matching funding. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:30 Apr 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1485.IH H1485 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1485 IH (4) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 1 date on which grants are distributed under para- 2 graph (1), and each year thereafter until the funds 3 appropriated pursuant to paragraph (5) are no 4 longer available, the Secretary shall submit a report 5 on the use of those funds (including in the commu- 6 nities described in paragraph (2)(C)) to— 7 (A) the Subcommittee on Energy and 8 Water Development of the Committee on Ap- 9 propriations of the Senate; 10 (B) the Subcommittee on Energy and 11 Water Development and Related Agencies of 12 the Committee on Appropriations of the House 13 of Representatives; 14 (C) the Committee on Energy and Natural 15 Resources of the Senate; and 16 (D) the Committee on Energy and Com- 17 merce of the House of Representatives. 18 (5) FUNDING.—In addition to any amounts 19 made available to the Secretary to carry out the 20 State Energy Program, there is authorized to be ap- 21 propriated to the Secretary $18,000,000,000 to 22 carry out this subsection, to remain available until 23 September 30, 2026. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:30 Apr 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1485.IH H1485 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1485 IH (6) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Funds 1 made available under paragraph (5) shall supple- 2 ment, not supplant, any other funds made available 3 to States for the State Energy Program or the 4 weatherization assistance program established under 5 part A of title IV of the Energy Conservation and 6 Production Act (42 U.S.C. 6861 et seq.). 7 (c) FEDERAL ENERGY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning 60 days after the 9 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 10 use funds appropriated pursuant to paragraph (4) to 11 provide grants under the AFFECT program under 12 the Federal Energy Management Program of the 13 Department of Energy to implement covered 14 projects. 15 (2) PRIVATE FINANCING.—A recipient of a 16 grant under paragraph (1) shall— 17 (A) to the extent practicable, leverage pri- 18 vate financing for cost-effective energy effi- 19 ciency, renewable energy, resiliency, and other 20 smart-building improvements, such as by enter- 21 ing into an energy service performance contract; 22 but 23 (B) maintain the use of grant funds to 24 carry out covered projects with more project re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:30 Apr 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1485.IH H1485 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1485 IH siliency, public health, and capital-intensive effi- 1 ciency and emission reduction components than 2 are typically available through private energy 3 service performance contracts. 4 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 5 date on which grants are distributed under para- 6 graph (1), and each year thereafter until funds ap- 7 propriated pursuant to paragraph (4) are no longer 8 available, the Secretary shall submit a report on the 9 use of those funds to— 10 (A) the Subcommittee on Energy and 11 Water Development of the Committee on Ap- 12 propriations of the Senate; 13 (B) the Subcommittee on Energy and 14 Water Development and Related Agencies of 15 the Committee on Appropriations of the House 16 of Representatives; 17 (C) the Committee on Energy and Natural 18 Resources of the Senate; and 19 (D) the Committee on Energy and Com- 20 merce of the House of Representatives. 21 (4) FUNDING.—In addition to any amounts 22 made available to the Secretary to carry out the AF- 23 FECT program described in paragraph (1), there is 24 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:30 Apr 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1485.IH H1485 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1485 IH $500,000,000 to carry out this subsection, to remain 1 available until September 30, 2026. 2 (d) TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 4 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, act- 5 ing through the head of the Office of Indian Energy, 6 shall distribute funds made available under para- 7 graph (3) to tribal organizations to implement cov- 8 ered projects. 9 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 10 date on which funds are distributed under para- 11 graph (1), and each year thereafter until the funds 12 made available under paragraph (3) are no longer 13 available, the Secretary shall submit a report on the 14 use of those funds to— 15 (A) the Subcommittee on Energy and 16 Water Development of the Committee on Ap- 17 propriations of the Senate; 18 (B) the Subcommittee on Energy and 19 Water Development and Related Agencies of 20 the Committee on Appropriations of the House 21 of Representatives; 22 (C) the Committee on Energy and Natural 23 Resources of the Senate; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:30 Apr 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1485.IH H1485 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1485 IH (D) the Committee on Energy and Com- 1 merce of the House of Representatives. 2 (3) FUNDING.—There is authorized to be ap- 3 propriated to the Secretary $1,500,000,000 to carry 4 out this subsection, to remain available until Sep- 5 tember 30, 2026. 6 (e) USE OF AMERICAN IRON, STEEL, AND MANUFAC- 7 TURED GOODS.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- 9 graph (2), none of the funds made available by or 10 pursuant to this section may be used for a covered 11 project unless all of the iron, steel, and manufac- 12 tured goods used in the project are produced in the 13 United States. 14 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—The requirement under 15 paragraph (1) shall be waived by the head of the rel- 16 evant Federal department or agency in any case or 17 category of cases in which the head of the relevant 18 Federal department or agency determines that— 19 (A) adhering to that requirement would be 20 inconsistent with the public interest; 21 (B) the iron, steel, and manufactured 22 goods needed for the project are not produced 23 in the United States— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:30 Apr 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1485.IH H1485 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 1485 IH (i) in sufficient and reasonably avail- 1 able quantities; and 2 (ii) in a satisfactory quality; or 3 (C) the inclusion of iron, steel, and rel- 4 evant manufactured goods produced in the 5 United States would increase the overall cost of 6 the project by more than 25 percent. 7 (3) WAIVER PUBLICATION.—If the head of a 8 Federal department or agency makes a determina- 9 tion under paragraph (2) to waive the requirement 10 under paragraph (1), the head o [Text truncated for display. 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