Keep China Out of Solar Energy Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1062 To prohibit the procurement of solar panels manufactured or assembled in the People’s Republic of China. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 25, 2021 Mr. SCOTT of Florida (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. KEN- NEDY, Mr. COTTON, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. HAWLEY, and Mr. BARRASSO) in- troduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To prohibit the procurement of solar panels manufactured or assembled in the People’s Republic of China. 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 ‘‘Keep China Out of 4 Solar Energy Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON PROCUREMENT OF SOLAR PAN- 6 ELS FROM COVERED FOREIGN ENTITIES. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 8 date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Of- 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:57 Apr 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1062.IS S1062 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1062 IS fice of Management and Budget, in consultation with the 1 Administrator of General Services, shall develop standards 2 and guidelines for executive agencies to— 3 (1) prohibit Federal funds from being awarded 4 by contract, subcontract, grant, or subgrant for the 5 procurement of solar panels that are manufactured 6 or assembled by a covered entity; and 7 (2) prohibit the use of government-issued pur- 8 chase cards to purchase solar panels that are manu- 9 factured or assembled by a covered entity. 10 (b) AMENDMENT OF FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGU- 11 LATION.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the 12 enactment of this Act, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory 13 Council shall amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation 14 to implement the prohibition established pursuant to sub- 15 section (a)(1) with respect to Federal contracts and sub- 16 contracts. 17 SEC. 3. EXEMPTION WAIVER. 18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The head of an executive agency 19 may obtain a waiver from the prohibition implemented 20 pursuant to section 2 if the agency head certifies to the 21 Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Secu- 22 rity that the covered entity is the only viable source for 23 the solar panels and the Secretary of State and the Sec- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:57 Apr 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1062.IS S1062 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1062 IS retary of Homeland Security jointly approve the waiver 1 request. 2 (b) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The head of an agency re- 4 questing a waiver under this section shall notify the 5 Director of the Office of Management and Budget of 6 the request. The Director of the Office of Manage- 7 ment and Budget shall submit to the appropriate 8 congressional committees a quarterly report listing 9 requests listing under subsection (a), including 10 whether each such request was approved or rejected. 11 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 12 TEES.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘appropriate 13 congressional committees’’ means— 14 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 15 and the Committee on Homeland Security and 16 Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 17 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 18 the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the 19 House of Representatives. 20 SEC. 4. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT. 21 Not later than 275 days after the date of the enact- 22 ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 23 States shall submit to Congress a report on the amount 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:57 Apr 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1062.IS S1062 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1062 IS of solar panels procured by Federal departments and 1 agencies from covered entities. 2 SEC. 5. STUDY. 3 (a) INDEPENDENT STUDY.—Not later than one year 4 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director 5 of the Office of Management and Budget shall seek to 6 enter into a contract with a federally funded research and 7 development center under which the center will conduct 8 a study of— 9 (1) the current and future domestic market of 10 solar panel production; 11 (2) the ability of the solar panel domestic mar- 12 ket to keep pace with technological advancements 13 across the industry; and 14 (3) the current global supply chain and work- 15 force involved with solar panel production. 16 (b) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 30 17 days after the date on which the Director of the Office 18 of Management and Budget receives the study under sub- 19 section (b), the Director shall submit the study to— 20 (1) the Committee on Homeland Security and 21 Governmental Affairs and the Committee on Energy 22 and Natural Resources of the Senate; and 23 (2) the Committee on Homeland Security, the 24 Committee on Oversight and Reform, and the Com- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:57 Apr 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1062.IS S1062 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1062 IS mittee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 1 Representatives. 2 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 3 In this Act: 4 (1) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en- 5 tity’’ means any entity domiciled in the People’s Re- 6 public of China or subject to influence or control by 7 the Government of the People Republic of China or 8 the Communist Party of the People’s Republic of 9 China, as determined by the Secretary of Homeland 10 Security. 11 (2) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.— The term ‘‘executive 12 agency’’ has the meaning given the term in section 13 133 of title 41, United States Code. 14 (3) SOLAR PANEL.—The term ‘‘solar panel’’ 15 means crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) cells and 16 modules. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:57 Apr 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1062.IS S1062 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS