Clean Energy Victory Bond Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3886 To direct the Secretary of the Treasury to issue Clean Energy Victory Bonds. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 15, 2021 Ms. LOFGREN (for herself and Ms. MATSUI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addi- tion to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To direct the Secretary of the Treasury to issue Clean Energy Victory Bonds. 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 ‘‘Clean Energy Victory 4 Bond Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:41 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3886.IH H3886 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3886 IH (1) Potential exists for increasing clean and re- 1 newable energy production and energy efficiency in- 2 stallation in the United States. 3 (2) Other nations, including China and Ger- 4 many, are ahead of the United States in manufac- 5 turing and deploying various clean energy tech- 6 nologies, even though many of these technologies 7 were invented in the United States. 8 (3) Climate change represents an existential 9 threat to the safety, security, and economy of the 10 United States. Rapid and robust deployment of 11 clean energy will reduce greenhouse gas emissions 12 and mitigate the effects of climate change on Amer- 13 ican society. 14 (4) Many segments of the American public 15 want to take charge of efforts to combat the effects 16 of climate change and practice responsible consumer 17 behavior. 18 (5) The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renew- 19 able Energy of the Department of Energy (referred 20 to in this section as the ‘‘EERE’’) estimates that 21 taxpayer investment of $12,000,000,000 into the 22 EERE research and development portfolio has al- 23 ready yielded an estimated net economic benefit to 24 the United States of more than $230,000,000,000, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:41 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3886.IH H3886 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3886 IH with an overall annual return on investment of more 1 than 20 percent. 2 (6) Investments in renewable energy and energy 3 efficiency projects in the United States create green 4 jobs throughout the Nation. New and innovative jobs 5 could be created through expanded government sup- 6 port for clean energy and energy efficiency. 7 (7) As Americans choose energy efficiency and 8 clean energy and transportation, it reduces our de- 9 pendence on foreign oil and improves our energy se- 10 curity. 11 (8) Bonds are a low-cost method for encour- 12 aging clean energy, as they do not require direct 13 budget allocations or expenditures. The projects sup- 14 ported through Clean Energy Victory Bonds will cre- 15 ate jobs and business revenues that will increase 16 Federal tax revenues, while simultaneously reducing 17 nationwide health and environmental costs incurred 18 by the Federal Government. 19 (9) Bonds are voluntary measures that allow 20 Americans to contribute financially in whatever 21 amount is available to them. 22 (10) During World War II, over 80 percent of 23 American households purchased Victory Bonds to 24 support the war effort, raising over 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:41 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3886.IH H3886 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3886 IH $185,000,000,000, or over $2,000,000,000,000 in 1 today’s dollars. 2 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 3 For purposes of this Act: 4 (1) CLEAN ENERGY PROJECT.—The term 5 ‘‘clean energy project’’ means a technology that pro- 6 vides— 7 (A) performance-based energy efficiency 8 improvements; or 9 (B) clean energy improvements, includ- 10 ing— 11 (i) electricity generated from solar, 12 wind, geothermal, small-scale hydropower, 13 and hydrokinetic energy sources; 14 (ii) fuel cells using non-fossil fuel 15 sources; 16 (iii) advanced storage technologies; 17 and 18 (iv) electric vehicle infrastructure. 19 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 20 the Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary’s del- 21 egate. 22 SEC. 4. CLEAN ENERGY VICTORY BONDS. 23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 24 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in con- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:41 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3886.IH H3886 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3886 IH sultation with the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary 1 of Defense, shall issue bonds to be known as ‘‘Clean En- 2 ergy Victory Bonds’’, the proceeds from which shall be 3 used to carry out the purposes described in section 4 9512(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as added 5 by section 5). 6 (b) SAVINGS BOND.—Any Clean Energy Victory 7 Bond issued under this section shall be issued by the Sec- 8 retary— 9 (1) as a savings bond of series EE, or as ad- 10 ministered by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service of 11 the Department of the Treasury, in a manner con- 12 sistent with the provisions of section 3105 of title 13 31, United States Code; and 14 (2) in denominations of $25 and such other 15 amounts as are determined appropriate by the Sec- 16 retary, and shall mature within such periods as de- 17 termined by the Secretary. 18 (c) AMOUNT OF CLEAN ENERGY VICTORY BONDS.— 19 The aggregate face amount of the Clean Energy Victory 20 Bonds issued annually under this section shall be not 21 greater than $50,000,000,000. 22 (d) INTEREST.—Clean Energy Victory Bonds shall 23 bear interest at the rate the Secretary sets for Savings 24 Bonds of Series EE and Series I, plus a rate of return 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:41 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3886.IH H3886 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3886 IH determined by the Secretary which is based on the valu- 1 ation of— 2 (1) savings achieved through reduced energy 3 spending by the Federal Government resulting from 4 clean energy projects funded from the proceeds of 5 such bonds; and 6 (2) interest collected on loans financed or guar- 7 anteed from the proceeds of such bonds. 8 (e) FULL FAITH AND CREDIT.—Payment of interest 9 and principal with respect to any Clean Energy Victory 10 Bond issued under this section shall be made from the 11 general fund of the Treasury of the United States and 12 shall be backed by the full faith and credit of the United 13 States. 14 (f) PROMOTION.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall take 16 such actions, independently and in conjunction with 17 financial institutions offering Clean Energy Victory 18 Bonds, to promote the purchase of Clean Energy 19 Victory Bonds, including campaigns describing the 20 financial and social benefits of purchasing Clean En- 21 ergy Victory Bonds. 22 (2) PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES.—For purposes 23 of paragraph (1), promotional activities may include 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:41 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3886.IH H3886 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3886 IH advertisements, pamphlets, or other promotional ma- 1 terials— 2 (A) in periodicals; 3 (B) on billboards and other outdoor 4 venues; 5 (C) on television; 6 (D) on radio; 7 (E) on the internet; 8 (F) within financial institutions; or 9 (G) any other venues or outlets the Sec- 10 retary may identify. 11 SEC. 5. CLEAN ENERGY VICTORY BONDS TRUST FUND. 12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter A of chapter 98 of the 13 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at 14 the end the following new section: 15 ‘‘SEC. 9512. CLEAN ENERGY VICTORY BONDS TRUST FUND. 16 ‘‘(a) CREATION OF TRUST FUND.—There is estab- 17 lished in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund 18 to be known as the ‘Clean Energy Victory Bonds Trust 19 Fund’, consisting of such amounts as may be apportioned 20 or credited to such Trust Fund as provided in this section 21 or section 9602(b). 22 ‘‘(b) TRANSFERS TO TRUST FUND.—There are here- 23 by appropriated to the Trust Fund— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:41 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3886.IH H3886 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3886 IH ‘‘(1) amounts equivalent to revenue from the 1 issuance of Clean Energy Victory Bonds under sec- 2 tion 4 of the Clean Energy Victory Bond Act of 3 2021, and 4 ‘‘(2) any gifts or bequests made to the Trust 5 Fund which are accepted by the Secretary for the 6 benefit of such Fund or any activity financed 7 through such Fund. 8 ‘‘(c) EXPENDITURES FROM TRUST FUND.—Amounts 9 in the Trust Fund shall be available, without further ap- 10 propriation, to finance clean energy projects (as defined 11 in section 3 of the Clean Energy Victory Bond Act of 12 2021) at the Federal, State, and local level, which may 13 include— 14 ‘‘(1) providing additional support to existing 15 Federal financing programs available to States for 16 energy efficiency upgrades and clean energy deploy- 17 ment, 18 ‘‘(2) providing funding for clean energy invest- 19 ments by all Federal agencies, 20 ‘‘(3) providing funding for electric grid en- 21 hancements and connections that enable clean en- 22 ergy deployment, 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:41 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3886.IH H3886 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3886 IH ‘‘(4) providing funding to renovate existing inef- 1 ficient buildings or building new energy efficient 2 buildings, 3 ‘‘(5) providing tax incentives and tax credits for 4 clean energy technologies, 5 ‘‘(6) providing funding for new innovation re- 6 search, including ARPA–E, public competitions simi- 7 lar to those designed by the X Prize Foundation, 8 grants provided through the Office of Energy Effi- 9 ciency and Renewable Energy of the Department of 10 Energy, or other mechanisms to fund revolutionary 11 clean energy technology, 12 ‘‘(7) providing additional support to existing 13 Federal, State, and local grant programs that fi- 14 nance clean energy projects, and 15 ‘‘(8) providing funding for zero-emission vehicle 16 infrastructure and manufacturing. 17 ‘‘(d) PROJECT PRIORITY.— 18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ensure 19 that not less than 40 percent of the amounts ex- 20 pended under subsection (c) in each year are ex- 21 pended for clean energy projects which are located 22 in and reduce energy rates in disadvantaged and vul- 23 nerable communities. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:41 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3886.IH H3886 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3886 IH ‘‘(2) DISADVANTAGED AND VULNERABLE COM- 1 MUNITIES.—For purposes of paragraph (1), the 2 term ‘disadvantaged and vulnerable communities’ 3 means communities— 4 ‘‘(A) which bear disproportionate burdens 5 of negative public health effects, environmental 6 pollution, or impacts of climate change, 7 ‘‘(B) have significant representation of 8 people of color, low-wealth individuals, or Tribal 9 and Indigenous members, or 10 ‘‘(C) which have a high concentration of 11 low- and moderate-income households as com- 12 pared to other communities, 13 as determined by the Secretary.’’. 14 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 15 for subchapter A of chapter 98 of such Code is amended 16 by adding at the end the following new item: 17 ‘‘Sec. 9512. Clean Energy Victory Bonds Trust Fund.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:41 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3886.IH H3886 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS