Clean Energy Victory Bond Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2261 To direct the Secretary of the Treasury to issue Clean Energy Victory Bonds. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 25, 2019 Mr. UDALL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 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 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) Potential exists for increasing clean and re- 8 newable energy production and energy efficiency in- 9 stallation in the United States. 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jul 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2261.IS S2261 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2261 IS (2) Other nations, including China and Ger- 1 many, are ahead of the United States in manufac- 2 turing and deploying various clean energy tech- 3 nologies, even though many of these technologies 4 were invented in the United States. 5 (3) Climate change represents an existential 6 threat to the safety, security, and economy of the 7 United States. Rapid and robust deployment of 8 clean energy will reduce greenhouse gas emissions 9 and mitigate the effects of climate change on Amer- 10 ican society. 11 (4) Many segments of the American public 12 want to take charge of efforts to combat the effects 13 of climate change and practice responsible consumer 14 behavior. 15 (5) The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renew- 16 able Energy of the Department of Energy (referred 17 to in this section as the ‘‘EERE’’) estimates that 18 taxpayer investment of $12,000,000,000 into the 19 EERE research and development portfolio has al- 20 ready yielded an estimated net economic benefit to 21 the United States of more than $230,000,000,000, 22 with an overall annual return on investment of more 23 than 20 percent. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jul 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2261.IS S2261 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2261 IS (6) Investments in renewable energy and energy 1 efficiency projects in the United States create green 2 jobs throughout the Nation. New and innovative jobs 3 could be created through expanded government sup- 4 port for clean energy and energy efficiency. 5 (7) As Americans choose energy efficiency and 6 clean energy and transportation, it reduces our de- 7 pendence on foreign oil and improves our energy se- 8 curity. 9 (8) Bonds are a low-cost method for encour- 10 aging clean energy, as they do not require direct 11 budget allocations or expenditures. The projects sup- 12 ported through Clean Energy Victory Bonds will cre- 13 ate jobs and business revenues that will increase 14 Federal tax revenues, while simultaneously reducing 15 nationwide health and environmental costs incurred 16 by the Federal Government. 17 (9) Bonds are voluntary measures that allow 18 Americans to contribute financially in whatever 19 amount is available to them. 20 (10) During World War II, over 80 percent of 21 American households purchased Victory Bonds to 22 support the war effort, raising over 23 $185,000,000,000, or over $2,000,000,000,000 in 24 today’s dollars. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jul 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2261.IS S2261 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2261 IS SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 1 For purposes of this Act: 2 (1) CLEAN ENERGY PROJECT.—The term 3 ‘‘clean energy project’’ means a technology that pro- 4 vides— 5 (A) performance-based energy efficiency 6 improvements; or 7 (B) clean energy improvements, includ- 8 ing— 9 (i) electricity generated from solar, 10 wind, geothermal, small-scale hydropower, 11 and hydrokinetic energy sources; 12 (ii) fuel cells using non-fossil fuel 13 sources; 14 (iii) advanced storage technologies; 15 (iv) next generation biofuels from sus- 16 tainable non-food feedstocks; and 17 (v) electric vehicle infrastructure. 18 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 19 the Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary’s del- 20 egate. 21 SEC. 4. CLEAN ENERGY VICTORY BONDS. 22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 23 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in con- 24 sultation with the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary 25 of Defense, shall issue bonds to be known as ‘‘Clean En- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jul 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2261.IS S2261 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2261 IS ergy Victory Bonds’’, the proceeds from which shall be 1 used to carry out the purposes described in subsection (c) 2 of section 9512 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as 3 added by section 5). 4 (b) SAVINGS BOND.—Any Clean Energy Victory 5 Bond issued under this section shall be issued by the Sec- 6 retary— 7 (1) as a savings bond of series EE, or as ad- 8 ministered by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service of 9 the Department of the Treasury, in a manner con- 10 sistent with the provisions of section 3105 of title 11 31, United States Code; and 12 (2) in denominations of $25 and such other 13 amounts as are determined appropriate by the Sec- 14 retary, and shall mature within such periods as de- 15 termined by the Secretary. 16 (c) AMOUNT OF CLEAN ENERGY VICTORY BONDS.— 17 The aggregate face amount of the Clean Energy Victory 18 Bonds issued annually under this section shall be not 19 greater than $50,000,000,000. 20 (d) INTEREST.—Clean Energy Victory Bonds shall 21 bear interest at the rate the Secretary sets for Savings 22 Bonds of Series EE and Series I, plus a rate of return 23 determined by the Secretary which is based on the valu- 24 ation of— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jul 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2261.IS S2261 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2261 IS (1) savings achieved through reduced energy 1 spending by the Federal Government resulting from 2 clean energy projects funded from the proceeds of 3 such bonds; and 4 (2) interest collected on loans financed or guar- 5 anteed from the proceeds of such bonds. 6 (e) FULL FAITH AND CREDIT.—Payment of interest 7 and principal with respect to any Clean Energy Victory 8 Bond issued under this section shall be made from the 9 general fund of the Treasury of the United States and 10 shall be backed by the full faith and credit of the United 11 States. 12 (f) PROMOTION.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall take 14 such actions, independently and in conjunction with 15 financial institutions offering Clean Energy Victory 16 Bonds, to promote the purchase of Clean Energy 17 Victory Bonds, including campaigns describing the 18 financial and social benefits of purchasing Clean En- 19 ergy Victory Bonds. 20 (2) PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES.—For purposes 21 of paragraph (1), promotional activities may include 22 advertisements, pamphlets, or other promotional ma- 23 terials— 24 (A) in periodicals; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jul 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2261.IS S2261 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 2261 IS (B) on billboards and other outdoor 1 venues; 2 (C) on television; 3 (D) on radio; 4 (E) on the internet; 5 (F) within financial institutions; or 6 (G) any other venues or outlets the Sec- 7 retary may identify. 8 SEC. 5. CLEAN ENERGY VICTORY BONDS TRUST FUND. 9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter A of chapter 98 of the 10 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at 11 the end the following new section: 12 ‘‘SEC. 9512. CLEAN ENERGY VICTORY BONDS TRUST FUND. 13 ‘‘(a) CREATION OF TRUST FUND.—There is estab- 14 lished in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund 15 to be known as the ‘Clean Energy Victory Bonds Trust 16 Fund’, consisting of such amounts as may be apportioned 17 or credited to such Trust Fund as provided in this section 18 or section 9602(b). 19 ‘‘(b) TRANSFERS TO TRUST FUND.—There are here- 20 by appropriated to the Trust Fund— 21 ‘‘(1) amounts equivalent to revenue from the 22 issuance of Clean Energy Victory Bonds under sec- 23 tion 4 of the Clean Energy Victory Bond Act of 24 2019, and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jul 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2261.IS S2261 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 2261 IS ‘‘(2) any gifts or bequests made to the Trust 1 Fund which are accepted by the Secretary for the 2 benefit of such Fund or any activity financed 3 through such Fund. 4 ‘‘(c) EXPENDITURES FROM TRUST FUND.—Amounts 5 in the Trust Fund shall be available, without further ap- 6 propriation, to finance clean energy projects (as defined 7 in section 3 of the Clean Energy Victory Bond Act of 8 2019) at the Federal, State, and local level, which may 9 include— 10 ‘‘(1) providing additional support to existing 11 Federal financing programs available to States for 12 energy efficiency upgrades and clean energy deploy- 13 ment, 14 ‘‘(2) providing funding for clean energy invest- 15 ments by all Federal agencies, 16 ‘‘(3) providing funding for electric grid en- 17 hancements and connections that enable clean en- 18 ergy deployment, 19 ‘‘(4) providing funding to renovate existing inef- 20 ficient buildings or building new energy efficient 21 buildings, 22 ‘‘(5) providing tax incentives and tax credits for 23 clean energy technologies, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jul 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2261.IS S2261 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 2261 IS ‘‘(6) providing funding for new innovation re- 1 search, including ARPA–E, public competitions simi- 2 lar to those designed by the X Prize Foundation, 3 grants provided through the Office of Energy Effi- 4 ciency and Renewable Energy of the Department of 5 Energy, or other mechanisms to fund revolutionary 6 clean energy technology, 7 ‘‘(7) providing additional support to existing 8 Federal, State, and local grant programs that fi- 9 nance clean energy projects, and 10 ‘‘(8) providing funding for zero-emission vehicle 11 infrastructure and manufacturing.’’. 12 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 13 for subchapter A of chapter 98 of such Code is amended 14 by adding at the end the following new item: 15 ‘‘Sec. 9512. Clean Energy Victory Bonds Trust Fund.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:57 Jul 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2261.IS S2261 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS