Energy Poverty Prevention and Accountability Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8487 To prevent energy poverty in at-risk communities, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 1, 2020 Mr. KEVIN HERN of Oklahoma (for himself, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. MULLIN, Mr. NEWHOUSE, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. BALDERSON, Mr. STAUBER, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, and Ms. CHENEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Commit- tees on Agriculture, Energy and Commerce, the Budget, and Rules, 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 com- mittee concerned A BILL To prevent energy poverty in at-risk communities, 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 ‘‘Energy Poverty Pre- 4 vention and Accountability Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 6 It is the policy of the United States that— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Oct 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8487.IH H8487 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8487 IH (1) all citizens should have equal access to af- 1 fordable and reliable energy to maintain personal 2 health and economic security; 3 (2) the United States should mitigate the dis- 4 parate impact of increases in the cost of energy on 5 at-risk communities because such communities are 6 more likely to have a fixed income and spend a high- 7 er percentage of their income on energy than the 8 general population; and 9 (3) to prevent energy poverty and to ensure 10 that each at-risk community has access to affordable 11 energy, the United States should ensure that laws 12 relating to environmental and energy policy, includ- 13 ing the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 14 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Endangered Species 15 Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and the Mi- 16 gratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703 et seq.), do 17 not have the effect of increasing the cost of energy 18 for any at-risk community. 19 SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR REPORT ON AC- 20 CESS TO RELIABLE AND AFFORDABLE EN- 21 ERGY. 22 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 23 of this section, the Secretary of the Interior shall submit 24 to Congress a report that— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Oct 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8487.IH H8487 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8487 IH (1) identifies barriers to the ability of at-risk 1 communities that live on or near Federal land or 2 Tribal land to access reliable and affordable energy, 3 including how the presence of adequate energy 4 transmission infrastructure affects such access; and 5 (2) recommends actions that the Secretary of 6 the Interior and the Chief of the Forest Service 7 could take to reduce the barriers described in para- 8 graph (1), including by— 9 (A) establishing lower fees or lowering 10 other costs; 11 (B) streamlining the approval of rights-of- 12 way on Federal land and Tribal land; 13 (C) encouraging private energy sector in- 14 vestment in Federal land and Tribal land; and 15 (D) rapidly developing electric trans- 16 mission and delivery systems in remote areas. 17 SEC. 4. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATES FOR 18 EFFECTS ON ENERGY PRICES. 19 The Director of the Congressional Budget Office 20 shall include in each applicable estimate required under 21 section 402 of the Congressional Budget and Impound- 22 ment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 653) an estimate of 23 how the bill or resolution will affect the cost of energy 24 for at-risk communities. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Oct 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8487.IH H8487 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8487 IH SEC. 5. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE IDENTI- 1 FICATION OF ENERGY POVERTY. 2 (a) ANALYSIS.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 4 the United States shall conduct an analysis of Fed- 5 eral energy and environmental laws, regulations 6 issued by the Secretary of the Interior and the Chief 7 of the Forest Service that relate to energy and envi- 8 ronmental policy, and State renewable portfolio 9 standards to determine how such laws, regulations, 10 and standards affect the following prices for at-risk 11 communities during the preceding fiscal year: 12 (A) Electricity prices. 13 (B) Home heating prices. 14 (C) Gasoline prices. 15 (D) Motor vehicle prices. 16 (E) Natural gas prices. 17 (F) Household appliance prices. 18 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 19 date of enactment of this section, the Comptroller 20 General of the United States shall submit to Con- 21 gress a report on the analysis conducted under para- 22 graph (1). 23 (b) ENERGY POVERTY.— 24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 25 the United States shall develop criteria to determine 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Oct 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8487.IH H8487 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8487 IH whether an at-risk community is experiencing energy 1 poverty. 2 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 3 date of enactment of this section, the Comptroller 4 General of the United States shall submit to Con- 5 gress a report that— 6 (A) identifies, by location and type of at- 7 risk community, which at-risk communities are 8 experiencing energy poverty; and 9 (B) provides recommendations on how to 10 reduce such energy poverty. 11 SEC. 6. OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET REVIEW OF 12 ENERGY REGULATIONS. 13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of 14 Management and Budget shall review each applicable en- 15 ergy regulation to determine if any applicable energy regu- 16 lation imposes, relative to the general population, dis- 17 proportionate costs on at-risk communities. 18 (b) PUBLICATION.—The Director of the Office of 19 Management and Budget shall publish in the Federal Reg- 20 ister the results of the review required under subsection 21 (a). 22 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 23 In this Act: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Oct 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8487.IH H8487 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8487 IH (1) AT-RISK COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘at-risk 1 community’’ means each of the following: 2 (A) A low-income community. 3 (B) A minority community. 4 (C) A rural community. 5 (D) An elderly community. 6 (E) A Native American community. 7 (2) APPLICABLE ENERGY REGULATION.—The 8 term ‘‘applicable energy regulation’’ means any Fed- 9 eral regulation that relates to energy and— 10 (A) has an annual effect on the economy 11 of at least $100,000,000; 12 (B) results in a major increase in costs or 13 prices for any consumer, industry, government 14 agency, or geographic region; or 15 (C) has a significant adverse effect on 16 competition, employment, investment, produc- 17 tivity, innovation, or the ability of an enterprise 18 based in the United States to compete with a 19 foreign-based enterprise in a domestic or inter- 20 national market. 21 (3) ENERGY POVERTY.—The term ‘‘energy pov- 22 erty’’ means insufficient access to affordable energy. 23 (4) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 24 means any land that is under the jurisdiction of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Oct 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8487.IH H8487 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8487 IH Secretary of the Interior or the Chief of the Forest 1 Service. 2 (5) STATE RENEWABLE PORTFOLIO STAND- 3 ARD.—The term ‘‘State renewable portfolio stand- 4 ard’’ means any State regulation that is designed to 5 increase the use of renewable energy sources, includ- 6 ing wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass, to gen- 7 erate electricity. 8 (6) TRIBAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Tribal land’’ 9 has the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian land’’ in 10 section 2601 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (25 11 U.S.C. 3501). 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Oct 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8487.IH H8487 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS