Cost-Share Accountability Act of 2023

Floor Speech

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Mr. FOSTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 342, the Cost- Share Accountability Act.

This bill, which I co-led with its sponsor, Congressman Obernolte, was born out of a joint hearing that we held last Congress, which discussed best practices for financial assistance agreements within the Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy.

This bill mandates reports on the Department's use of cost-sharing practices, which require organizations receiving grants from the Department of Energy to fund a portion of the project's costs.

I am a big fan of cost-sharing agreements as a mechanism to make sure that taxpayer dollars are well spent. There are circumstances under which they may appropriately be waived, but in order for Congress to fulfill our oversight responsibilities, we must be able to access information on how those requirements are being implemented and when they are being waived.

This legislation is fundamental good governance, an important step to increase the transparency of the Department of Energy's funding practices, and I look forward to working with the Department of Energy to ensure that cost-sharing is implemented fairly and effectively and that it is supporting the Department's and Congress' priorities.

I thank Representative Obernolte for his leadership on this legislation, which passed the House in a strong bipartisan vote last Congress, and also for his service as ranking member of the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight that I chaired last Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

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