Clean Energy Demonstration Transparency Act of 2023

Floor Speech

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Mr. LUCAS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1069) to amend the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to require reporting regarding clean energy demonstration projects, and for other purposes, as amended.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 1069

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Clean Energy Demonstration Transparency Act of 2023''. SEC. 2. PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND OVERSIGHT REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. Subsection (h) of section 41201 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (42 U.S.C. 18861) is amended by adding at the end following new paragraph:

``(3) Further reports.--

``(A) In general.--Not later than six months after the date of the enactment of this paragraph and at least semiannually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate a report, and make publicly available in digital online format, that contains, for the period covered by each such report, for each covered project or other demonstration project administered or supported by the program, the following:

``(i) A copy of any initial contracts or financial assistance agreements executed between the Department and an award recipient, including any related documentation, as the Secretary determines appropriate.

``(ii) A list of any material, technical, or financial milestones that have or have not been met.

``(iii) Any material modifications to the scope, schedule, funding profile (including cost-share requirements), project partners or participating entities, or budget of the project.

``(B) Streamlining.--To the extent practicable, the Secretary may synchronize the reports required under subparagraph (A) with other required reports, such as those required under--

``(i) paragraph (1); and

``(ii) section 9005(e) of the Energy Act of 2020 (42 U.S.C. 7256c(e); enacted as division Z of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021).''.

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Mr. LUCAS. 1069, the bill now under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1069, the Clean Energy Demonstration Transparency Act of 2023 offered by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Carey). This commonsense legislation will provide Congress with the necessary tools to conduct thorough oversight on the Department of Energy's growing number of demonstration projects.

Specifically, H.R. 1069 requires the Secretary of Energy to report to Congress on all demonstration projects administered by the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations. As part of this report, the Secretary must include all contracts, milestones, schedules, and funding profiles, including cost-share agreements.

DOE established OCED to carry out the technology demonstration projects that were authorized in the Energy Act of 2020 and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This includes projects with bipartisan support such as the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program and Long-Duration Energy Storage Demonstrations.

Historically, DOE's applied energy offices have administered these programs, creating a natural pipeline from the lab to the field. With the creation of OCED, DOE put these activities in a new and untested office, separating expertise and adding a new layer of bureaucracy. At the same time, the infrastructure bill and the Inflation Reduction Act appropriated $27 billion to OCED to fund these projects.

This organizational change and influx of money should concern every lawmaker given previous instances of DOE's mismanagement of demonstration projects. Already, OCED has been slow to award recipients and struggled to identify unique capabilities not covered by the applied energy offices.

Currently, Congress lacks the necessary safeguards and the ability to conduct rigorous oversight over OCED and its demonstration projects. For example, when the Science Committee tried to get more information on DOE waiving the cost-share requirement for a multimillion-dollar project, DOE had no requirement to document or justify their decision.

H.R. 1069 requires DOE to submit semiannual reports which include all contracts, agreements, and funding breakdowns, and enables Congress to have the tools to protect taxpayers' dollars, hold OCED accountable, and ensure a truly competitive selection process based on merits.

I am proud to cosponsor this bill, along with Ranking Member Lofgren, and I extend my appreciation to Representative Carey for continuing his leadership on this issue despite no longer sitting on the Science Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. LUCAS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I am prepared to close once the gentlewoman from Michigan does.

Mr. Speaker, one of our most important responsibilities in Congress is to serve as the steward of taxpayers' dollars. I take that job very seriously.

I want to see DOE and all of our Federal research agencies succeed in developing next-generation technologies. At the same time, we need to be conscious of the body and keep a watchful eye on the progress of these projects well before their costs balloon into multibillions of dollars.

H.R. 1069 allows us to do exactly that. It increases transparency between DOE and Congress, enabling both sides to have beneficial information and insight into the successes of Federal demonstration projects.

Once again, I thank Mr. Carey for leading this bill along with his co-sponsors, Representatives Williams, Davids, and Donalds.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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