Cost-Share Accountability Act of 2025
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Cost-Share Accountability Act of 2025 adds a reporting requirement to section 988 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Within 120 days after enactment, and at least quarterly after that, the Energy Secretary must report to the House Science Committee, House Appropriations Committee, Senate Energy Committee, and Senate Appropriations Committee on the Department of Energy's use of authority to reduce or eliminate cost-sharing requirements under section 988(b)(3) or 988(c)(2). DOE must also make those reports publicly available, so waivers or reductions of nonfederal cost-share obligations in covered energy research, development, demonstration, or commercial-application work are visible outside the Department.
Who Benefits and How
House Science Committee staff, House Appropriations energy staff, Senate Energy Committee staff, Senate Appropriations energy staff, public watchdogs, federal energy research applicants, DOE award recipients receiving cost-share waivers, and taxpayers following energy spending benefit because the bill creates recurring disclosure about when DOE reduces matching-fund obligations and which authorities it uses.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Department of Energy, Energy Secretary staff, DOE grant managers, DOE national-lab program offices, DOE financial-assistance staff, and award recipients receiving cost-share waivers bear burdens because they must track waiver decisions, compile quarterly reports, make the reports public, and support congressional review of cost-share reductions.
Key Provisions
- Amends Energy Policy Act section 988 to add a cost-share waiver reporting requirement.
- Requires the first DOE report within 120 days after enactment.
- Requires reports at least quarterly after the first report.
- Requires submission to House Science, House Appropriations, Senate Energy, and Senate Appropriations committees.
- Requires public release of DOE use of authority to reduce or eliminate cost-sharing under section 988(b)(3) or 988(c)(2).
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Requires the Energy Secretary to submit and publicly release quarterly reports on Department of Energy use of Energy Policy Act authority to reduce or eliminate cost-sharing requirements under section 988(b)(3) or 988(c)(2), starting within 120 days after enactment.
Key Policy Areas
Energy, Government Oversight, Research Funding
Primary Purpose
Requires the Energy Secretary to submit and publicly release quarterly reports on Department of Energy use of Energy Policy Act authority to reduce or eliminate cost-sharing requirements under section 988(b)(3) or 988(c)(2), starting within 120 days after enactment.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- House Science Committee staff
- House Appropriations energy staff
- Senate Energy Committee staff
- Senate Appropriations energy staff
- Public watchdogs
- Federal energy research applicants
- DOE award recipients receiving cost-share waivers
- Taxpayers following energy spending
Identified Costs
- Department of Energy
- Energy Secretary staff
- DOE grant managers
- DOE national-lab program offices
- DOE financial-assistance staff
- Award recipients receiving cost-share waivers
Sponsors
Jay Obernolte
R-CA | Primary Sponsor
Legislative Progress
Passed HouseReceived; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy …
Passed House (inferred from eh version)
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to …
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules …
Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H1213)
At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were …
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate …
Mr. Babin moved to suspend the rules and pass the …
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H1196-1197)
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
DOE grant managers, Department of Energy, House Appropriations energy staff
Positive-direction: House Appropriations energy staff, House Science Committee staff, Senate Appropriations energy staff, Senate Energy Committee staff
Negative-direction: DOE grant managers, Department of Energy
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "section_988"
- → Energy Policy Act cost-sharing authority for covered DOE activities
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology