[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8957 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8957
To require the Secretary of Energy to conduct a study and submit a
report on the greenhouse gas emissions intensity of certain products
produced in the United States and in certain foreign countries, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 9, 2024
Mr. Curtis (for himself, Mr. Peters, Mr. Garbarino, Mr. Sorensen, Ms.
Salazar, Ms. Houlahan, Mr. Bucshon, Mr. Carbajal, Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer,
Mr. Panetta, Mr. Bergman, Ms. Kuster, Mr. Valadao, Mr. Carter of
Louisiana, Mr. Ciscomani, Mr. Costa, Mr. Moore of Utah, Mr. Cohen, Ms.
Maloy, Mr. Magaziner, and Ms. DeGette) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition
to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and Foreign Affairs, 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
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Energy to conduct a study and submit a
report on the greenhouse gas emissions intensity of certain products
produced in the United States and in certain foreign countries, and for
other purposes.
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 ``Providing Reliable, Objective,
Verifiable Emissions Intensity and Transparency Act of 2024'' or the
``PROVE IT Act of 2024''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The European Union enacted, and is beginning
enforcement of, a carbon border adjustment mechanism that will
impact the United States. Other major trading partners of the
United States are exploring or developing similar policies,
including Australia, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
(2) Questions remain about how the European Union and
others will calculate United States emissions intensity for
covered products and the accuracy of such determinations.
(3) Public entities, like the Department of Energy's
National Energy Technology Laboratory, and various private
sector groups have published studies showing the United States
comparative emissions intensity advantage in production of
manufactured goods like steel and aluminum, as well as raw
energy sources like critical minerals, natural gas, and crude
oil.
(4) The private sector of the United States is leading in
emissions reductions and abides by some of the cleanest and
safest standards in the world.
(5) There is a need to obtain high-quality and consolidated
government data to show America's comparative emissions
advantage in the event of questionable calculations of United
States emissions by foreign entities.
(6) In stark contrast, China has leveraged human rights
abuses and lax environmental performance and enforcement to
create a competitive advantage in international trade,
undermining United States industrial competitiveness. Nonmarket
economies that do not share common social and economic values
with the United States share this general tendency.
(7) The United States needs a better understanding of the
extent of human rights abuses and how they impact international
trade flows.
SEC. 3. STUDY ON GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS INTENSITY OF CERTAIN PRODUCTS
PRODUCED IN THE UNITED STATES AND IN CERTAIN FOREIGN
COUNTRIES.
(a) Study.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, and not later than 5 years thereafter,
the Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of Commerce
(including appropriate officials of the Bureau of the Census
and the International Trade Administration), the Administrator
of the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Trade
Representative, the United States International Trade
Commission, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary
of State, and such other Federal officials as the Secretary
determines to be appropriate, shall conduct, and submit to the
appropriate committees of Congress a report describing the
results of, a study--
(A) to determine the average product emissions
intensity of each category of covered products produced
in the United States;
(B) to identify gaps in product emissions intensity
data for categories of covered products produced in the
United States;
(C) subject to paragraph (2)(B), to determine the
average product emissions intensity of each category of
covered products produced in covered countries, which
may incorporate, as the Secretary determines to be
appropriate, findings from--
(i) the implementation of the measures
described in section 40416(a) of the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (42
U.S.C. 18776(a)); and
(ii) the international energy data
resources described in that section;
(D) to identify any issues with verifying the
average product emissions intensity data for covered
products produced in covered countries; and
(E) to determine the relative average product
emissions intensity of each category of covered
products produced in the United States compared to the
average product emissions intensity of each category of
covered products produced in covered countries.
(2) Requirements.--
(A) In general.--The report submitted under
paragraph (1) shall include--
(i) a detailed, specific, and transparent
description of the methodology used to
determine the average product emissions
intensity of a category of covered products
under subparagraphs (A) and (C) of that
paragraph;
(ii) a record of all sources of data used
to determine the average product emissions
intensity of a category of covered products
under subparagraphs (A) and (C) of that
paragraph; and
(iii) the heading or subheading of the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
associated with each covered product for which
the average product emissions intensity of a
category of covered products is determined
under subparagraphs (A) and (C) of that
paragraph.
(B) Certain covered countries.--With respect to a
covered country described in subparagraph (C) or (D) of
section 5(5), in carrying out subparagraph (C) of
paragraph (1), the Secretary may limit the study under
that paragraph to categories of covered products with
respect to which the covered country holds more than a
de minimis share of the global market share of that
category of covered products.
(C) Reuse of end-of-life materials.--In determining
the average product emissions intensity of a category
of covered products under subparagraphs (A) and (C) of
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall favorably consider
the reuse of end-of-life materials in place of virgin
raw materials.
(3) Coordination among primary study participants.--In
carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary, the Secretary of
Commerce, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency, the United States Trade Representative, the Secretary
of Homeland Security, the Secretary of State, and such other
Federal officials as the Secretary determines to be appropriate
shall establish procedures to facilitate timely and efficient
data sharing for purposes of carrying out that paragraph,
including, if appropriate, by designating appropriate
individuals with appropriate qualifications to review any data
shared.
(4) Consultation and coordination with others.--In carrying
out paragraph (1), the Secretary may consult and enter into
agreements with institutions having relevant data or data
collection or analysis capabilities, such as the National
Laboratories, the National Institute of Standards and
Technology, the National Academy of Sciences, the International
Energy Agency, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development, and relevant academic and think-tank partners.
(5) Consultation and coordination with industry.--In
carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary, in coordination with
the Secretary of Commerce, shall establish--
(A) a process to receive data and comments from
industry partners; and
(B) a process for industry partners to submit
comments for purposes of the later study and report
required under such paragraph.
(6) International coordination.--
(A) In general.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the
Secretary, the Secretary of State, and the United
States Trade Representative shall make every effort to
coordinate with the governments of covered countries--
(i) to inform the determination of average
product emissions intensity values;
(ii) to advance common emissions accounting
methodologies and data formats; and
(iii) to improve overall data availability
and quality.
(B) Consultation.--In any case in which a covered
country is credibly collaborating with the Secretary by
supporting the collection, analysis, or verification of
data, the Secretary may give that covered country--
(i) a right to consultation with respect to
the determination of the average product
emissions intensity of 1 or more categories of
covered products produced in that covered
country;
(ii) an opportunity to discuss chosen data;
and
(iii) an opportunity to fill data gaps.
(7) Data availability.--
(A) In general.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the
Secretary shall--
(i) take note of any instances in which
there is not sufficient data to precisely
determine the average product emissions
intensity of a category of covered products
under subparagraph (A) or (C) of that
paragraph;
(ii) include in the report submitted under
that paragraph--
(I) a notation with respect to each
instance noted under clause (i); and
(II) an explanation for that
notation;
(iii) identify any issues with verifying
the average product emissions intensity data
for categories of covered products under
subparagraph (A) or (C) of that paragraph; and
(iv) identify any gaps in product emissions
intensity data for covered products or
categories of covered products produced in the
United States.
(B) Requirement.--For each instance noted under
subparagraph (A)(i), the Secretary shall determine the
average product emissions intensity of the next highest
aggregation of categories of covered products for which
data are available.
(C) Considerations.--In determining whether there
are sufficient data to precisely determine the average
product emissions intensity of a category of covered
products under subparagraph (A)(i), the Secretary shall
consider the following factors:
(i) The public availability of statistics
on greenhouse gas emissions for particular
industries from government sources and
international organizations.
(ii) The public availability of data on the
quantity and source of inputs, such as
electricity, consumed by particular industries.
(iii) The extent to which the data
described in clauses (i) and (ii) cover a
representative group of producers within an
industry.
(iv) The transparency in the methods used
to collect, analyze, summarize, and publish the
data described in clauses (i) and (ii).
(v) Whether there are other factors that
may impact the precision of the data described
in clauses (i) and (ii).
(vi) The recency of the data described in
clauses (i) and (ii).
(b) Public Database.--The Secretary shall establish a public online
database of--
(1) the average product emissions intensity data determined
under subparagraphs (A) and (C) of subsection (a)(1); and
(2) the relative average product emissions intensity of
each category of covered products determined under subparagraph
(E) of that subsection.
(c) Clarification.--Nothing in this Act provides any new authority
to any Federal agency--
(1) to impose, collect, or enforce a greenhouse gas
emissions tax, fee, duty, price, or charge; or
(2) to establish a new mandatory reporting requirement
(including by regulation) with respect to the domestic
production of any category of covered products.
SEC. 4. ANNUAL REPORT ON FOREIGN COUNTRIES THAT USE HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES
TO CREATE A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IN TRADE.
(a) In General.--Not later than March 1 of each year, the Secretary
of Commerce, in coordination with the Secretary of State, the United
States Trade Representative, and other Federal officials that the
Secretary of Commerce determines appropriate, shall submit to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Foreign Affairs
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report
describing, to the extent practicable, how any foreign government gains
a competitive advantage in international trade by permitting, or
engaging in, through its agents, representatives, or enterprises,
wholly- or partly-owned, or in collaboration with a private entity, the
use of forced or compulsory labor, child labor, or unacceptable
conditions of work with respect to occupational safety and health,
within its sovereign territory or abroad.
(b) Inclusions.--Each report submitted under subsection (a) shall
identify foreign countries that use human rights abuses to extract
critical minerals or rare earths.
(c) Form.--Each report submitted under subsection (a) shall be in
unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term
``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(A) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on Environment and Public Works
of the Senate; and
(C) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the
House of Representatives.
(2) Average product emissions intensity.--The term
``average product emissions intensity'' means the national
average of the product emissions intensity of a category of
covered products produced in, as applicable--
(A) the United States; or
(B) a covered country.
(3) Carbon dioxide-equivalent; CO<INF>2</INF>-e.--The term
``carbon dioxide-equivalent'' or ``CO<INF>2</INF>-e'' means the
number of metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions with the same
global warming potential as one metric ton of another
greenhouse gas.
(4) Category of covered products.--
(A) In general.--The term ``category of covered
products'' means--
(i) a category described in any of clauses
(i) through (xxii) of subparagraph (B), each of
which consists of products covered by the
headings or subheadings of the Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States described
parenthetically in that clause; and
(ii) any other category of covered
products, as determined by the Secretary,
consisting of products covered by 1 or more
headings or subheadings of the Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States.
(B) Categories described.--The categories referred
to in subparagraph (A)(i), consisting of products
covered by the headings or subheadings of the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
described parenthetically for each category, are the
following:
(i) Aluminum (any of 7601 through 7608).