II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3156 

To establish the Financing Energy Efficient Manufacturing Program at the 

Department of Energy to provide financial assistance to promote energy 

efficiency and onsite renewable technologies in manufacturing facilities, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 26, 2023 

Mr. MERKLEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish the Financing Energy Efficient Manufacturing 

Program at the Department of Energy to provide financial assistance to promote energy efficiency and onsite 

renewable technologies in manufacturing facilities, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Job Creation through 

5 Energy Efficient Manufacturing Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) ENERGY MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term 

2 ‘‘energy management plan’’ means a plan estab3 lished under section 3(c)(5). 

4 (2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

5 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

6 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

7 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

8 (3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 

9 the Financing Energy Efficient Manufacturing Pro10 gram established under section 3(a). 

11 (4) PROGRAM MANAGER.—The term ‘‘program 

12 manager’’ means a qualified entity that receives a 

13 grant under section 3(a). 

14 (5) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘project’’ means an 

15 energy efficiency improvement project carried out by 

16 a small- or medium-sized manufacturer using grant 

17 funds distributed by a project manager. 

18 (6) QUALIFIED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘qualified 

19 entity’’ means— 

20 (A) a State energy office; 

21 (B) an Indian Tribe; 

22 (C) a nonprofit organization that— 

23 (i) is focused on providing energy effi24 ciency or renewable energy services; and 


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1 (ii) receives funding from a State, In2 dian Tribe, or utility; 

3 (D) an electric cooperative group; and 

4 (E) an entity with a public-private partner5 ship under the Hollings Manufacturing Exten6 sion Partnership established under section 

7 25(b) of the National Institute of Standards 

8 and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k(b)). 

9 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

10 the Secretary of Energy. 

11 (8) SMALL- OR MEDIUM-SIZED MANUFAC12 TURER.—The term ‘‘small- or medium-sized manu13 facturer’’ means a manufacturing establishment— 

14 (A) classified in Sector 31, 32, or 33 in the 

15 North American Industry Classification System; 

16 and 

17 (B) that employs not more than 750 em18 ployees. 

19 SEC. 3. FINANCING ENERGY EFFICIENT MANUFACTURING 

20 PROGRAM. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

22 a program, to be known as the ‘‘Financing Energy Effi23 cient Manufacturing Program’’ to provide grants to quali24 fied entities to fund energy efficiency improvement 

25 projects in the manufacturing sector. 


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1 (b) GRANT APPLICATIONS; SELECTION OF GRANT

2 RECIPIENTS.— 

3 (1) GRANT APPLICATIONS.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

5 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

6 qualified entities desiring a grant under sub7 section (a) shall submit to the Secretary an ap8 plication in such manner and containing such 

9 information as the Secretary may require, in10 cluding a description of— 

11 (i) how the qualified entity will work 

12 with small- and medium-sized manufactur13 ers to assess the most promising opportu14 nities for energy efficiency improvements; 

15 (ii) how the qualified entity will work 

16 with small- and medium-sized manufactur17 ers and, if appropriate, licensed engineers 

18 to establish an energy management plan 

19 for the small- or medium-sized manufac20 turer to carry out a project; 

21 (iii) the methods and cost-sharing 

22 plans the qualified entity will use to dis23 tribute funds to small- and medium-sized 

24 manufacturers to subsidize the costs of 

25 carrying out a project; 


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1 (iv) the standards by which the quali2 fied entity will set energy efficiency goals 

3 for a project that will result in meaningful 

4 reductions in electricity or natural gas use 

5 by the small- or medium-sized manufac6 turer carrying out the project; 

7 (v) how the qualified entity will pro8 vide support to the small- or medium-sized 

9 manufacturer carrying out a project during 

10 the implementation of the energy manage11 ment plan; 

12 (vi)(I) any history of the qualified en13 tity of working collaboratively with the re14 gional technical assistance programs of the 

15 Department of Energy; and 

16 (II) how the qualified entity plans to 

17 involve the regional technical assistance 

18 programs in the activities to be funded by 

19 a grant; and 

20 (vii) how the qualified entity will col21 lect measurements throughout the imple22 mentation of the energy management 

23 plan— 


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1 (I) to demonstrate how energy ef2 ficiency improvements are being 

3 achieved; and 

4 (II) to maximize opportunities 

5 for project success. 

6 (B) PARTNERSHIPS.—Two or more quali7 fied entities may form a partnership to apply, 

8 and act as program manager, for a grant under 

9 this subsection. 

10 (2) SELECTION OF GRANT RECIPIENTS.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 

12 after the date on which the Secretary receives 

13 an application under paragraph (1), the Sec14 retary shall— 

15 (i) review the application; 

16 (ii) provide the applicant with an op17 portunity to respond to any questions of 

18 the Secretary regarding the application; 

19 and 

20 (iii) select or deny the applicant based 

21 on the criteria described in subparagraph 

22 (B). 

23 (B) SELECTION CRITERIA.— 

24 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

25 select for grants under this subsection 


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1 qualified entities that demonstrate a his2 tory of successfully implementing energy 

3 efficiency improvement programs for small4 and medium-sized manufacturers. 

5 (ii) PRIORITY.—In making selections 

6 under clause (i), the Secretary shall give 

7 priority to qualified entities that dem8 onstrate— 

9 (I) effective methods for reducing 

10 barriers to entry that might otherwise 

11 prevent small- and medium-sized man12 ufacturers from participating in the 

13 subgrant program under subsection 

14 (c); 

15 (II) flexibility in addressing the 

16 needs of different small- and medium17 sized manufacturers; and 

18 (III) a commitment to hiring for 

19 projects contractors that comply with 

20 the labor requirements described in 

21 subsection (d)(2). 

22 (c) SUBGRANTS FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY IMPROVE23 MENTS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—A qualified entity (including 

25 a partnership of 1 or more qualified entities under 


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1 subsection (b)(1)(B)) that receives a grant under 

2 subsection (a) shall act as a program manager to 

3 distribute subgrants to small- and medium-sized 

4 manufacturers located in the State in which the pro5 gram manager is located to carry out projects— 

6 (A) to improve the energy efficiency of the 

7 small- or medium-sized manufacturer; and 

8 (B) to develop technologies to reduce elec9 tricity or natural gas use by the small- or me10 dium-sized manufacturer. 

11 (2) APPLICATIONS.—A small- or medium-sized 

12 manufacturer desiring a subgrant under paragraph 

13 (1) shall submit to the program manager an applica14 tion at such time, in such manner, and containing 

15 such information as the program manager may re16 quire, including a proposal describing the project to 

17 be carried out using the subgrant funds. 

18 (3) PRIORITY.—In selecting small- or medium19 sized manufacturers for subgrants under this sub20 section, the program manager shall give priority to 

21 small- or medium-sized manufacturers that commit 

22 to hiring for projects contractors that comply with 

23 the labor requirements described in subsection 

24 (d)(2). 


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1 (4) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—To be eligi2 ble to receive a subgrant under paragraph (1), a 

3 small- or medium-sized manufacturer shall be a pri4 vate, nongovernmental entity. 

5 (5) ENERGY MANAGEMENT PLANS.—Each 

6 small- or medium-sized manufacturer receiving a 

7 subgrant under paragraph (1), in consultation with 

8 the program manager and, if appropriate, 1 or more 

9 licensed engineers, shall establish an energy manage10 ment plan for the small- or medium-sized manufac11 turer to carry out the project. 

12 (6) EFFECT ON TITLE TO PROPERTY.—The re13 ceipt of Federal funds under this subsection shall 

14 not prohibit an entity that purchased equipment or 

15 other property using those funds from owning sole, 

16 permanent title to the equipment or other property. 

17 (d) CONTRACTORS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Program managers and 

19 small- or medium-sized manufacturers may hire, if 

20 necessary, contractors to perform work relating to 

21 the installation, repair, or maintenance of equipment 

22 used under a project. 

23 (2) LABOR REQUIREMENTS.—In an application 

24 for a grant or subgrant under this section, a pro25 gram manager or a small- or medium-sized manuVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:39 Oct 28, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3156.IS S3156

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1 facturer, respectively, may commit to hiring contrac2 tors that represent to the best of the knowledge and 

3 belief of the contractor, whether, during the 3-year 

4 period preceding the date of application, any admin5 istrative merits determination, arbitral award or de6 cision, or civil judgment (as defined in guidance 

7 issued by the Secretary of Labor) was rendered 

8 against the contractor for violations of— 

9 (A) the National Labor Relations Act (29 

10 U.S.C. 151 et seq.); 

11 (B) the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 

12 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.); 

13 (C) the Age Discrimination in Employment 

14 Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 621 et seq.); 

15 (D) the Occupational Safety and Health 

16 Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.); 

17 (E) the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural 

18 Worker Protection Act (29 U.S.C. 1801 et 

19 seq.); 

20 (F) the Family and Medical Leave Act of 

21 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611 et seq.); 

22 (G) subchapter IV of chapter 31 of part A 

23 of subtitle II of title 40, United States Code 

24 (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Davis-Bacon 

25 Act’’); 


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1 (H) chapter 67 of title 41, United States 

2 Code; 

3 (I) title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 

4 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.); 

5 (J) the Americans with Disabilities Act of 

6 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.); 

7 (K) Executive Order 11246 (42 U.S.C. 

8 2000e note) (relating to equal employment op9 portunity); 

10 (L) Executive Order 13658 (79 Fed. Reg. 

11 9851 (February 20, 2014)) (relating to estab12 lishing a minimum wage for contractors); or 

13 (M) equivalent State laws. 

14 (3) ADDITIONAL LABOR REQUIREMENTS.—A 

15 program manager or small- or medium-sized manu16 facturer receiving a grant or subgrant, respectively, 

17 under this section that has committed to complying 

18 with the labor requirements described in paragraph 

19 (2)— 

20 (A) shall provide each contractor an oppor21 tunity to disclose any steps taken to correct a 

22 violation of, or improve compliance with, a law 

23 or Executive order described in any of subpara24 graphs (A) through (M) of paragraph (2), inVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:39 Oct 28, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3156.IS S3156

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1 cluding any agreements entered into with an 

2 enforcement agency; 

3 (B) shall give preference to contractors 

4 that have the fewest number of violations (par5 ticularly serious, repeated, willful, or pervasive 

6 violations) of the laws and Executive orders de7 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (M) of 

8 paragraph (2); and 

9 (C) shall not hire contractors that fail to 

10 take steps to correct violations of, or improve 

11 compliance with, a law or Executive order de12 scribed in any of subparagraphs (A) through 

13 (M) of paragraph (2). 

14 (e) AMERICAN IRON, STEEL, AND MANUFACTURED

15 PRODUCTS.— 

16 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

17 (A) IRON OR STEEL MANUFACTURED

18 PRODUCT.—The term ‘‘iron or steel manufac19 tured product’’ includes any construction mate20 rial or end product (as those terms are defined 

21 in subpart 25.003 of the Federal Acquisition 

22 Regulation) that does not otherwise qualify as 

23 an iron or steel product, including— 

24 (i) an electrical component; 


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1 (ii) a non-ferrous building material, 

2 including— 

3 (I) aluminum and polyvinylchlo4 ride; 

5 (II) glass; 

6 (III) fiber optics; 

7 (IV) plastic; 

8 (V) wood; 

9 (VI) masonry; 

10 (VII) rubber; 

11 (VIII) manufactured stone; and 

12 (IX) any other non-ferrous build13 ing materials; and 

14 (iii) any unmanufactured construction 

15 material. 

16 (B) PRODUCED IN THE UNITED STATES.— 

17 (i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘pro18 duced in the United States’’— 

19 (I) with respect to an iron or 

20 steel product or an iron or steel man21 ufactured product, means that all 

22 manufacturing processes for, and ma23 terials and components of, the iron or 

24 steel product or iron or steel manufac25 tured product, from the initial melting 


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1 stage through the application of coat2 ings, occurred in the United States; 

3 and 

4 (II) with respect to an iron or 

5 steel manufactured product, means 

6 that— 

7 (aa) the iron or steel manu8 factured product was manufac9 tured in the United States; and 

10 (bb) the cost of the compo11 nents of the iron or steel manu12 factured product that were 

13 mined, produced, or manufac14 tured in the United States is 

15 greater than 60 percent of the 

16 total cost of the components of 

17 the iron or steel manufactured 

18 product. 

19 (ii) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘pro20 duced in the United States’’, with respect 

21 to an iron or steel product or an iron or 

22 steel manufactured product, does not in23 clude an iron or steel product or an iron 

24 or steel manufactured product that was 

25 manufactured— 


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1 (I) abroad from semi-finished 

2 steel or iron from the United States; 

3 or 

4 (II) in the United States from 

5 semi-finished steel or iron of foreign 

6 origin. 

7 (2) REQUIREMENT.—Funds made available 

8 under the program may not be used for a project 

9 unless all of the iron and steel products and iron 

10 and steel manufactured products used in the project 

11 are produced in the United States. 

12 (3) WAIVER.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—On request of the re14 cipient of a grant under the program, the Sec15 retary may grant for the project of the recipient 

16 of the grant a waiver of the requirement de17 scribed in paragraph (2) if the Secretary finds 

18 that— 

19 (i) the application of paragraph (2) 

20 would be inconsistent with the public inter21 est; 

22 (ii) iron or steel products or iron or 

23 steel manufactured products are not pro24 duced in the United States— 


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1 (I) in sufficient and reasonably 

2 available quantities; or 

3 (II) of a satisfactory quality; or 

4 (iii) the inclusion of iron or steel prod5 ucts or iron or steel manufactured prod6 ucts produced in the United States would 

7 increase the cost of the overall project by 

8 greater than 25 percent. 

9 (B) PUBLIC NOTICE.—On receipt of a re10 quest for a waiver under subparagraph (A), the 

11 Secretary shall— 

12 (i) make available to the public, in13 cluding by electronic means, including on 

14 the official public website of the Depart15 ment of Energy, on an informal basis, a 

16 copy of the request and all information 

17 available to the Secretary relating to the 

18 request; and 

19 (ii) provide for informal public input 

20 on the request for a period of not fewer 

21 than 15 days before making with respect 

22 to the request the finding described in sub23 paragraph (A). 

24 (f) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each program manager 

2 shall— 

3 (A) determine what data shall be re4 quired— 

5 (i) to be collected by or from each 

6 small- or medium-sized manufacturer re7 ceiving a subgrant under subsection (c); 

8 and 

9 (ii) to be submitted to the program 

10 manager to permit analysis of the subgrant 

11 program under subsection (c); and 

12 (B) develop metrics to determine the suc13 cess of the subgrant program under subsection 

14 (c). 

15 (2) PROVISION OF DATA.—As a condition of re16 ceiving a subgrant under subsection (c), a small- or 

17 medium-sized manufacturer shall provide to the pro18 gram manager relevant data, as determined by the 

19 program manager under paragraph (1)(A). 

20 (3) PROPRIETARY INFORMATION.—In carrying 

21 out this subsection, each program manager, as ap22 propriate, shall provide for the protection of propri23 etary information and intellectual property rights. 

24 (g) FUNDING.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Out of amounts made avail2 able to the Secretary and not otherwise obligated, 

3 the Secretary shall use to carry out this section not 

4 more than $600,000,000. 

5 (2) REQUIREMENTS FOR PROGRAM MAN6 AGERS.—A program manager shall use not greater 

7 than 7 percent of the grant funds received by the 

8 program manager, at the discretion of the program 

9 manager— 

10 (A) to hire and train staff to assist the 

11 program manager in administering the sub12 grant program of the program manager; and 

13 (B) to market the subgrant program to 

14 small- and medium-sized manufacturers. 

15 (3) MANAGEMENT AND OVERSIGHT.—The Sec16 retary may use not greater than 0.25 percent of the 

17 funds made available under paragraph (1) to carry 

18 out subsection (e). 

Æ 


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