I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3423 

To amend title 31, United States Code, to provide for the issuance of 

Green Bonds and to establish the United States Green Bank, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 21, 2019 

Mr. HIMES (for himself, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. TONKO, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. 

CARTWRIGHT, Mr. PETERS, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. MEEKS, 

Ms. MATSUI, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania, 

Ms. HILL of California, and Mr. MCGOVERN) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in 

addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 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 amend title 31, United States Code, to provide for the 

issuance of Green Bonds and to establish the United 

States Green Bank, 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 ‘‘National Green Bank 

5 Act of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CAPITALIZATION, METHOD OF CAPITAL STOCK PAY2 MENTS, ISSUANCE OF GREEN BONDS. 

3 Chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, is amend4 ed by adding after section 3102 the following new section: 

5 ‘‘§ 3102A. Green Bonds 

6 ‘‘(a) INITIAL CAPITALIZATION.—The Secretary of the 

7 Treasury shall issue bonds (in this section referred to as 

8 ‘Green Bonds’) in the amount of $10,000,000,000 on the 

9 credit of the United States to acquire capital stock of the 

10 United States Green Bank (established under section 

11 9801 of this title). Stock certificates evidencing ownership 

12 in the United States Green Bank shall be issued by the 

13 Green Bank to the Secretary of the Treasury, to the ex14 tent of payments made for the capital stock of the Green 

15 Bank. 

16 ‘‘(b) FUTURE CAPITALIZATION.—Upon the request 

17 of the United States Green Bank, the Secretary of the 

18 Treasury shall issue additional Green Bonds on the credit 

19 of the United States to acquire additional capital stock 

20 of the United States Green Bank in an aggregate amount 

21 not to exceed $50,000,000,000 outstanding at any one 

22 time. 

23 ‘‘(c) DENOMINATIONS AND MATURITY.—Green 

24 Bonds shall be in such forms and denominations, and shall 

25 mature within such periods, as determined by the Sec26 retary of the Treasury. 


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1 ‘‘(d) INTEREST.—Green Bonds shall bear interest at 

2 a rate not less than the current average yield on out3 standing market obligations of the United States of com4 parable maturity during the month preceding the issuance 

5 of the obligation as determined by the Secretary of the 

6 Treasury. 

7 ‘‘(e) GUARANTEED.—Green Bonds shall be fully and 

8 unconditionally guaranteed both as to interest and prin9 cipal by the United States, and such guaranty shall be 

10 expressed on the face of each bond. 

11 ‘‘(f) LAWFUL INVESTMENTS.—Green Bonds shall be 

12 lawful investments, and may be accepted as security for 

13 all fiduciary, trust, and public funds, the investment or 

14 deposit of which shall be under the authority or control 

15 of the United States or any officer or officers thereof.’’. 

16 SEC. 3. GREEN BANK. 

17 Title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding 

18 the following new chapter at the end thereof: 

19 ‘‘CHAPTER 98—GREEN BANK 

20 ‘‘§ 9801. United States Green Bank 

21 ‘‘(a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the 

22 ‘United States Green Bank Act of 2019’. 

23 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are as 

24 follows: 


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1 ‘‘(1) To significantly increase the pace and 

2 amount of investment in clean energy, energy effi3 ciency, and other climate change mitigation and ad4 aptation projects at the State and local level. 

5 ‘‘(2) To improve the standard of living for 

6 Americans by delivering clean electricity more effi7 ciently and at lower cost and by funding projects 

8 that will create high-paying, long-term jobs and 

9 make affordable financing available to low- and mod10 erate-income families. 

11 ‘‘(3) To address the main impediment to invest12 ment at the State and local level—limited capital 

13 and tight balance sheets—by establishing a national 

14 Green Bank to capitalize legitimate Regional, State, 

15 and Municipal Green Banks. 

16 ‘‘(4) To facilitate— 

17 ‘‘(A) efficient tax equity markets for quali18 fied clean energy projects; and 

19 ‘‘(B) the financing of long-term clean en20 ergy purchasing by governmental and non21 governmental not-for-profit entities. 

22 ‘‘(5) To foster— 

23 ‘‘(A) the development and consistent appli24 cation of transparent underwriting standards, 

25 standard contractual terms, and measurement 


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1 and verification protocols for qualified clean en2 ergy projects, qualified energy efficiency 

3 projects, and qualified climate change mitiga4 tion or adaptation projects; 

5 ‘‘(B) the creation of performance data that 

6 enables effective underwriting, risk manage7 ment, and pro forma modeling of financial per8 formance of qualified clean energy projects and 

9 qualified energy efficiency projects to support 

10 primary financing markets and stimulate devel11 opment of secondary investment markets for 

12 clean energy projects, energy efficiency projects, 

13 and climate change mitigation or adaptation 

14 projects; and 

15 ‘‘(C) the level of financing support for 

16 qualified clean energy projects, qualified energy 

17 efficiency projects, and qualified climate mitiga18 tion and adaptation projects necessary to ad19 vance vital national objectives, including— 

20 ‘‘(i) achieving energy independence 

21 from foreign energy sources; 

22 ‘‘(ii) abating climate change by in23 creasing zero or low carbon electricity gen24 eration and transportation capabilities; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) adapting to the impacts result2 ing from climate change; 

3 ‘‘(iv) realizing energy efficiency poten4 tial in existing infrastructure; 

5 ‘‘(v) easing the economic effects of 

6 transitioning from a carbon-based economy 

7 to a clean energy economy; 

8 ‘‘(vi) achieving job creation through 

9 the construction and operation of qualified 

10 clean energy projects, qualified energy effi11 ciency projects, and qualified climate 

12 change mitigation or adaptation projects; 

13 ‘‘(vii) fostering long-term domestic 

14 manufacturing capacity in the clean en15 ergy, energy efficiency, and climate change 

16 mitigation or adaptation industries; and 

17 ‘‘(viii) complementing and supple18 menting other clean energy, energy effi19 ciency, and climate change mitigation and 

20 adaptation legislation at the regional, 

21 State, municipal, and county level. 

22 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 ‘‘(1) BANK.—The term ‘Bank’ means the 

24 United States Green Bank established under sub25 section (d). 


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1 ‘‘(2) BOARD.—The term ‘Board’ means the 

2 Board of Directors of the Bank. 

3 ‘‘(3) CLEAN ENERGY PROJECT.—The term 

4 ‘clean energy project’ means any electricity genera5 tion, transmission, storage, heating, cooling, trans6 portation, distribution, industrial process, or manu7 facturing project whose primary purpose is the de8 ployment, development, or production of an energy 

9 system or technology that avoids, reduces, or seques10 ters air pollutants or anthropogenic greenhouse 

11 gases, including the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) Solar. 

13 ‘‘(B) Wind. 

14 ‘‘(C) Geothermal. 

15 ‘‘(D) Biomass. 

16 ‘‘(E) Hydropower. 

17 ‘‘(F) Ocean and hydrokinetic. 

18 ‘‘(G) Fuel cell. 

19 ‘‘(H) Advanced battery. 

20 ‘‘(I) Carbon capture and sequestration. 

21 ‘‘(J) Next generation biofuels from 

22 nonfood feedstocks. 

23 ‘‘(K) Alternative fuel vehicle infrastruc24 ture. 

25 ‘‘(L) Alternative fuel vehicles. 


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1 ‘‘(4) CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION OR ADAP2 TATION PROJECT.—The term ‘climate change miti3 gation or adaptation project’ means any project that 

4 reduces the emissions of greenhouse gases by 

5 sources or enhance their removal from the atmos6 phere by sinks, or reduce the vulnerability of social 

7 and biological systems to relatively sudden change 

8 and thus offset the effects of global warming, includ9 ing— 

10 ‘‘(A) afforestation, reforestation, and land 

11 conservation; 

12 ‘‘(B) regenerative agriculture; 

13 ‘‘(C) transit-oriented development and 

14 mass transit infrastructure; 

15 ‘‘(D) waste and recycling; 

16 ‘‘(E) water treatment; and 

17 ‘‘(F) wetland protection. 

18 ‘‘(5) ELIGIBLE CLEAN ENERGY FINANCING IN19 STITUTION.—The term ‘Eligible Clean Energy Fi20 nancing Institution’ means a not-for-profit, inde21 pendent entity, quasi-independent entity, or a gov22 ernmental entity within an agency or financing au23 thority, established or designated by a State, group 

24 of States, the District of Columbia, a territory of the 


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1 United States, or an Eligible State Political Subdivi2 sion to— 

3 ‘‘(A) provide low-cost or long-term financ4 ing support or credit enhancements, including 

5 loan guarantees and loan loss reserves, for 

6 Qualified Clean Energy Projects, Qualified En7 ergy Efficiency Projects, or Qualified Mitigation 

8 or Adaptation Projects; and 

9 ‘‘(B) create liquid markets for these 

10 projects including warehousing and 

11 securitization, or take other steps to reduce fi12 nancial barriers to the deployment of existing 

13 and innovative clean energy, energy efficiency 

14 projects, and climate change mitigation or ad15 aptation projects. Eligible Clean Energy Fi16 nancing Institutions may enter into partner17 ships with private entities. 

18 ‘‘(6) ELIGIBLE STATE POLITICAL SUBDIVI19 SION.—The term ‘Eligible State Political Subdivi20 sion’ means— 

21 ‘‘(A) any municipality, county or other po22 litical subdivision within a State that, based on 

23 the population data from the most recent U.S. 

24 Census Bureau— 


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1 ‘‘(i) with respect to a municipality, 

2 has a population of not fewer than 

3 200,000 people; 

4 ‘‘(ii) with respect to a county, parish 

5 or borough, has a population of not fewer 

6 than 800,000 people; or 

7 ‘‘(iii) with respect to a municipality, 

8 county, parish, or borough, has a popu9 lation— 

10 ‘‘(I) of not fewer than 84,000 

11 people; and 

12 ‘‘(II) that constitutes not less 

13 than 5 percent of the total population 

14 of the State in which the municipality, 

15 county, parish, or borough is located; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(B) any political subdivision that— 

18 ‘‘(i) is located in a State that collabo19 rates as 1 region for the purposes of this 

20 Act; or 

21 ‘‘(ii)(I) collaborates with another po22 litical subdivision; and 

23 ‘‘(II) when combined with the political 

24 subdivision described in subclause (I), 


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1 meets the requirements described in sub2 paragraph (A). 

3 ‘‘(7) ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROJECT.—The term 

4 ‘energy efficiency project’ means any project, tech5 nology, function, or measure that results in the re6 duction of energy use required to achieve the same 

7 level of service or output prior to the application of 

8 such project, technology, function, or measure, or 

9 substantially reduces greenhouse gas emissions rel10 ative to emissions that would have occurred prior to 

11 the application of such project, technology, function, 

12 or measure. 

13 ‘‘(8) GREEN BOND.—The term ‘Green Bond’ 

14 means a bond issued pursuant to section 3102A of 

15 this title. 

16 ‘‘(9) QUALIFIED CLEAN ENERGY PROJECT.— 

17 The term ‘qualified clean energy project’ means a 

18 clean energy project that— 

19 ‘‘(A) is a Clean Energy Project carried out 

20 domestically within the territorial borders of the 

21 United States; 

22 ‘‘(B) stays in good standing with its fi23 nancing entity; 

24 ‘‘(C) to the extent otherwise required by 

25 law, pays wages in accordance with subchapter 


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1 IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code 

2 (commonly referred to as the Davis-Bacon Act); 

3 ‘‘(D) if for nuclear power, is funded by the 

4 Bank only after all other existing Federal fi5 nancial support has been expended; 

6 ‘‘(E) if for Alternative fuel vehicles, is for 

7 the purchase or lease of eligible vehicles and not 

8 the design or manufacture thereof; and 

9 ‘‘(F) satisfies any other conditions estab10 lished by the Bank and published in the Fed11 eral Register. 

12 ‘‘(10) QUALIFIED ENERGY EFFICIENCY

13 PROJECT.—The term ‘qualified energy efficiency 

14 project’ means an energy efficiency project, includ15 ing smart grid technologies and functions character16 ized in section 1301 of the Energy Independence 

17 and Security Act of 2007 and end-use technologies 

18 for efficiency gains in new construction and across 

19 existing infrastructure that— 

20 ‘‘(A) is an Energy Efficiency Project car21 ried out domestically within the territorial bor22 ders of the United States; 

23 ‘‘(B) stays current on interest and debt 

24 payment obligations; 


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1 ‘‘(C) to the extent otherwise required by 

2 law, pays wages in accordance with subchapter 

3 IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code 

4 (commonly referred to as the Davis-Bacon Act); 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(D) satisfies any other conditions estab7 lished by the Bank and published in the Fed8 eral Register. 

9 ‘‘(d) GREEN BANK.— 

10 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF CORPORATION.— 

11 There is established a corporation to be known as 

12 the United States Green Bank that shall be wholly 

13 owned by the United States. 

14 ‘‘(2) OVERSIGHT.—The Bank shall be subject 

15 to the general supervision and direction of the Sec16 retary of the Treasury. The Bank shall be an instru17 mentality of the United States Government and shall 

18 maintain such offices as may be necessary or appro19 priate in the conduct of its business. 

20 ‘‘(3) CHARTER.—The Bank shall be chartered 

21 for 40 years from the date of enactment of this sec22 tion. 

23 ‘‘(4) GOVERNANCE.— 

24 ‘‘(A) BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE

25 BANK.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Bank shall be 

2 under the direction of a Board of Directors 

3 consisting of 9 members and be subject to 

4 the general supervision and direction of the 

5 Secretary of the Treasury as Chairman of 

6 the Board. 

7 ‘‘(ii) MEMBERSHIP.—The Board shall 

8 consist of 9 members, as follows: 

9 ‘‘(I) The Secretary of the Treas10 ury or the Secretary’s designee as 

11 Chairman of the Board. 

12 ‘‘(II) The Secretary of Energy or 

13 the Secretary’s designee. 

14 ‘‘(III) The Secretary of Trans15 portation or the Secretary’s designee. 

16 ‘‘(IV) The Administrator of the 

17 Environmental Protection Agency or 

18 the Administrator’s designee. 

19 ‘‘(V) The Secretary of the De20 partment of Defense or the Sec21 retary’s designee. 

22 ‘‘(VI) Four members appointed 

23 by the President of the United States 

24 including a Chief Executive Officer, 1 

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1 newable energy, 1 member with exper2 tise regarding energy efficiency, 1 

3 member with expertise regarding fi4 nance, 1 member with expertise re5 garding electric utilities, and 1 mem6 ber with expertise regarding sustain7 able transportation. 

8 ‘‘(iii) QUORUM.—Five members of the 

9 Board shall constitute a quorum. 

10 ‘‘(iv) BYLAWS.—The Board shall 

11 adopt, and may amend, such bylaws as are 

12 necessary for the proper management and 

13 functioning of the Bank, and shall, in such 

14 bylaws, designate the vice presidents and 

15 other officers of the Bank and prescribe 

16 their duties. 

17 ‘‘(v) TERMS.—The initial terms of the 

18 members of the Board shall be 4 years. 

19 For terms beginning after the first 4 years 

20 following the date of the enactment of this 

21 section, the Board shall create staggered 

22 terms of 2, 3, and 4 years for members of 

23 the Board. 

24 ‘‘(vi) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy on 

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1 ner in which the original appointment was 

2 made. 

3 ‘‘(vii) INTERIM APPOINTMENTS.—Any 

4 member appointed to fill a vacancy occur5 ring before the expiration of the term for 

6 which such member’s predecessor was ap7 pointed shall be appointed only for the re8 mainder of such term. 

9 ‘‘(viii) REAPPOINTMENT.—Members 

10 of the Board may be reappointed for addi11 tional terms of service as members of the 

12 Board. 

13 ‘‘(ix) CONTINUATION OF SERVICE.— 

14 Any member of the Board whose term has 

15 expired may continue to serve on the 

16 Board until the earlier of— 

17 ‘‘(I) the date on which such 

18 member’s successor is appointed; or 

19 ‘‘(II) the end of the 6-month pe20 riod beginning on the date such mem21 ber’s term expires. 

22 ‘‘(B) EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT.—The 

23 Chief Executive Officer shall appoint an Execu24 tive Vice President who— 


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1 ‘‘(i) shall serve as Chief Executive Of2 ficer of the Bank during the absence or 

3 disability of, or in the event of a vacancy 

4 in the office, of Chief Executive Officer; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(ii) shall at other times perform such 

7 functions as the Chief Executive Officer 

8 may prescribe. 

9 ‘‘(C) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.—At the 

10 request of any 2 members of the Board, the 

11 Chairman shall place an item pertaining to the 

12 policies or procedures of the Bank on the agen13 da for discussion by the Board. Not later than 

14 30 days after the date such a request is made, 

15 the Chairman shall hold a meeting of the Board 

16 at which such item shall be discussed. 

17 ‘‘(D) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—No direc18 tor, officer, attorney, agent, or employee of the 

19 Bank shall in any manner, directly or indi20 rectly, participate in the deliberation upon, or 

21 the determination of, any question affecting 

22 such individual’s personal interests, or the in23 terests of any corporation, partnership, or asso24 ciation in which such individual is directly or 

25 indirectly personally interested. 


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1 ‘‘(5) HIRING AND CONTRACTING AUTHORITY.— 

2 ‘‘(A) CONTRACTING.—The Bank may em3 ploy or otherwise contract with banks, credit 

4 agencies, attorneys, and other third parties at 

5 customary commercial rates. 

6 ‘‘(B) HIRING.—Notwithstanding any oth7 erwise applicable Federal rules and regulations, 

8 the Bank may employ and otherwise contract 

9 with employees and provide compensation to 

10 such employees at prevailing rates for com11 pensation for similar positions in private indus12 try. 

13 ‘‘(6) SUNSET.— 

14 ‘‘(A) EXPIRATION OF CHARTER.—The 

15 Bank shall continue to exercise its functions 

16 until all obligations and commitments of the 

17 Bank are discharged, even after its charter has 

18 expired. 

19 ‘‘(B) PRIOR OBLIGATIONS.—No provisions 

20 of this subsection shall be construed as pre21 venting the Bank from— 

22 ‘‘(i) acquiring obligations prior to the 

23 date of the expiration of its charter which 

24 mature subsequent to such date; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) assuming, prior to the date of 

2 the expiration of its charter, liability as 

3 guarantor, endorser, or acceptor of obliga4 tions which mature subsequent to such 

5 date; 

6 ‘‘(iii) issuing, prior or subsequent to 

7 the date of the expiration of its charter, 

8 for purchase by the Secretary of the Treas9 ury or any other purchasers, its notes, de10 bentures, bonds, or other obligations which 

11 mature subsequent to such date; or 

12 ‘‘(iv) continuing as a corporation and 

13 exercising any of its functions subsequent 

14 to the date of the expiration of its charter 

15 for purposes of orderly liquidation, includ16 ing the administration of its assets and the 

17 collection of any obligations held by the 

18 Bank. 

19 ‘‘(e) GREEN BANK ESTABLISHMENT FUND.— 

20 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 

21 the Treasury of the United States a revolving fund, 

22 to be known as the ‘Green Bank Establishment 

23 Fund’ (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Fund’), con24 sisting of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) such amounts as are deposited in the 

2 Fund under this subtitle, including but not lim3 ited to proceeds from the Green Bonds issued 

4 under section 3102A; and 

5 ‘‘(B) such sums as may be appropriated to 

6 supplement the Fund. 

7 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

8 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Fund 

9 such sums as are necessary to carry out this sub10 title. 

11 ‘‘(3) EXPENDITURES FROM THE FUND.— 

12 Amounts in the Fund shall be available to the Chief 

13 Executive Officer for obligation without fiscal year 

14 limitation, to remain available until expended. 

15 ‘‘(f) LENDING, FINANCING, EXPENDITURES.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Bank shall establish a 

17 program to provide, on a competitive basis financing 

18 or financing support from the Fund, as the Bank 

19 determines appropriate, solely to provide capitaliza20 tion to an Eligible Clean Energy Financing Institu21 tion for the establishment or continuing operation of 

22 that entity. 

23 ‘‘(2) TYPES OF FINANCING OR FINANCING SUP24 PORT.—The Bank may provide loans, loan guaranVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:13 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3423.IH H3423

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1 tees, credit buy downs, or other financing or financ2 ing support the Bank determines appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—The Bank may only 

4 provide loans, loan guarantees or credit buy downs 

5 under paragraph (1) if: 

6 ‘‘(A) APPLICATION.—The applicant sub7 mits an application for loans, loan guarantees 

8 or credit buy downs in accordance with applica9 tion criteria established by the Bank. 

10 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE CLEAN ENERGY FINANCING

11 INSTITUTIONS.—An entity is eligible to receive 

12 loans, loan guarantees or credit buy downs 

13 under this section only if the entity— 

14 ‘‘(i) meets the definition of Eligible 

15 Clean Energy Financing Institution; 

16 ‘‘(ii) uses the funding from the Bank 

17 solely for the purposes described in this 

18 section; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) satisfies the capitalization and 

20 funding requirements as described in this 

21 section. 

22 ‘‘(C) PROJECT FINANCE.—The Bank shall 

23 not directly lend or otherwise provide financial 

24 products to any individual projects, nor shall it 

25 be required to examine individual projects for 


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1 the purposes of lending under paragraph (1) 

2 other than as necessary to determine whether 

3 an applicant meets the criteria for Eligible 

4 Clean Energy Financing Institutions. 

5 ‘‘(D) CAPITALIZATION AND CO-FUND6 ING.—The Eligible Clean Energy Financing In7 stitution— 

8 ‘‘(i) shall provide, at the time of re9 ceipt of any initial funding for capitaliza10 tion by the Bank, an amount from funding 

11 sources other than the Bank equivalent to 

12 no less than $1,000,000 and no less than 

13 20 percent of the total initial funding pro14 vided by the Bank; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) may not receive any subsequent 

16 funding for capitalization by the Bank, in 

17 addition to any initial funding for capital18 ization provided by the Bank in accordance 

19 with (i) above in, of amounts greater than 

20 two times the amount of capital committed 

21 for use by the Eligible Clean Energy Fi22 nancing Institution for Qualified Clean En23 ergy Projects and Qualified Energy Effi24 ciency Projects at the time of application. 


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1 ‘‘(4) REGULATIONS.—The Bank shall establish 

2 regulations to carry out the activities and operations 

3 set out in this chapter. 

4 ‘‘(g) LENDING ACTIVITIES.— 

5 ‘‘(1) FEES.—The Bank shall assess reasonable 

6 fees on its activities so as to cover its reasonable 

7 costs and expenses, consistent with the Federal 

8 Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661 et seq.), 

9 provided the Bank operates as a not-for-profit enti10 ty. 

11 ‘‘(2) APPROPRIATIONS AND RETENTION OF RE12 CEIPTS.—For purposes of the Federal Credit Re13 form Act, funds made available to the Green Bank 

14 pursuant to section 3102A for carrying out this sec15 tion are appropriated to the Green Bank for the 

16 purposes described in the section. Receipts collected 

17 by the Green Bank, consistent with the Federal 

18 Credit Reform Act, shall be considered to have been 

19 provided in advance in an appropriations Act, and 

20 shall remain available to the Green Bank until ex21 pended. 

22 ‘‘(3) IMMUNITY FROM IMPAIRMENT, LIMITA23 TION, OR RESTRICTION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—All rights and rem2 edies of the Bank shall be immune from impair3 ment, limitation, or restrictions by or under— 

4 ‘‘(i) any law (other than a law enacted 

5 by Congress expressly in limitation of this 

6 paragraph) that becomes effective after the 

7 acquisition by the Bank of the subject or 

8 property on, under, or with respect to 

9 which the right or remedy arises or exists 

10 or would so arise or exist in the absence of 

11 the law; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) any administrative or other ac13 tion that becomes effective after the acqui14 sition. 

15 ‘‘(B) STATE LAW.—The Bank may con16 duct its business without regard to any quali17 fication or law of any State relating to incorpo18 ration. 

19 ‘‘(4) TAXATION.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara21 graph (B), the Bank (including its activities, 

22 capital, reserves, surplus and income) shall be 

23 exempt from all taxation imposed by any State 

24 or local political subdivision of a State. 


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1 ‘‘(B) REAL PROPERTY.—Any real property 

2 of the Bank shall be subject to taxation by a 

3 State or political subdivision of a State to the 

4 same extent according to the value of the real 

5 property as other real property is taxed. 

6 ‘‘(5) POWER TO REMOVE; JURISDICTION.—Not7 withstanding any other provision of law, any civil ac8 tion, suit, or proceeding to which the Bank is a 

9 party shall be deemed to arise under the laws of the 

10 United States, and the United States district courts 

11 shall have original jurisdiction. The Bank may, with12 out bond or security, remove any such action, suit, 

13 or proceeding from a State court to a United States 

14 district court or to the United States District Court 

15 for the District of Columbia. 

16 ‘‘(6) SPENDING SAFEGUARDS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Executive 

18 Officer of the Bank— 

19 ‘‘(i) shall require any Eligible Clean 

20 Energy Financing Institution receiving fi21 nancial support pursuant to this section to 

22 report quarterly, in a format specified by 

23 the Chief Executive Officer, on such enti24 ty’s use of such support and its progress 

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1 port was granted, and the Chief Executive 

2 Officer shall make these reports available 

3 to the public; 

4 ‘‘(ii) may establish additional report5 ing and information requirements for any 

6 recipient of financing support made avail7 able pursuant to this section; 

8 ‘‘(iii) shall establish appropriate mech9 anisms to ensure appropriate use and com10 pliance with all terms of any financing 

11 support made available pursuant to this 

12 section; 

13 ‘‘(iv) may, in addition to and con14 sistent with any other authority under ap15 plicable law, deobligate financing support 

16 made available pursuant to this section to 

17 entities that demonstrate an insufficient 

18 level of performance, or wasteful or fraud19 ulent spending, as defined in advance by 

20 the Chief Executive Officer, and award 

21 these funds competitively to new or exist22 ing applicants consistent with this section; 

23 ‘‘(v) shall create and maintain a fully 

24 searchable database, accessible on the 


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•HR 3423 IH

1 Internet (or successor protocol) at no cost 

2 to the public, that contains at least— 

3 ‘‘(I) a list of each entity that has 

4 applied for loans, loan guarantees or 

5 credit buy downs under this section; 

6 ‘‘(II) a description of each appli7 cation; 

8 ‘‘(III) the status of each such ap9 plication; 

10 ‘‘(IV) the name of each entity re11 ceiving funds made available pursuant 

12 to this section; 

13 ‘‘(V) the purpose for which such 

14 entity is receiving such funds; 

15 ‘‘(VI) each quarterly report sub16 mitted by the entity pursuant to this 

17 section; and 

18 ‘‘(VII) information related to 

19 Qualifying Clean Energy Projects and 

20 Qualifying Energy Efficiency Projects 

21 funded by Eligible Clean Energy Fi22 nancing Institutions using funding re23 ceived from the Bank; 

24 ‘‘(vi) to the extent practicable, data 

25 maintained under clause (v) shall be used 


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•HR 3423 IH

1 to inform private capital markets, includ2 ing the development of underwriting stand3 ards for the financing of clean energy 

4 projects and energy efficiency projects; 

5 ‘‘(vii) shall make all financing trans6 actions available for public inspection, in7 cluding formal annual reviews by both a 

8 private auditor and the Comptroller Gen9 eral; and 

10 ‘‘(viii) shall at all times be available to 

11 receive public comment in writing on the 

12 activities of the Bank. 

13 ‘‘(B) PROTECTION OF CONFIDENTIAL

14 BUSINESS INFORMATION.—To the extent nec15 essary and appropriate, the Chief Executive Of16 ficer may redact any information regarding ap17 plicants and borrowers to protect confidential 

18 business information. 

19 ‘‘(7) GUARANTEE.—Except as provided in sec20 tion 3102A(e) with respect to Green Bonds, finan21 cial support provided by the Bank shall not be fully 

22 and unconditionally guaranteed by the United 

23 States. 

24 ‘‘(h) NEW BANK DIVISION.— 


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•HR 3423 IH

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Bank shall establish a 

2 New Bank Division to provide technical assistance to 

3 States, group of States, the District of Columbia, 

4 territories of the United States, or Eligible State Po5 litical Subdivisions seeking to establish green banks. 

6 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

7 There are authorized to be appropriated to the New 

8 Bank Division such sums as are necessary to carry 

9 out this subsection.’’. 

10 SEC. 4. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

11 (a) TAX EXEMPT STATUS.—Section 501(l) of the In12 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the 

13 end the following: 

14 ‘‘(4) The Green Bank established under section 

15 9801 of title 31, United States Code.’’. 

16 (b) WHOLLY OWNED GOVERNMENT CORPORA17 TION.—Section 9101(3) of title 31, United States Code, 

18 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(S) the Green Bank.’’. 

20 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

21 (1) The table of sections for chapter 31 of title 

22 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting 

23 after the item relating to section 3102 the following 

24 new item: 

‘‘3102A. Green Bonds.’’. 


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1 (2) The table of chapters for subtitle VI of title 

2 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at 

3 the end the following new item: 

‘‘98. Green Bank ................................................................................ 9801’’. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS