II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1528 

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 16, 2019 

Mr. MURPHY (for himself, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. 

BLUMENTHAL, and Mr. MARKEY) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

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. CAPITALIZATION, METHOD OF CAPITAL STOCK 

4 PAYMENTS, ISSUANCE OF GREEN BONDS. 

5 Chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, is amend6 ed by adding after section 3102 the following new section: 

7 ‘‘§ 3102A. Green Bonds 

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

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


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

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

3 United States Green Bank (established under section 

4 9801 of this title). Stock certificates evidencing ownership 

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

6 Green Bank to the Secretary of the Treasury, to the ex7 tent of payments made for the capital stock of the Green 

8 Bank. 

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

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

11 Treasury shall issue additional Green Bonds on the credit 

12 of the United States to acquire additional capital stock 

13 of the United States Green Bank in an aggregate amount 

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

15 time. 

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

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

18 mature within such periods, as determined by the Sec19 retary of the Treasury. 

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

21 a rate not less than the current average yield on out22 standing market obligations of the United States of com23 parable maturity during the month preceding the issuance 

24 of the obligation as determined by the Secretary of the 

25 Treasury. 


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

2 unconditionally guaranteed both as to interest and prin3 cipal by the United States, and such guaranty shall be 

4 expressed on the face of each bond. 

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

6 lawful investments, and may be accepted as security for 

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

8 deposit of which shall be under the authority or control 

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

10 SEC. 2. GREEN BANK. 

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

12 the following new chapter at the end thereof: 

13 ‘‘CHAPTER 98—GREEN BANK 

14 ‘‘§ 9801. United States Green Bank 

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

16 ‘United States Green Bank Act of 2019’. 

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

18 follows: 

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

20 amount of investment in clean energy, energy effi21 ciency, and other climate change mitigation and ad22 aptation projects at the State and local level. 

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

24 Americans by delivering clean electricity more effi25 ciently and at lower cost and by funding projects 


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

2 make affordable financing available to low- and mod3 erate-income families. 

4 ‘‘(3) To address the main impediment to invest5 ment at the State and local level—limited capital 

6 and tight balance sheets—by establishing a national 

7 Green Bank to capitalize legitimate Regional, State, 

8 and Municipal Green Banks. 

9 ‘‘(4) To facilitate— 

10 ‘‘(A) efficient tax equity markets for quali11 fied clean energy projects; and 

12 ‘‘(B) the financing of long-term clean en13 ergy purchasing by governmental and non14 governmental not-for-profit entities. 

15 ‘‘(5) To foster— 

16 ‘‘(A) the development and consistent appli17 cation of transparent underwriting standards, 

18 standard contractual terms, and measurement 

19 and verification protocols for qualified clean en20 ergy projects, qualified energy efficiency 

21 projects, and qualified climate change mitiga22 tion or adaptation projects; 

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

24 enables effective underwriting, risk manage25 ment, and pro forma modeling of financial perVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 May 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1528.IS S1528

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1 formance of qualified clean energy projects and 

2 qualified energy efficiency projects to support 

3 primary financing markets and stimulate devel4 opment of secondary investment markets for 

5 clean energy projects, energy efficiency projects, 

6 and climate change mitigation or adaptation 

7 projects; and 

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

9 qualified clean energy projects, qualified energy 

10 efficiency projects, and qualified climate mitiga11 tion and adaptation projects necessary to ad12 vance vital national objectives, including— 

13 ‘‘(i) achieving energy independence 

14 from foreign energy sources; 

15 ‘‘(ii) abating climate change by in16 creasing zero or low carbon electricity gen17 eration and transportation capabilities; 

18 ‘‘(iii) adapting to the impacts result19 ing from climate change; 

20 ‘‘(iv) realizing energy efficiency poten21 tial in existing infrastructure; 

22 ‘‘(v) easing the economic effects of 

23 transitioning from a carbon-based economy 

24 to a clean energy economy; 


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1 ‘‘(vi) achieving job creation through 

2 the construction and operation of qualified 

3 clean energy projects, qualified energy effi4 ciency projects, and qualified climate 

5 change mitigation or adaptation projects; 

6 ‘‘(vii) fostering long-term domestic 

7 manufacturing capacity in the clean en8 ergy, energy efficiency, and climate change 

9 mitigation or adaptation industries; and 

10 ‘‘(viii) complementing and supple11 menting other clean energy, energy effi12 ciency, and climate change mitigation and 

13 adaptation legislation at the regional, 

14 State, municipal, and county level. 

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

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

17 United States Green Bank established under sub18 section (d). 

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

20 Board of Directors of the Bank. 

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

22 ‘clean energy project’ means any electricity genera23 tion, transmission, storage, heating, cooling, trans24 portation, distribution, industrial process, or manu25 facturing project whose primary purpose is the deVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 May 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1528.IS S1528

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1 ployment, development, or production of an energy 

2 system or technology that avoids, reduces, or seques3 ters air pollutants or anthropogenic greenhouse 

4 gases, including the following: 

5 ‘‘(A) Solar. 

6 ‘‘(B) Wind. 

7 ‘‘(C) Geothermal. 

8 ‘‘(D) Biomass. 

9 ‘‘(E) Hydropower. 

10 ‘‘(F) Ocean and hydrokinetic. 

11 ‘‘(G) Fuel cell. 

12 ‘‘(H) Advanced battery. 

13 ‘‘(I) Carbon capture and sequestration. 

14 ‘‘(J) Next generation biofuels from 

15 nonfood feedstocks. 

16 ‘‘(K) Alternative fuel vehicle infrastruc17 ture. 

18 ‘‘(L) Alternative fuel vehicles. 

19 ‘‘(4) CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION OR ADAP20 TATION PROJECT.—The term ‘climate change miti21 gation or adaptation project’ means any project that 

22 reduces the emissions of greenhouse gases by 

23 sources or enhance their removal from the atmos24 phere by sinks, or reduce the vulnerability of social 

25 and biological systems to relatively sudden change 


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1 and thus offset the effects of global warming, includ2 ing— 

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

4 conservation; 

5 ‘‘(B) regenerative agriculture; 

6 ‘‘(C) transit-oriented development and 

7 mass transit infrastructure; 

8 ‘‘(D) waste and recycling; 

9 ‘‘(E) water treatment; and 

10 ‘‘(F) wetland protection.’’. 

11 ‘‘(5) ELIGIBLE CLEAN ENERGY FINANCING IN12 STITUTION.—The term ‘Eligible Clean Energy Fi13 nancing Institution’ means a not-for-profit, inde14 pendent entity, quasi-independent entity, or a gov15 ernmental entity within an agency or financing au16 thority, established or designated by a State, group 

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

18 United States, or an Eligible State Political Subdivi19 sion to— 

20 ‘‘(A) provide low-cost or long-term financ21 ing support or credit enhancements, including 

22 loan guarantees and loan loss reserves, for 

23 Qualified Clean Energy Projects, Qualified En24 ergy Efficiency Projects, or Qualified Mitigation 

25 or Adaptation Projects; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) create liquid markets for these 

2 projects including warehousing and 

3 securitization, or take other steps to reduce fi4 nancial barriers to the deployment of existing 

5 and innovative clean energy, energy efficiency 

6 projects, and climate change mitigation or ad7 aptation projects. Eligible Clean Energy Fi8 nancing Institutions may enter into partner9 ships with private entities. 

10 ‘‘(6) ELIGIBLE STATE POLITICAL SUBDIVI11 SION.—The term ‘Eligible State Political Subdivi12 sion’ means— 

13 ‘‘(A) any municipality, county or other po14 litical subdivision within a State that, based on 

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

16 Census Bureau— 

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

18 has a population of not fewer than 

19 200,000 people; 

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

21 or borough, has a population of not fewer 

22 than 800,000 people; or 

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

24 county, parish, or borough, has a popu25 lation— 


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1 ‘‘(I) of not fewer than 84,000 

2 people; and 

3 ‘‘(II) that constitutes not less 

4 than 5 percent of the total population 

5 of the State in which the municipality, 

6 county, parish, or borough is located; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(B) any political subdivision that— 

9 ‘‘(i) is located in a State that collabo10 rates as 1 region for the purposes of this 

11 Act; or 

12 ‘‘(ii)(I) collaborates with another po13 litical subdivision; and 

14 ‘‘(II) when combined with the political 

15 subdivision described in subclause (I), 

16 meets the requirements described in sub17 paragraph (A). 

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

19 ‘energy efficiency project’ means any project, tech20 nology, function, or measure that results in the re21 duction of energy use required to achieve the same 

22 level of service or output prior to the application of 

23 such project, technology, function, or measure, or 

24 substantially reduces greenhouse gas emissions rel25 ative to emissions that would have occurred prior to 


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1 the application of such project, technology, function, 

2 or measure. 

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

4 means a bond issued pursuant to section 3102A of 

5 this title. 

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

7 The term ‘qualified clean energy project’ means a 

8 clean energy project that— 

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

10 domestically within the territorial borders of the 

11 United States; 

12 ‘‘(B) stays in good standing with its fi13 nancing entity; 

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

15 law, pays wages in accordance with subchapter 

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

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

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

19 Bank only after all other existing Federal fi20 nancial support has been expended; 

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

22 the purchase or lease of eligible vehicles and not 

23 the design or manufacture thereof; and 


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1 ‘‘(F) satisfies any other conditions estab2 lished by the Bank and published in the Fed3 eral Register. 

4 ‘‘(10) QUALIFIED ENERGY EFFICIENCY

5 PROJECT.—The term ‘qualified energy efficiency 

6 project’ means an energy efficiency project, includ7 ing smart grid technologies and functions character8 ized in section 1301 of the Energy Independence 

9 and Security Act of 2007 and end-use technologies 

10 for efficiency gains in new construction and across 

11 existing infrastructure that— 

12 ‘‘(A) is an Energy Efficiency Project car13 ried out domestically within the territorial bor14 ders of the United States; 

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

16 payment obligations; 

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

18 law, pays wages in accordance with subchapter 

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

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

21 and 

22 ‘‘(D) satisfies any other conditions estab23 lished by the Bank and published in the Fed24 eral Register. 

25 ‘‘(d) GREEN BANK.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF CORPORATION.— 

2 There is established a corporation to be known as 

3 the United States Green Bank that shall be wholly 

4 owned by the United States. 

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

6 to the general supervision and direction of the Sec7 retary of the Treasury. The Bank shall be an instru8 mentality of the United States Government and shall 

9 maintain such offices as may be necessary or appro10 priate in the conduct of its business. 

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

12 for 40 years from the date of enactment of this sec13 tion. 

14 ‘‘(4) GOVERNANCE.— 

15 ‘‘(A) BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE

16 BANK.— 

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

18 under the direction of a Board of Directors 

19 consisting of 9 members and be subject to 

20 the general supervision and direction of the 

21 Secretary of the Treasury as Chairman of 

22 the Board. 

23 ‘‘(ii) MEMBERSHIP.—The Board shall 

24 consist of 9 members, as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(I) The Secretary of the Treas2 ury or the Secretary’s designee as 

3 Chairman of the Board. 

4 ‘‘(II) The Secretary of Energy or 

5 the Secretary’s designee. 

6 ‘‘(III) The Secretary of Trans7 portation or the Secretary’s designee. 

8 ‘‘(IV) The Administrator of the 

9 Environmental Protection Agency or 

10 the Administrator’s designee. 

11 ‘‘(V) The Secretary of the De12 partment of Defense or the Sec13 retary’s designee. 

14 ‘‘(VI) Four members appointed 

15 by the President of the United States 

16 including a Chief Executive Officer, 1 

17 member with expertise regarding re18 newable energy, 1 member with exper19 tise regarding energy efficiency, 1 

20 member with expertise regarding fi21 nance, 1 member with expertise re22 garding electric utilities, and 1 mem23 ber with expertise regarding sustain24 able transportation. 


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

2 Board shall constitute a quorum. 

3 ‘‘(iv) BYLAWS.—The Board shall 

4 adopt, and may amend, such bylaws as are 

5 necessary for the proper management and 

6 functioning of the Bank, and shall, in such 

7 bylaws, designate the vice presidents and 

8 other officers of the Bank and prescribe 

9 their duties. 

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

11 members of the Board shall be 4 years. 

12 For terms beginning after the first 4 years 

13 following the date of the enactment of this 

14 section, the Board shall create staggered 

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

16 the Board. 

17 ‘‘(vi) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy on 

18 the Board shall be filled in the same man19 ner in which the original appointment was 

20 made. 

21 ‘‘(vii) INTERIM APPOINTMENTS.—Any 

22 member appointed to fill a vacancy occur23 ring before the expiration of the term for 

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1 pointed shall be appointed only for the re2 mainder of such term. 

3 ‘‘(viii) REAPPOINTMENT.—Members 

4 of the Board may be reappointed for addi5 tional terms of service as members of the 

6 Board. 

7 ‘‘(ix) CONTINUATION OF SERVICE.— 

8 Any member of the Board whose term has 

9 expired may continue to serve on the 

10 Board until the earlier of— 

11 ‘‘(I) the date on which such 

12 member’s successor is appointed; or 

13 ‘‘(II) the end of the 6-month pe14 riod beginning on the date such mem15 ber’s term expires. 

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

17 Chief Executive Officer shall appoint an Execu18 tive Vice President who— 

19 ‘‘(i) shall serve as Chief Executive Of20 ficer of the Bank during the absence or 

21 disability of, or in the event of a vacancy 

22 in the office, of Chief Executive Officer; 

23 and 


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

2 functions as the Chief Executive Officer 

3 may prescribe. 

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

5 request of any 2 members of the Board, the 

6 Chairman shall place an item pertaining to the 

7 policies or procedures of the Bank on the agen8 da for discussion by the Board. Not later than 

9 30 days after the date such a request is made, 

10 the Chairman shall hold a meeting of the Board 

11 at which such item shall be discussed. 

12 ‘‘(D) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—No direc13 tor, officer, attorney, agent, or employee of the 

14 Bank shall in any manner, directly or indi15 rectly, participate in the deliberation upon, or 

16 the determination of, any question affecting 

17 such individual’s personal interests, or the in18 terests of any corporation, partnership, or asso19 ciation in which such individual is directly or 

20 indirectly personally interested. 

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

22 ‘‘(A) CONTRACTING.—The Bank may em23 ploy or otherwise contract with banks, credit 

24 agencies, attorneys, and other third parties at 

25 customary commercial rates. 


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1 ‘‘(B) HIRING.—Notwithstanding any oth2 erwise applicable Federal rules and regulations, 

3 the Bank may employ and otherwise contract 

4 with employees and provide compensation to 

5 such employees at prevailing rates for com6 pensation for similar positions in private indus7 try. 

8 ‘‘(6) SUNSET.— 

9 ‘‘(A) EXPIRATION OF CHARTER.—The 

10 Bank shall continue to exercise its functions 

11 until all obligations and commitments of the 

12 Bank are discharged, even after its charter has 

13 expired. 

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

15 of this subsection shall be construed as pre16 venting the Bank from— 

17 ‘‘(i) acquiring obligations prior to the 

18 date of the expiration of its charter which 

19 mature subsequent to such date; 

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

21 the expiration of its charter, liability as 

22 guarantor, endorser, or acceptor of obliga23 tions which mature subsequent to such 

24 date; 


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

2 the date of the expiration of its charter, 

3 for purchase by the Secretary of the Treas4 ury or any other purchasers, its notes, de5 bentures, bonds, or other obligations which 

6 mature subsequent to such date; or 

7 ‘‘(iv) continuing as a corporation and 

8 exercising any of its functions subsequent 

9 to the date of the expiration of its charter 

10 for purposes of orderly liquidation, includ11 ing the administration of its assets and the 

12 collection of any obligations held by the 

13 Bank. 

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

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

16 the Treasury of the United States a revolving fund, 

17 to be known as the ‘Green Bank Establishment 

18 Fund’ (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Fund’), con19 sisting of— 

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

21 Fund under this subtitle, including but not lim22 ited to proceeds from the Green Bonds issued 

23 under section 3102A; and 

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

25 supplement the Fund. 


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1 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Fund 

3 such sums as are necessary to carry out this sub4 title. 

5 ‘‘(3) EXPENDITURES FROM THE FUND.— 

6 Amounts in the Fund shall be available to the Chief 

7 Executive for obligation without fiscal year limita8 tion, to remain available until expended. 

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

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

11 program to provide, on a competitive basis financing 

12 or financing support from the Fund, as the Bank 

13 determines appropriate, solely to provide capitaliza14 tion to an Eligible Clean Energy Financing Institu15 tion for the establishment or continuing operation of 

16 that entity. 

17 ‘‘(2) TYPES OF FINANCING OR FINANCING SUP18 PORT.—The Bank may provide loans, loan guaran19 tees, credit buy downs, or other financing or financ20 ing support the Bank determines appropriate. 

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

22 provide loans, loan guarantees or credit buy downs 

23 under paragraph (1) if: 

24 ‘‘(A) APPLICATION.—The applicant sub25 mits an application for loans, loan guarantees 


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1 or credit buy downs in accordance with applica2 tion criteria established by the Bank. 

3 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE CLEAN ENERGY FINANCING

4 INSTITUTIONS.—An entity is eligible to receive 

5 loans, loan guarantees or credit buy downs 

6 under this section only if the entity— 

7 ‘‘(i) meets the definition of Eligible 

8 Clean Energy Financing Institution; 

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

10 solely for the purposes described in this 

11 section; and 

12 ‘‘(iii) satisfies the capitalization and 

13 funding requirements as described in this 

14 section. 

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

16 not directly lend or otherwise provide financial 

17 products to any individual projects, nor shall it 

18 be required to examine individual projects for 

19 the purposes of lending under paragraph (1) 

20 other than as necessary to determine whether 

21 an applicant meets the criteria for Eligible 

22 Clean Energy Financing Institutions. 

23 ‘‘(D) CAPITALIZATION AND CO-FUND24 ING.—The Eligible Clean Energy Financing In25 stitution— 


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1 ‘‘(i) shall provide, at the time of re2 ceipt of any initial funding for capitaliza3 tion by the Bank, an amount from funding 

4 sources other than the Bank equivalent to 

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

6 20 percent of the total initial funding pro7 vided by the Bank; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) may not receive any subsequent 

9 funding for capitalization by the Bank, in 

10 addition to any initial funding for capital11 ization provided by the Bank in accordance 

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

13 two times the amount of capital committed 

14 for use by the Eligible Clean Energy Fi15 nancing Institution for Qualified Clean En16 ergy Projects and Qualified Energy Effi17 ciency Projects at the time of application. 

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

19 regulations to carry out the activities and operations 

20 set out in this chapter. 

21 ‘‘(g) LENDING ACTIVITIES.— 

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

23 fees on its activities so as to cover its reasonable 

24 costs and expenses, consistent with the Federal 

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


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1 provided the Bank operates as a not-for-profit enti2 ty. 

3 ‘‘(2) APPROPRIATIONS AND RETENTION OF RE4 CEIPTS.—For purposes of the Federal Credit Re5 form Act, funds made available to the Green Bank 

6 pursuant to section 3102A for carrying out this sec7 tion are appropriated to the Green Bank for the 

8 purposes described in the section. Receipts collected 

9 by the Green Bank, consistent with the Federal 

10 Credit Reform Act, shall be considered to have been 

11 provided in advance in an appropriations Act, and 

12 shall remain available to the Green Bank until ex13 pended. 

14 ‘‘(3) IMMUNITY FROM IMPAIRMENT, LIMITA15 TION, OR RESTRICTION.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—All rights and rem17 edies of the Bank shall be immune from impair18 ment, limitation, or restrictions by or under— 

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

20 by Congress expressly in limitation of this 

21 paragraph) that becomes effective after the 

22 acquisition by the Bank of the subject or 

23 property on, under, or with respect to 

24 which the right or remedy arises or exists 


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1 or would so arise or exist in the absence of 

2 the law; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) any administrative or other ac4 tion that becomes effective after the acqui5 sition. 

6 ‘‘(B) STATE LAW.—The Bank may con7 duct its business without regard to any quali8 fication or law of any State relating to incorpo9 ration. 

10 ‘‘(4) TAXATION.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara12 graph (B), the Bank (including its activities, 

13 capital, reserves, surplus and income) shall be 

14 exempt from all taxation imposed by any State 

15 or local political subdivision of a State. 

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

17 of the Bank shall be subject to taxation by a 

18 State or political subdivision of a State to the 

19 same extent according to the value of the real 

20 property as other real property is taxed. 

21 ‘‘(5) POWER TO REMOVE; JURISDICTION.—Not22 withstanding any other provision of law, any civil ac23 tion, suit, or proceeding to which the Bank is a 

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

25 United States, and the United States district courts 


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1 shall have original jurisdiction. The Bank may, with2 out bond or security, remove any such action, suit, 

3 or proceeding from a State court to a United States 

4 district court or to the United States District Court 

5 for the District of Columbia. 

6 ‘‘(6) SPENDING SAFEGUARDS.— 

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

8 Officer of the Bank— 

9 ‘‘(i) shall require any Eligible Clean 

10 Energy Financing Institution receiving fi11 nancial support pursuant to this section to 

12 report quarterly, in a format specified by 

13 the Chief Executive Officer, on such enti14 ty’s use of such support and its progress 

15 fulfilling the objectives for which such sup16 port was granted, and the Chief Executive 

17 Officer shall make these reports available 

18 to the public; 

19 ‘‘(ii) may establish additional report20 ing and information requirements for any 

21 recipient of financing support made avail22 able pursuant to this section; 

23 ‘‘(iii) shall establish appropriate mech24 anisms to ensure appropriate use and com25 pliance with all terms of any financing 


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1 support made available pursuant to this 

2 section; 

3 ‘‘(iv) may, in addition to and con4 sistent with any other authority under ap5 plicable law, deobligate financing support 

6 made available pursuant to this section to 

7 entities that demonstrate an insufficient 

8 level of performance, or wasteful or fraud9 ulent spending, as defined in advance by 

10 the Chief Executive Officer, and award 

11 these funds competitively to new or exist12 ing applicants consistent with this section; 

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

14 searchable database, accessible on the 

15 Internet (or successor protocol) at no cost 

16 to the public, that contains at least— 

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

18 applied for loans, loan guarantees or 

19 credit buy downs under this section; 

20 ‘‘(II) a description of each appli21 cation; 

22 ‘‘(III) the status of each such ap23 plication; 


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•S 1528 IS

1 ‘‘(IV) the name of each entity re2 ceiving funds made available pursuant 

3 to this section; 

4 ‘‘(V) the purpose for which such 

5 entity is receiving such funds; 

6 ‘‘(VI) each quarterly report sub7 mitted by the entity pursuant to this 

8 section; and 

9 ‘‘(VII) information related to 

10 Qualifying Clean Energy Projects and 

11 Qualifying Energy Efficiency Projects 

12 funded by Eligible Clean Energy Fi13 nancing Institutions using funding re14 ceived from the Bank; 

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

16 maintained under clause (v) shall be used 

17 to inform private capital markets, includ18 ing the development of underwriting stand19 ards for the financing of clean energy 

20 projects and energy efficiency projects; 

21 ‘‘(vii) shall make all financing trans22 actions available for public inspection, in23 cluding formal annual reviews by both a 

24 private auditor and the Comptroller Gen25 eral; and 


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

2 receive public comment in writing on the 

3 activities of the Bank. 

4 ‘‘(B) PROTECTION OF CONFIDENTIAL

5 BUSINESS INFORMATION.—To the extent nec6 essary and appropriate, the Chief Executive Of7 ficer may redact any information regarding ap8 plicants and borrowers to protect confidential 

9 business information. 

10 ‘‘(7) GUARANTEE.—Except as provided in sec11 tion 3102A(e) with respect to Green Bonds, finan12 cial support provided by the Bank shall not be fully 

13 and unconditionally guaranteed by the United 

14 States. 

15 ‘‘(h) NEW BANK DIVISION.— 

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

17 New Bank Division to provide technical assistance to 

18 States, group of States, the District of Columbia, 

19 territories of the United States, or Eligible State Po20 litical Subdivisions seeking to establish green banks. 

21 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

22 There are authorized to be appropriated to the New 

23 Bank Division such sums as are necessary to carry 

24 out this subsection.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

2 (a) TAX EXEMPT STATUS.—Section 501(l) of the In3 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the 

4 end the following: 

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

6 9801 of title 31, United States Code.’’. 

7 (b) WHOLLY OWNED GOVERNMENT CORPORA8 TION.—Section 9101(3) of title 31, United States Code, 

9 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(S) the Green Bank.’’. 

11 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

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

13 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting 

14 after the item relating to section 3102 the following 

15 new item: 

‘‘3102A. Green Bonds.’’. 

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

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

18 the end the following new item: 

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

Æ 


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