I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2656 

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 

APRIL 19, 2021 

Mr. HIMES (for himself, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. BROWNLEY, Mr. 

TONKO, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. MEEKS, and Mr. CROW) 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. 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: 


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1 ‘‘§ 3102A. Green Bonds 

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

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

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

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

6 United States Green Bank (established under section 

7 9801 of this title). Stock certificates evidencing ownership 

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

9 Green Bank to the Secretary of the Treasury, to the ex10 tent of payments made for the capital stock of the Green 

11 Bank. 

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

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

14 Treasury shall issue additional Green Bonds on the credit 

15 of the United States to acquire additional capital stock 

16 of the United States Green Bank in an aggregate amount 

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

18 time. 

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

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

21 mature within such periods, as determined by the Sec22 retary of the Treasury. 

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

24 a rate not less than the current average yield on out25 standing market obligations of the United States of com26 parable maturity during the month preceding the issuance 


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1 of the obligation as determined by the Secretary of the 

2 Treasury. 

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

4 unconditionally guaranteed both as to interest and prin5 cipal by the United States, and such guaranty shall be 

6 expressed on the face of each bond. 

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

8 lawful investments, and may be accepted as security for 

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

10 deposit of which shall be under the authority or control 

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

12 SEC. 2. GREEN BANK. 

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

14 the following new chapter at the end thereof: 

15 ‘‘CHAPTER 98—GREEN BANK 

16 ‘‘§ 9801. United States Green Bank 

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

18 ‘United States Green Bank Act of 2021’. 

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

20 follows: 

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

22 amount of investment in clean energy, energy effi23 ciency, and other climate change mitigation and ad24 aptation projects at the State and local level. 


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

2 Americans by delivering clean electricity more effi3 ciently and at lower cost and by funding projects 

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

5 make affordable financing available to low- and mod6 erate-income families. 

7 ‘‘(3) To address the main impediment to invest8 ment at the State and local level—limited capital 

9 and tight balance sheets—by establishing a national 

10 Green Bank to capitalize legitimate Regional, State, 

11 and Municipal Green Banks. 

12 ‘‘(4) To facilitate— 

13 ‘‘(A) efficient tax equity markets for quali14 fied clean energy projects; and 

15 ‘‘(B) the financing of long-term clean en16 ergy purchasing by governmental and non17 governmental not-for-profit entities. 

18 ‘‘(5) To foster— 

19 ‘‘(A) the development and consistent appli20 cation of transparent underwriting standards, 

21 standard contractual terms, and measurement 

22 and verification protocols for qualified clean en23 ergy projects, qualified energy efficiency 

24 projects, and qualified climate change mitiga25 tion or adaptation projects; 


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

2 enables effective underwriting, risk manage3 ment, and pro forma modeling of financial per4 formance of qualified clean energy projects and 

5 qualified energy efficiency projects to support 

6 primary financing markets and stimulate devel7 opment of secondary investment markets for 

8 clean energy projects, energy efficiency projects, 

9 and climate change mitigation or adaptation 

10 projects; and 

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

12 qualified clean energy projects, qualified energy 

13 efficiency projects, and qualified climate mitiga14 tion and adaptation projects necessary to ad15 vance vital national objectives, including— 

16 ‘‘(i) achieving energy independence 

17 from foreign energy sources; 

18 ‘‘(ii) abating climate change by in19 creasing zero or low carbon electricity gen20 eration and transportation capabilities; 

21 ‘‘(iii) adapting to the impacts result22 ing from climate change; 

23 ‘‘(iv) realizing energy efficiency poten24 tial in existing infrastructure; 


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1 ‘‘(v) easing the economic effects of 

2 transitioning from a carbon-based economy 

3 to a clean energy economy; 

4 ‘‘(vi) achieving job creation through 

5 the construction and operation of qualified 

6 clean energy projects, qualified energy effi7 ciency projects, and qualified climate 

8 change mitigation or adaptation projects; 

9 ‘‘(vii) fostering long-term domestic 

10 manufacturing capacity in the clean en11 ergy, energy efficiency, and climate change 

12 mitigation or adaptation industries; and 

13 ‘‘(viii) complementing and supple14 menting other clean energy, energy effi15 ciency, and climate change mitigation and 

16 adaptation legislation at the regional, 

17 State, municipal, and county level. 

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

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

20 United States Green Bank established under sub21 section (d). 

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

23 Board of Directors of the Bank. 

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

25 ‘clean energy project’ means any electricity generaVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:45 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2656.IH H2656

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1 tion, transmission, storage, heating, cooling, trans2 portation, distribution, industrial process, or manu3 facturing project whose primary purpose is the de4 ployment, development, or production of an energy 

5 system or technology that avoids, reduces, or seques6 ters air pollutants or anthropogenic greenhouse 

7 gases, including the following: 

8 ‘‘(A) Solar. 

9 ‘‘(B) Wind. 

10 ‘‘(C) Geothermal. 

11 ‘‘(D) Biomass. 

12 ‘‘(E) Hydropower. 

13 ‘‘(F) Ocean and hydrokinetic. 

14 ‘‘(G) Fuel cell. 

15 ‘‘(H) Advanced battery. 

16 ‘‘(I) Carbon capture and sequestration. 

17 ‘‘(J) Next generation biofuels from 

18 nonfood feedstocks. 

19 ‘‘(K) Alternative fuel vehicle infrastruc20 ture. 

21 ‘‘(L) Alternative fuel vehicles. 

22 ‘‘(4) CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION OR ADAP23 TATION PROJECT.—The term ‘climate change miti24 gation or adaptation project’ means any project that 

25 reduces the emissions of greenhouse gases by 


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1 sources or enhance their removal from the atmos2 phere by sinks, or reduce the vulnerability of social 

3 and biological systems to relatively sudden change 

4 and thus offset the effects of global warming, includ5 ing— 

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

7 conservation; 

8 ‘‘(B) regenerative agriculture; 

9 ‘‘(C) transit-oriented development and 

10 mass transit infrastructure; 

11 ‘‘(D) waste and recycling; 

12 ‘‘(E) water treatment; and 

13 ‘‘(F) wetland protection.’’. 

14 ‘‘(5) ELIGIBLE CLEAN ENERGY FINANCING IN15 STITUTION.—The term ‘Eligible Clean Energy Fi16 nancing Institution’ means a not-for-profit, inde17 pendent entity, quasi-independent entity, or a gov18 ernmental entity within an agency or financing au19 thority, established or designated by a State, group 

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

21 United States, an Eligible State Political Subdivi22 sion, a Federal regional commission or authority, a 

23 federally-owned corporation, an interstate compact, 

24 or an independent or quasi-independent Federal en25 tity that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) provides low-cost or long-term financ2 ing support or credit enhancements, including 

3 loan guarantees and loan loss reserves, for 

4 Qualified Clean Energy Projects, Qualified En5 ergy Efficiency Projects, or Qualified Mitigation 

6 or Adaptation Projects; 

7 ‘‘(B) creates liquid markets for these 

8 projects including warehousing and 

9 securitization, or take other steps to reduce fi10 nancial barriers to the deployment of existing 

11 and innovative clean energy, energy efficiency 

12 projects, and climate change mitigation or ad13 aptation projects. Eligible Clean Energy Fi14 nancing Institutions may enter into partner15 ships with private entities; and 

16 ‘‘(C) coordinates and consults with other 

17 Federal agencies, organizations, and entities to 

18 maximize the net impact of climate mitigation 

19 and adaptation programming and investments. 

20 ‘‘(6) ELIGIBLE STATE POLITICAL SUBDIVI21 SION.—The term ‘Eligible State Political Subdivi22 sion’ means— 

23 ‘‘(A) any municipality, county or other po24 litical subdivision within a State that, based on 


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

2 Census Bureau— 

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

4 has a population of not fewer than 

5 200,000 people; 

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

7 or borough, has a population of not fewer 

8 than 800,000 people; or 

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

10 county, parish, or borough, has a popu11 lation— 

12 ‘‘(I) of not fewer than 84,000 

13 people; and 

14 ‘‘(II) that constitutes not less 

15 than 5 percent of the total population 

16 of the State in which the municipality, 

17 county, parish, or borough is located; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(B) any political subdivision that— 

20 ‘‘(i) is located in a State that collabo21 rates as 1 region for the purposes of this 

22 Act; or 

23 ‘‘(ii)(I) collaborates with another po24 litical subdivision; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) when combined with the political 

2 subdivision described in subclause (I), 

3 meets the requirements described in sub4 paragraph (A). 

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

6 ‘energy efficiency project’ means any project, tech7 nology, function, or measure that results in the re8 duction of energy use required to achieve the same 

9 level of service or output prior to the application of 

10 such project, technology, function, or measure, or 

11 substantially reduces greenhouse gas emissions rel12 ative to emissions that would have occurred prior to 

13 the application of such project, technology, function, 

14 or measure. 

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

16 means a bond issued pursuant to section 3102A of 

17 this title. 

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

19 The term ‘qualified clean energy project’ means a 

20 clean energy project, including smart grid tech21 nologies and functions characterized in section 1301 

22 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 

23 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17381) and end-use technologies 

24 for efficiency gains in new construction and across 

25 existing infrastructure, that— 


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

2 domestically within the territorial borders of the 

3 United States; 

4 ‘‘(B) to the extent otherwise required by 

5 law, pays wages in accordance with subchapter 

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

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

8 ‘‘(C) if for nuclear power, is funded by the 

9 Bank only after all other existing Federal fi10 nancial support has been expended; 

11 ‘‘(D) if for Alternative fuel vehicles, is for 

12 the purchase or lease of eligible vehicles and not 

13 the design or manufacture thereof; and 

14 ‘‘(E) satisfies any other conditions estab15 lished by the Bank and published in the Fed16 eral Register. 

17 ‘‘(d) GREEN BANK.— 

18 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF CORPORATION.— 

19 There is established a corporation to be known as 

20 the United States Green Bank that shall be wholly 

21 owned by the United States. 

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

23 to the general supervision and direction of the Sec24 retary of the Treasury. The Bank shall be an instru25 mentality of the United States Government and shall 


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1 maintain such offices as may be necessary or appro2 priate in the conduct of its business. 

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

4 for 40 years from the date of enactment of this sec5 tion. 

6 ‘‘(4) GOVERNANCE.— 

7 ‘‘(A) BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE

8 BANK.— 

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

10 under the direction of a Board of Directors 

11 consisting of 9 members and be subject to 

12 the general supervision and direction of the 

13 Secretary of the Treasury as Chairman of 

14 the Board. 

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

16 consist of 9 members, as follows: 

17 ‘‘(I) The Secretary of the Treas18 ury or the Secretary’s designee as 

19 Chairman of the Board. 

20 ‘‘(II) The Secretary of Energy or 

21 the Secretary’s designee. 

22 ‘‘(III) The Secretary of Trans23 portation or the Secretary’s designee. 


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1 ‘‘(IV) The Administrator of the 

2 Environmental Protection Agency or 

3 the Administrator’s designee. 

4 ‘‘(V) The Secretary of the De5 partment of Defense or the Sec6 retary’s designee. 

7 ‘‘(VI) Four members appointed 

8 by the President of the United States 

9 including a Chief Executive Officer, 1 

10 member with expertise regarding re11 newable energy, 1 member with exper12 tise regarding energy efficiency, 1 

13 member with expertise regarding fi14 nance, 1 member with expertise re15 garding electric utilities, and 1 mem16 ber with expertise regarding sustain17 able transportation. 

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

19 Board shall constitute a quorum. 

20 ‘‘(iv) BYLAWS.—The Board shall 

21 adopt, and may amend, such bylaws as are 

22 necessary for the proper management and 

23 functioning of the Bank, and shall, in such 

24 bylaws, designate the vice presidents and 


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1 other officers of the Bank and prescribe 

2 their duties. 

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

4 members of the Board shall be 4 years. 

5 For terms beginning after the first 4 years 

6 following the date of the enactment of this 

7 section, the Board shall create staggered 

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

9 the Board. 

10 ‘‘(vi) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy on 

11 the Board shall be filled in the same man12 ner in which the original appointment was 

13 made. 

14 ‘‘(vii) INTERIM APPOINTMENTS.—Any 

15 member appointed to fill a vacancy occur16 ring before the expiration of the term for 

17 which such member’s predecessor was ap18 pointed shall be appointed only for the re19 mainder of such term. 

20 ‘‘(viii) REAPPOINTMENT.—Members 

21 of the Board may be reappointed for addi22 tional terms of service as members of the 

23 Board. 

24 ‘‘(ix) CONTINUATION OF SERVICE.— 

25 Any member of the Board whose term has 


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1 expired may continue to serve on the 

2 Board until the earlier of— 

3 ‘‘(I) the date on which such 

4 member’s successor is appointed; or 

5 ‘‘(II) the end of the 6-month pe6 riod beginning on the date such mem7 ber’s term expires. 

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

9 Chief Executive Officer shall appoint an Execu10 tive Vice President who— 

11 ‘‘(i) shall serve as Chief Executive Of12 ficer of the Bank during the absence or 

13 disability of, or in the event of a vacancy 

14 in the office, of Chief Executive Officer; 

15 and 

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

17 functions as the Chief Executive Officer 

18 may prescribe. 

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

20 request of any 2 members of the Board, the 

21 Chairman shall place an item pertaining to the 

22 policies or procedures of the Bank on the agen23 da for discussion by the Board. Not later than 

24 30 days after the date such a request is made, 


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1 the Chairman shall hold a meeting of the Board 

2 at which such item shall be discussed. 

3 ‘‘(D) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—No direc4 tor, officer, attorney, agent, or employee of the 

5 Bank shall in any manner, directly or indi6 rectly, participate in the deliberation upon, or 

7 the determination of, any question affecting 

8 such individual’s personal interests, or the in9 terests of any corporation, partnership, or asso10 ciation in which such individual is directly or 

11 indirectly personally interested. 

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

13 ‘‘(A) CONTRACTING.—The Bank may em14 ploy or otherwise contract with banks, credit 

15 agencies, attorneys, and other third parties at 

16 customary commercial rates. 

17 ‘‘(B) HIRING.—Notwithstanding any oth18 erwise applicable Federal rules and regulations, 

19 the Bank may employ and otherwise contract 

20 with employees and provide compensation to 

21 such employees at prevailing rates for com22 pensation for similar positions in private indus23 try. 

24 ‘‘(6) SUNSET.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) EXPIRATION OF CHARTER.—The 

2 Bank shall continue to exercise its functions 

3 until all obligations and commitments of the 

4 Bank are discharged, even after its charter has 

5 expired. 

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

7 of this subsection shall be construed as pre8 venting the Bank from— 

9 ‘‘(i) acquiring obligations prior to the 

10 date of the expiration of its charter which 

11 mature subsequent to such date; 

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

13 the expiration of its charter, liability as 

14 guarantor, endorser, or acceptor of obliga15 tions which mature subsequent to such 

16 date; 

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

18 the date of the expiration of its charter, 

19 for purchase by the Secretary of the Treas20 ury or any other purchasers, its notes, de21 bentures, bonds, or other obligations which 

22 mature subsequent to such date; or 

23 ‘‘(iv) continuing as a corporation and 

24 exercising any of its functions subsequent 

25 to the date of the expiration of its charter 


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1 for purposes of orderly liquidation, includ2 ing the administration of its assets and the 

3 collection of any obligations held by the 

4 Bank. 

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

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

7 the Treasury of the United States a revolving fund, 

8 to be known as the ‘Green Bank Establishment 

9 Fund’ (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Fund’), con10 sisting of— 

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

12 Fund under this subtitle, including but not lim13 ited to proceeds from the Green Bonds issued 

14 under section 3102A; and 

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

16 supplement the Fund. 

17 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

18 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Fund 

19 such sums as are necessary to carry out this sub20 title. 

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

22 Amounts in the Fund shall be available to the Chief 

23 Executive for obligation without fiscal year limita24 tion, to remain available until expended. 

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


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

2 program to provide, on a competitive basis financing 

3 or financing support from the Fund, as the Bank 

4 determines appropriate, solely to provide capitaliza5 tion to an Eligible Clean Energy Financing Institu6 tion for the establishment or continuing operation of 

7 that entity. 

8 ‘‘(2) TYPES OF FINANCING OR FINANCING SUP9 PORT.—The Bank may provide loans, loan guaran10 tees, credit buy downs, or other financing or financ11 ing support the Bank determines appropriate. 

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

13 provide loans, loan guarantees or credit buy downs 

14 under paragraph (1) if: 

15 ‘‘(A) APPLICATION.—The applicant sub16 mits an application for loans, loan guarantees 

17 or credit buy downs in accordance with applica18 tion criteria established by the Bank. 

19 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE CLEAN ENERGY FINANCING

20 INSTITUTIONS.—An entity is eligible to receive 

21 loans, loan guarantees or credit buy downs 

22 under this section only if the entity— 

23 ‘‘(i) meets the definition of Eligible 

24 Clean Energy Financing Institution; 


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

2 solely for the purposes described in this 

3 section; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) satisfies the capitalization and 

5 funding requirements as described in this 

6 section. 

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

8 not directly lend or otherwise provide financial 

9 products to any individual projects, nor shall it 

10 be required to examine individual projects for 

11 the purposes of lending under paragraph (1) 

12 other than as necessary to determine whether 

13 an applicant meets the criteria for Eligible 

14 Clean Energy Financing Institutions. 

15 ‘‘(D) CAPITALIZATION AND CO-FUND16 ING.—The Eligible Clean Energy Financing In17 stitution— 

18 ‘‘(i) shall provide, at the time of re19 ceipt of any initial funding for capitaliza20 tion by the Bank, an amount from funding 

21 sources other than the Bank equivalent to 

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

23 20 percent of the total initial funding pro24 vided by the Bank; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) may not receive any subsequent 

2 funding for capitalization by the Bank, in 

3 addition to any initial funding for capital4 ization provided by the Bank in accordance 

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

6 two times the amount of capital committed 

7 for use by the Eligible Clean Energy Fi8 nancing Institution for Qualified Clean En9 ergy Projects and Qualified Energy Effi10 ciency Projects at the time of application. 

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

12 regulations to carry out the activities and operations 

13 set out in this chapter. 

14 ‘‘(g) LENDING ACTIVITIES.— 

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

16 fees on its activities so as to cover its reasonable 

17 costs and expenses, consistent with the Federal 

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

19 provided the Bank operates as a not-for-profit enti20 ty. 

21 ‘‘(2) APPROPRIATIONS AND RETENTION OF RE22 CEIPTS.—For purposes of the Federal Credit Re23 form Act, funds made available to the Green Bank 

24 pursuant to section 3102A for carrying out this sec25 tion are appropriated to the Green Bank for the 


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1 purposes described in the section. Receipts collected 

2 by the Green Bank, consistent with the Federal 

3 Credit Reform Act, shall be considered to have been 

4 provided in advance in an appropriations Act, and 

5 shall remain available to the Green Bank until ex6 pended. 

7 ‘‘(3) IMMUNITY FROM IMPAIRMENT, LIMITA8 TION, OR RESTRICTION.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—All rights and rem10 edies of the Bank shall be immune from impair11 ment, limitation, or restrictions by or under— 

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

13 by Congress expressly in limitation of this 

14 paragraph) that becomes effective after the 

15 acquisition by the Bank of the subject or 

16 property on, under, or with respect to 

17 which the right or remedy arises or exists 

18 or would so arise or exist in the absence of 

19 the law; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) any administrative or other ac21 tion that becomes effective after the acqui22 sition. 

23 ‘‘(B) STATE LAW.—The Bank may con24 duct its business without regard to any qualiVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:45 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2656.IH H2656

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1 fication or law of any State relating to incorpo2 ration. 

3 ‘‘(4) TAXATION.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara5 graph (B), the Bank (including its activities, 

6 capital, reserves, surplus and income) shall be 

7 exempt from all taxation imposed by any State 

8 or local political subdivision of a State. 

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

10 of the Bank shall be subject to taxation by a 

11 State or political subdivision of a State to the 

12 same extent according to the value of the real 

13 property as other real property is taxed. 

14 ‘‘(5) POWER TO REMOVE; JURISDICTION.—Not15 withstanding any other provision of law, any civil ac16 tion, suit, or proceeding to which the Bank is a 

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

18 United States, and the United States district courts 

19 shall have original jurisdiction. The Bank may, with20 out bond or security, remove any such action, suit, 

21 or proceeding from a State court to a United States 

22 district court or to the United States District Court 

23 for the District of Columbia. 

24 ‘‘(6) SPENDING SAFEGUARDS.— 


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

2 Officer of the Bank— 

3 ‘‘(i) shall require any Eligible Clean 

4 Energy Financing Institution receiving fi5 nancial support pursuant to this section to 

6 report quarterly, in a format specified by 

7 the Chief Executive Officer, on such enti8 ty’s use of such support and its progress 

9 fulfilling the objectives for which such sup10 port was granted, and the Chief Executive 

11 Officer shall make these reports available 

12 to the public; 

13 ‘‘(ii) may establish additional report14 ing and information requirements for any 

15 recipient of financing support made avail16 able pursuant to this section; 

17 ‘‘(iii) shall establish appropriate mech18 anisms to ensure appropriate use and com19 pliance with all terms of any financing 

20 support made available pursuant to this 

21 section; 

22 ‘‘(iv) may, in addition to and con23 sistent with any other authority under ap24 plicable law, deobligate financing support 

25 made available pursuant to this section to 


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1 entities that demonstrate an insufficient 

2 level of performance, or wasteful or fraud3 ulent spending, as defined in advance by 

4 the Chief Executive Officer, and award 

5 these funds competitively to new or exist6 ing applicants consistent with this section; 

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

8 searchable database, accessible on the 

9 Internet (or successor protocol) at no cost 

10 to the public, that contains at least— 

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

12 applied for loans, loan guarantees or 

13 credit buy downs under this section; 

14 ‘‘(II) a description of each appli15 cation; 

16 ‘‘(III) the status of each such ap17 plication; 

18 ‘‘(IV) the name of each entity re19 ceiving funds made available pursuant 

20 to this section; 

21 ‘‘(V) the purpose for which such 

22 entity is receiving such funds; 

23 ‘‘(VI) each quarterly report sub24 mitted by the entity pursuant to this 

25 section; and 


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1 ‘‘(VII) information related to 

2 Qualifying Clean Energy Projects and 

3 Qualifying Energy Efficiency Projects 

4 funded by Eligible Clean Energy Fi5 nancing Institutions using funding re6 ceived from the Bank; 

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

8 maintained under clause (v) shall be used 

9 to inform private capital markets, includ10 ing the development of underwriting stand11 ards for the financing of clean energy 

12 projects and energy efficiency projects; 

13 ‘‘(vii) shall make all financing trans14 actions available for public inspection, in15 cluding formal annual reviews by both a 

16 private auditor and the Comptroller Gen17 eral; and 

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

19 receive public comment in writing on the 

20 activities of the Bank. 

21 ‘‘(B) PROTECTION OF CONFIDENTIAL

22 BUSINESS INFORMATION.—To the extent nec23 essary and appropriate, the Chief Executive Of24 ficer may redact any information regarding apVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:45 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2656.IH H2656

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1 plicants and borrowers to protect confidential 

2 business information. 

3 ‘‘(7) GUARANTEE.—Except as provided in sec4 tion 3102A(e) with respect to Green Bonds, finan5 cial support provided by the Bank shall not be fully 

6 and unconditionally guaranteed by the United 

7 States. 

8 ‘‘(h) NEW BANK DIVISION.— 

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

10 New Bank Division to provide technical assistance to 

11 States, group of States, the District of Columbia, 

12 territories of the United States, or Eligible State Po13 litical Subdivisions seeking to establish green banks. 

14 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

15 There are authorized to be appropriated to the New 

16 Bank Division such sums as are necessary to carry 

17 out this subsection.’’. 

18 SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

19 (a) TAX EXEMPT STATUS.—Section 501(l) of the In20 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the 

21 end the following: 

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

23 9801 of title 31, United States Code.’’. 


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1 (b) WHOLLY OWNED GOVERNMENT CORPORA2 TION.—Section 9101(3) of title 31, United States Code, 

3 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(Q) the Green Bank.’’. 

5 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

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

7 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting 

8 after the item relating to section 3102 the following 

9 new item: 

‘‘3102A. Green Bonds.’’. 

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

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

12 the end the following new item: 

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

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS