I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4905 
To direct the Secretary of Transportation to carry out a program to provide 
secured loans to private entities to carry out projects for the transpor-
tation of anthropogenic carbon dioxide, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 29, 2019 
Mrs. BUSTOS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Transportation to carry out a 
program to provide secured loans to private entities to 
carry out projects for the transportation of anthropogenic 
carbon dioxide, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Investing in Energy 
Systems for the Transport of CO2 Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that each State should 
consider— 
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(1) qualifying all anthropogenic carbon dioxide 
pipelines as pollution control devices under the laws 
and regulations of such State; and 
(2) the establishment of a minimum of a 10- 
year waiver of ad valorem and property taxes for 
such pipelines. 
SEC. 3. CARBON TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE FINANC-
ING PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation 
shall carry out a program to provide Federal credit instru-
ments to private entities to carry out projects for the con-
struction of common carrier pipelines for the transpor-
tation of anthropogenic carbon dioxide as a supercritical 
fluid. 
(b) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to receive assist-
ance under this section, an entity shall submit to the Sec-
retary an application at such time, in such manner, and 
containing such information as the Secretary may require. 
(c) PROJECTS ELIGIBLE FOR ASSISTANCE.—The fol-
lowing projects may be carried out with amounts made 
available under this section: 
(1) A project to construct, or increase the di-
ameter of, a common carrier trunk pipeline for the 
transportation of anthropogenic carbon dioxide as a 
supercritical fluid between one or more— 
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(A) carbon dioxide capture or production 
facilities; 
(B) carbon dioxide pipelines; 
(C) carbon dioxide storage facilities; or 
(D) carbon dioxide utilization facilities. 
(2) A project to construct common carrier feed-
er pipelines for the transportation of anthropogenic 
carbon dioxide as a supercritical fluid between cap-
ture, production, refining, or manufacturing facilities 
or qualified facilities and a trunk pipeline described 
in paragraph (1). 
(d) DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY AND PROJECT 
SELECTION.—To be eligible to receive financial assistance 
under this section, an entity shall meet the following cri-
teria, as determined by the Secretary: 
(1) CREDIT WORTHINESS.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The entity shall be 
creditworthy, as determined by the Secretary. 
(B) 
CONSIDERATIONS.—In 
determining 
the creditworthiness of an entity, the Secretary 
shall take into consideration relevant factors, 
including— 
(i) the terms, conditions, financial 
structure, and security features of the pro-
posed financing; 
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(ii) the dedicated revenue sources that 
will secure or fund the project obligations; 
(iii) the financial assumptions upon 
which the project is based; and 
(iv) the financial soundness and credit 
history of the entity. 
(C) SECURITY FEATURES.—The Secretary 
shall ensure that any financing for the project 
has appropriate security features, such as a 
rate covenant, supporting the project obliga-
tions to ensure repayment. 
(D) RATING OPINION LETTERS.— 
(i) PRELIMINARY
RATING
OPINION 
LETTER.—The Secretary shall require each 
entity to provide, at the time of applica-
tion, a preliminary rating opinion letter 
from at least 1 rating agency indicating 
that the senior obligations of the project 
(which may be the Federal credit instru-
ment) have the potential to achieve an in-
vestment-grade rating. 
(ii) FINAL
RATING
OPINION
LET-
TER.—The Secretary shall require each en-
tity to provide, prior to final acceptance 
and financing of the project, final rating 
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opinion letters from at least 2 rating agen-
cies indicating that the senior obligations 
of the project have an investment-grade 
rating. 
(2) PROPOSED PROJECT.—The Secretary shall 
ensure that any common carrier trunk pipeline con-
structed or increased under this section has, or is in-
creased to, an external diameter of not less than 30 
inches. 
(e) SELECTION OF PROJECTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program 
under subsection (a), the Secretary may not provide 
a secured loan to finance more than one common 
carrier trunk pipeline project the majority of the 
pipeline length of which will be constructed in a sin-
gle census region. 
(2) CENSUS REGION DEFINED.—For purposes 
of this section, the term ‘‘census region’’ means 1 of 
the 4 census regions (northeast, south, midwest, and 
west) that are designated as census regions by the 
Bureau of the Census as of the date of enactment 
of this Act. 
(3) PRIORITY.—In carrying out the program 
under subsection (a) for projects described in (c)(1), 
the Secretary shall give priority to applications that 
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propose construction of a common carrier trunk 
pipeline project in an area where pipelines or other 
linear infrastructure already exist. 
(f) SECURED LOANS.— 
(1) AGREEMENTS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs 
(2) and (3), the Secretary may enter into agree-
ments with 1 or more entities to make secured 
loans, the proceeds of which shall be used to fi-
nance project costs of any project selected 
under this section. 
(B) FINANCIAL
RISK
ASSESSMENT.—Be-
fore entering into an agreement under this sub-
section for a secured loan, the Secretary, in 
consultation with the Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget and each rating agen-
cy providing a rating opinion letter under this 
section, shall determine an appropriate capital 
reserve subsidy amount for the secured loan, 
taking into account each such rating opinion 
letter. 
(C) INVESTMENT-GRADE RATING REQUIRE-
MENT.—The execution of a secured loan under 
this section shall be contingent on receipt by 
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the senior obligations of the project of an in-
vestment-grade rating. 
(2) TERMS AND LIMITATIONS.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—A secured loan pro-
vided for a project under this section shall be 
subject to such terms and conditions, and con-
tain such covenants, representations, warran-
ties, and requirements (including requirements 
for audits), as the Secretary determines to be 
appropriate. 
(B) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The amount of a 
secured loan under this section shall not exceed 
80 percent of the reasonably anticipated project 
costs. 
(C) PAYMENT.—A secured loan under this 
section— 
(i) shall be payable, in whole or in 
part, from user fees or other dedicated rev-
enue sources that also secure the senior 
project obligations of the relevant project; 
(ii) shall include a rate covenant, cov-
erage requirement, or similar security fea-
ture supporting the project obligations; 
and 
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(iii) may have a lien on revenues de-
scribed in subparagraph (A), subject to 
any lien securing project obligations. 
(D) INTEREST
RATE.—The interest rate 
on a secured loan under this section shall be 
not less than the yield on United States Treas-
ury securities of a similar maturity to the ma-
turity of the secured loan on the date of execu-
tion of the loan agreement. 
(E) MATURITY DATE.—The final maturity 
date of a secured loan under this section shall 
be the earlier of— 
(i) the date that is 35 years after the 
date of substantial completion of the rel-
evant project (as determined by the Sec-
retary); or 
(ii) if the useful life of the project (as 
determined by the Secretary) is less than 
35 years, the useful life the project. 
(F) NONSUBORDINATION.—A secured loan 
under this section shall not be subordinated to 
the claims of any holder of project obligations 
in the event of bankruptcy, insolvency, or liq-
uidation of the entity carrying out the project. 
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(G) FINANCING FEES.—On request of an 
entity, any fees to be paid by the entity under 
this section shall be financed as part of the 
loan. 
(3) REPAYMENT.— 
(A) SCHEDULE.—The Secretary shall es-
tablish a repayment schedule for each secured 
loan provided under this section, based on the 
projected cash flow from project revenues and 
other repayment sources. 
(B) COMMENCEMENT.—Scheduled loan re-
payments of principal or interest on a secured 
loan under this section shall commence not 
later than 5 years after the date of substantial 
completion of the project (as determined by the 
Secretary). 
(C) DEFERRED PAYMENTS.— 
(i) AUTHORIZATION.—If, at any time 
after the date of substantial completion of 
a project for which a secured loan is pro-
vided under this section, the project is un-
able to generate sufficient revenues to pay 
the scheduled loan repayments of principal 
and interest on the secured loan, the Sec-
retary subject to clause (iii), may allow the 
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entity to add unpaid principal and interest 
to the outstanding balance of the secured 
loan. 
(ii) INTEREST.—Any payment de-
ferred under clause (i) shall— 
(I) continue to accrue interest in 
accordance with paragraph (2)(D) 
until fully repaid; and 
(II) be scheduled to be amortized 
over the remaining term of the se-
cured loan. 
(iii) CRITERIA.— 
(I) IN GENERAL.—Any payment 
deferral under clause (i) shall be con-
tingent on the project meeting such 
criteria as the Secretary may estab-
lish. 
(II) REPAYMENT
STANDARDS.— 
The criteria established under sub-
clause (I) shall include standards for 
reasonable assurance of repayment. 
(iv) PREPAYMENT.— 
(I) 
USE
OF
EXCESS
REVE-
NUES.—Any excess revenues that re-
main after satisfying scheduled debt 
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service requirements on the project 
obligations and secured loan and all 
deposit requirements under the terms 
of any trust agreement, bond resolu-
tion, or similar agreement securing 
project obligations may be applied an-
nually to prepay a secured loan under 
this section without penalty. 
(II) USE OF PROCEEDS OF REFI-
NANCING.—A secured loan under this 
section may be prepaid at any time 
without penalty from the proceeds of 
refinancing from non-Federal funding 
sources. 
(4) SALE OF SECURED LOANS.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), as soon as practicable after the date 
of substantial completion of a project and after 
providing a notice to the entity, the Secretary 
may sell to another entity or reoffer into the 
capital markets a secured loan for a project 
under this section, if the Secretary determines 
that the sale or reoffering can be made on fa-
vorable terms. 
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(B) CONSENT OF ENTITY.—In making a 
sale or reoffering under subparagraph (A), the 
Secretary may not change the original terms 
and conditions of the secured loan without the 
written consent of the entity. 
(5) LOAN GUARANTEES.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary may 
provide a loan guarantee to a lender in lieu of 
making a secured loan under this section, if the 
Secretary determines that the budgetary cost of 
the loan guarantee is substantially the same as 
that of a secured loan. 
(B) TERMS.—The terms of a loan guar-
antee provided under this paragraph shall be 
consistent with the terms established in this 
section for a secured loan, except that the rate 
on the guaranteed loan and any prepayment 
features shall be negotiated between the entity 
and the lender, with the consent of the Sec-
retary. 
(6) LIMITATION.—No project receiving Federal 
credit assistance under this section may be financed 
(directly or indirectly), in whole or in part, with pro-
ceeds of any obligation— 
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(A) the interest on which is exempt from 
the tax imposed under chapter 1 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986; or 
(B) with respect to which credit is allow-
able under subpart I or J of part IV of sub-
chapter A of chapter 1 of such Code. 
(g) PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION.— 
(1) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish a uniform system to service the Federal credit 
instruments made available under this section. 
(2) FEES.—The Secretary may collect and 
spend fees, contingent on authority being provided in 
appropriations Acts, at a level that is sufficient to 
cover— 
(A) the costs of expert firms retained 
under paragraph (4); and 
(B) all or a portion of the costs to the 
Federal Government of servicing the Federal 
credit instruments provided under this section. 
(3) SERVICER.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may ap-
point a financial entity to assist the Secretary 
in servicing the Federal credit instruments pro-
vided under this section. 
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(B) DUTIES.—A servicer appointed under 
subparagraph (A) shall act as the agent for the 
Secretary. 
(C) FEE.—A servicer appointed under sub-
paragraph (A) shall receive a servicing fee, sub-
ject to approval by the Secretary. 
(4) ASSISTANCE
FROM
EXPERTS.—The Sec-
retary may retain the services, including counsel, of 
organizations and entities with expertise in the field 
of project finance to assist in the underwriting and 
servicing of Federal credit instruments provided 
under this section. 
(h) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 
section shall be construed to— 
(1) supersede the applicability of other require-
ments of Federal law (including regulations); 
(2) relieve any recipient of financial assistance 
under this section of any obligation to obtain any re-
quired State, local, or tribal permit or approval with 
respect to the project; 
(3) limit the right of any unit of State, local, 
or tribal government to approve or regulate any rate 
of return on private equity invested in the project; 
or 
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(4) otherwise supersede any State, local, or 
tribal law (including any regulation) applicable to 
the construction or operation of the project. 
(i) PREVAILING RATE OF WAGE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ensure 
that laborers and mechanics employed by contractors 
and subcontractors on a project financed in whole or 
in part by a Federal credit instrument made avail-
able under this section will be paid wages at rates 
not less than those prevailing on similar construction 
in the locality, as determined by the Secretary of 
Labor under subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40. 
(2) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF LABOR.— 
With respect to the labor standards specified in 
paragraph (1), the Secretary of Labor shall have, 
with respect to the labor standards specified in this 
subsection, the authority and functions set forth in 
Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 (15 F.R. 
3176) and section 3145 of title 40, United States 
Code. 
(j) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary may issue such 
regulations as the Secretary determines appropriate to 
carry out this section. 
(k) USE OF AMERICAN IRON, STEEL, AND MANUFAC-
TURED GOODS.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided by para-
graph (2), the Secretary shall make available a Fed-
eral credit instrument for a project under this sec-
tion only if all of the iron, steel, and manufactured 
goods used in the project are produced in the United 
States. 
(2) EXCEPTION.—Upon the submission of a re-
quest for a waiver of the requirements under para-
graph (1) by an entity, the Secretary may waive 
paragraph (1) if the Secretary finds that— 
(A) applying paragraph (1) would be in-
consistent with the public interest; 
(B) iron, steel, and the relevant manufac-
tured goods are not produced in the United 
States in sufficient and reasonably available 
quantities and of a satisfactory quality; or 
(C) inclusion of iron, steel, and manufac-
tured goods produced in the United States will 
increase the cost of the overall project by more 
than 25 percent. 
(3) WRITTEN
WAIVER
DETERMINATION
AND 
ANNUAL REPORT.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—If the Secretary re-
ceives a request for a waiver under this sub-
section, the Secretary shall— 
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