,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #hdhg  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,october #a1         
#bjbj,mr4 ,kevin ,hern of ,oklahoma 7for
 himself1 ,mr4 ,gosar1 ,mr4 ,mullin1    
,mr4 ,newhouse1 ,mr4 ,duncan1 ,mr4      
,balderson1 ,mr4 ,stauber1 ,mr4 ,weber  
of ,texas1 ,mr4 ,allen1 ,mr4 ,david ,p4 
,roe of ,tennessee1 ,mr4 ,bishop of     
,utah1 and ,ms4 ,cheney7 introduced the 
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,natural ,resources1  
and in addition to the ,committees on   
,agriculture1 ,energy and ,commerce1 the
 ,budget1 and ,rules1 for a period to be
 subsequently determined by the         
,speaker1 in each case for consideration
 of such provisions as fall within the  
jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
,a ,,bill  ,to prevent energy poverty in
 at-risk communities1 and for other     
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,energy ,poverty    
,prevention and ,accountability ,act4   
#b4 ,statement of policy ,it is the     

policy of the ,united ,states that--    
7#a7 all citizens should have equal     
access to affordable and reliable energy
 to maintain personal health and        
economic security2  7#b7 the ,united    
,states should mitigate the disparate   
impact of increases in the cost of      
energy on at-risk communities because   
such communities are more likely to have
 a fixed income and spend a higher      
percentage of their income on energy    
than the general population2 and  7#c7  
to prevent energy poverty and to ensure 
that each at-risk community has access  
to affordable energy1 the ,united       
,states should ensure that laws relating
 to environmental and energy policy1    
including the ,national ,environmental  
,policy ,act of #aifi 7#db ,u4,s4,c4    
#dcba et seq471 the ,endangered ,species
 ,act of #aigc 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #aeca et  
seq471 and the ,migratory ,bird ,treaty 
,act 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #gjc et seq471 do   
not have the effect of increasing the   
cost of energy for any at-risk          

community4  #c4 ,department of the      
,interior report on access to reliable  
and affordable energy ,not later than #a
 year after the date of enactment of    
this section1 the ,secretary of the     
,interior shall submit to ,congress a   
report that-- 7#a7 identifies barriers  
to the ability of at-risk communities   
that live on or near ,federal land or   
,tribal land to access reliable and     
affordable energy1 including how the    
presence of adequate energy transmission
 infrastructure affects such access2 and
  7#b7 recommends actions that the      
,secretary of the ,interior and the     
,chief of the ,forest ,service could    
take to reduce the barriers described in
 paragraph 7#a71 including by-- 7,a7    
establishing lower fees or lowering     
other costs2  7,b7 streamlining the     
approval of rights-of-way on ,federal   
land and ,tribal land2  7,c7 encouraging
 private energy sector investment in    
,federal land and ,tribal land2 and     
7,d7 rapidly developing electric        

transmission and delivery systems in    
remote areas4  #d4 ,congressional       
,budget ,office estimates for effects on
 energy prices ,the ,director of the    
,congressional ,budget ,office shall    
include in each applicable estimate     
required under section #djb of the      
,congressional ,budget and ,impoundment 
,control ,act of #aigd 7#b ,u4,s4,c4    
#fec7 an estimate of how the bill or    
resolution will affect the cost of      
energy for at-risk communities4  #e4    
,government ,accountability ,office     
identification of energy poverty  7a7   
,analysis  7#a7 ,in general ,the        
,comptroller ,general of the ,united    
,states shall conduct an analysis of    
,federal energy and environmental laws1 
regulations issued by the ,secretary of 
the ,interior and the ,chief of the     
,forest ,service that relate to energy  
and environmental policy1 and ,state    
renewable portfolio standards to        
determine how such laws1 regulations1   
and standards affect the following      

prices for at-risk communities during   
the preceding fiscal year3 7,a7         
,electricity prices4  7,b7 ,home heating
 prices4  7,c7 ,gasoline prices4  7,d7  
,motor vehicle prices4  7,e7 ,natural   
gas prices4  7,f7 ,household appliance  
prices4  7#b7 ,report ,not later than #a
 year after the date of enactment of    
this section1 the ,comptroller ,general 
of the ,united ,states shall submit to  
,congress a report on the analysis      
conducted under paragraph 7#a74  7b7    
,energy poverty  7#a7 ,in general ,the  
,comptroller ,general of the ,united    
,states shall develop criteria to       
determine whether an at-risk community  
is experiencing energy poverty4  7#b7   
,report ,not later than #a year after   
the date of enactment of this section1  
the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united
 ,states shall submit to ,congress a    
report that-- 7,a7 identifies1 by       
location and type of at-risk community1 
which at-risk communities are           
experiencing energy poverty2 and  7,b7  

provides recommendations on how to      
reduce such energy poverty4  #f4 ,office
 of ,management and ,budget review of   
energy regulations  7a7 ,in general ,the
 ,director of the ,office of ,management
 and ,budget shall review each          
applicable energy regulation to         
determine if any applicable energy      
regulation imposes1 relative to the     
general population1 disproportionate    
costs on at-risk communities4  7b7      
,publication ,the ,director of the      
,office of ,management and ,budget shall
 publish in the ,federal ,register the  
results of the review required under    
subsection 7a74  #g4 ,definitions ,in   
this ,act3 7#a7 ,at-risk community ,the 
term at-risk community means each of the
 following3 7,a7 ,a low-income          
community4  7,b7 ,a minority community4 
7,c7 ,a rural community4  7,d7 ,an      
elderly community4  7,e7 ,a ,native     
,american community4  7#b7 ,applicable  
energy regulation ,the term applicable  
energy regulation means any ,federal    

regulation that relates to energy and-- 
7,a7 has an annual effect on the economy
 of at least #ajj1jjj1jjj2  7,b7 results
 in a major increase in costs or prices 
for any consumer1 industry1 government  
agency1 or geographic region2 or  7,c7  
has a significant adverse effect on     
competition1 employment1 investment1    
productivity1 innovation1 or the ability
 of an enterprise based in the ,united  
,states to compete with a foreign-based 
enterprise in a domestic or             
international market4  7#c7 ,energy     
poverty ,the term energy poverty means  
insufficient access to affordable       
energy4  7#d7 ,federal land ,the term   
,federal land means any land that is    
under the jurisdiction of the ,secretary
 of the ,interior or the ,chief of the  
,forest ,service4  7#e7 ,state renewable
 portfolio standard ,the term ,state    
renewable portfolio standard means any  
,state regulation that is designed to   
increase the use of renewable energy    
sources1 including wind1 solar1         

geothermal1 and biomass1 to generate    
electricity4  7#f7 ,tribal land ,the    
term ,tribal land has the meaning given 
the term ,indian land in section #bfja  
of the ,energy ,policy ,act of #aiib    
7#be ,u4,s4,c4 #ceja74