Energy Foundation now barred from hiring non-citizens, even green-card holders
H.R. 1365 — America First Energy Act · Filed by Daniel Webster (R-FL) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Feb 14, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill amends the law governing the Foundation for Energy Security and Innovation (a Department of Energy entity) to impose citizenship and immigration-status restrictions on its Board members, Executive Director, and all officers and employees. Specifically, it bars DOE employees from serving as voting Board members and requires all Board members, the Executive Director, and Foundation staff to be U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, refugees admitted under federal law, or lawful permanent residents. It also subjects the Foundation to security requirements under existing defense authorization law.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is a set of eligibility restrictions on who may serve in leadership and staff roles at a federal energy-security foundation. It is not a substantive policy change to the Foundation's mission or authority, but rather a personnel-vetting measure.
What the text implies
- The citizenship requirement may exclude dual-nationals and naturalized citizens with recent immigration status, potentially reducing diversity in energy-security decision-making.
- Barring DOE employees from Board membership may reduce institutional knowledge transfer and coordination between the Foundation and the Department.
- The reference to 'subtitle D' and section 223 of the 2021 NDAA subjects the Foundation to unspecified security protocols not detailed in this bill; the full scope of those requirements is not visible here.
- The restriction may create recruitment challenges for specialized technical roles in energy security, where foreign-born experts are common.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill imposes security and citizenship requirements that may reduce foreign influence in energy-security decisions (a potential public benefit), but it also narrows the talent pool available to the Foundation and may exclude lawful immigrants with relevant expertise, creating operational constraints. The net civic effect depends on whether the security gain outweighs the loss of qualified personnel.
Named in the bill
Foundation for Energy Security and Innovation, Department of Energy, Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act (RDIA), William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, Immigration and Nationality Act
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Republicans.
- Feb 14, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Feb 14, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,945 characters) on Jun 10, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Energy Foundation now barred from hiring non-citizens, even green-card holders” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr1365 Report an error
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