Energy Department must now disclose cost-share waivers quarterly
H.R. 359 — Cost-Share Accountability Act of 2025 · Filed by Jay Obernolte (R-CA) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Jan 13, 2025 · Passed chamber
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What it does
This bill requires the Department of Energy to report quarterly to Congress and the public on how often it uses its authority to reduce or waive cost-sharing requirements for energy projects. Cost-sharing normally requires project partners to contribute funds; the bill creates transparency around when and why the Department forgoes those contributions.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is a reporting requirement designed to expose Department of Energy discretion in waiving cost-sharing obligations. It creates no new authority, no spending, and no exemptions—only visibility into existing discretionary power.
What the text implies
- Quarterly reporting may reveal patterns of cost-share waivers that could prompt legislative action to restrict or condition the Department's discretion.
- Public disclosure of waiver decisions may deter the Department from exercising the authority in cases where the rationale would not withstand public scrutiny.
- The bill does not limit the Department's underlying authority to waive cost-sharing—it only requires disclosure, leaving the substantive policy unchanged.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill creates a transparency mechanism that allows Congress and the public to monitor how the Department of Energy exercises discretionary authority to waive cost-sharing. This increases accountability for federal spending and reduces the risk of hidden subsidies or favoritism in energy project funding.
Named in the bill
Department of Energy, House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, House Committee on Appropriations, Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Energy Policy Act of 2005
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.
- Jan 13, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jan 13, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology”
- Mar 24, 2025 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection”
- Mar 24, 2025 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Babin moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill”
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 (880 characters) on Jun 3, 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.
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