Energy Department gets power to blacklist foreign suppliers—with classified reasoning.

What it does

This bill requires the Secretary of Energy to create and maintain a list of foreign entities deemed harmful to U.S. national security, economic security, or foreign policy—prioritizing those involved in critical materials and battery supply chains. Starting one year after enactment, the Department of Energy cannot contract with companies that use listed entities as suppliers, unless those goods are unavailable domestically; the Secretary must report annually to Congress on the list and any exceptions granted.

Why we flagged it

The bill's operative mechanism is a federal procurement restriction targeting foreign entities of concern in critical energy and battery supply chains. It is a national-security-focused supply-chain protection tool, not a subsidy, deregulation, or commemorative measure.

What the text implies

• The classified annex to annual reports means Congress and the public will not see the full justification for entity listings, creating an asymmetry in oversight—only unclassified summaries are published.
• The 'not procurable in the manner, timeliness, or quantity required' exception is discretionary and undefined, potentially allowing DOE to contract with listed-entity suppliers indefinitely if supply constraints are claimed.
• The bill does not establish a formal appeals or delisting process for entities wrongly included, creating potential for permanent reputational and commercial harm without due process.
• Requiring monthly reporting from contractors on all dealings with listed entities may impose significant compliance costs on suppliers, potentially raising procurement costs for DOE projects.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill strengthens supply-chain security in critical energy and battery sectors by restricting federal procurement from entities linked to foreign adversaries, reducing U.S. vulnerability to supply disruptions and foreign leverage. The transparency requirement (annual public reporting of the unclassified list) and exception-reporting mechanism provide accountability and prevent arbitrary exclusions.

Who stands to gain

• domestic critical materials producers
• U.S. battery manufacturers and component suppliers
• domestic rare-earth element processors
• allied-country suppliers of critical materials and batteries

Named in the bill

Secretary of Energy, Department of Energy, Department of Defense, Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, Chinese Military Company List, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (section 40207), Energy Act of 2020 (section 7002), William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (section 1260H), Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, House Committee on Energy and Commerce

Where it stands

1 cosponsor: 1 Republicans.

• Jun 3, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Jun 3, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Dec 2025 to Dec 2025. Those filings disclosed $170,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 14 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.

Tom Cotton, the sponsor, reported $1,292,206 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Samsung Sdi America, Inc. — $170,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jan 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.