[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1864 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1864
To require transparency in reporting the greenhouse gas impacts of
products procured by certain Federal agencies, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 13, 2019
Ms. Klobuchar (for herself, Ms. Smith, Mr. Merkley, and Mr. Bennet)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Environment and Public Works
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require transparency in reporting the greenhouse gas impacts of
products procured by certain Federal agencies, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Buy Clean Transparency Act of
2019''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) climate change will have devastating global impacts;
(2) an overwhelming amount of scientific evidence points to
the need to swiftly reduce greenhouse gas emissions to avert
the worst effects of climate change;
(3) the effects of climate change are already apparent in
the United States, where scientists have determined that
climate change is affecting--
(A) human health;
(B) water and air quality;
(C) agricultural production;
(D) labor productivity;
(E) extreme weather;
(F) ecosystems, biodiversity, and species loss;
(G) historic resources; and
(H) infrastructure stability;
(4) the Federal Government should commit to reducing
greenhouse gas emissions through regulatory and other actions;
(5) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it is necessary for
Federal agencies--
(A) to take climate change into account in making
planning and investment decisions; and
(B) to employ full life-cycle cost accounting to
evaluate and compare infrastructure investments and
alternatives, which includes accounting for the effects
that each product included in a public infrastructure
project will have on the level of greenhouse gases in
the atmosphere--
(i) throughout the life cycle of the
product; or
(ii) during the period of the life-cycle
assessment;
(6) large quantities of greenhouse gas emissions are
released during the manufacture and transport of products used
in public infrastructure and other projects;
(7) by incorporating emissions information pertaining to
the supply chain and product life cycle into procurement
decisions, and using that information to help direct
expenditures, the extensive purchasing power of the Federal
Government may be used to improve environmental, health, and
economic outcomes and accelerate necessary greenhouse gas
reductions--
(A) to protect public health and the environment;
(B) to support economic stability; and
(C) to conserve a livable climate; and
(8) incorporating emissions information into procurement
decisions will--
(A) allow the Federal Government to acknowledge
those companies that have invested in emissions
reduction technologies and practices; and
(B) encourage other companies to take action to
reduce emissions to become more competitive in the
bidding process of the Federal Government.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
(2) Climate product cost.--The term ``climate product
cost'' means the cost, denominated in dollars, of the life-
cycle greenhouse gas emissions of a product, calculated in
accordance with the methodology developed by the Administrator
under section 4(c).
(3) Climate product declaration.--The term ``climate
product declaration'' means a product-specific measurement of
the life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of a product that is--
(A) certified by a third party; and
(B) in accordance with international standards,
such as a Type III environmental declaration (as
defined by the International Organization for
Standardization in the report entitled ``Environmental
labels and declarations--Type III environmental
declarations--Principles and procedures'', numbered ISO
14025, and dated July 1, 2006).
(4) Eligible material.--The term ``eligible material''
means any of--
(A) carbon steel rebar;
(B) flat glass;
(C) mineral wool board insulation; and
(D) structural steel.
(5) Federal contracting agency.--The term ``Federal
contracting agency'' means--
(A) the Department of Defense;
(B) the Department of Energy;
(C) the Department of Transportation;
(D) the Department of Commerce;
(E) the Environmental Protection Agency;
(F) the General Services Administration; and
(G) the Department of Veterans Affairs.
SEC. 4. ASSESSMENT.
(a) In General.--The head of each Federal contracting agency shall
carry out an assessment to determine how the products procured by the
Federal contracting agency and any contractors of the Federal
contracting agency in connection with a Federal contract affect the
levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere by requiring each
prospective contractor to disclose, in any response to a solicitation
to offer for a Federal contract, the climate product declaration of all
eligible materials the prospective contractor expects to manufacture or
purchase during the course of constructing, reconstructing, or
renovating the public project.
(b) Release of Assessment.--Not later than 60 days after the date
on which an assessment under subsection (a) is completed, the head of
the applicable Federal contracting agency shall--
(1) publish the assessment in the Federal Register; and
(2) make the assessment publicly available--
(A) on the website of the Federal contracting
agency; and
(B) in appropriate offices of the Federal
contracting agency.
(c) Methodology for Calculating the Climate Product Cost.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Administrator, using an estimate of
the cost of greenhouse gas emissions, such as the social cost
of carbon, shall develop and publish in the Federal Register a
methodology for calculating the climate product cost of each
eligible material procured by a Federal contracting agency or
any contractor or subcontractor of a Federal contracting
agency, including an assessment of the climate product cost as
a dollar cost per metric ton of greenhouse gas emissions for
the eligible material, based on information in a climate
product declaration.
(2) Updates.--Not less frequently than once every 5 years
after submission of a report under subsection (d)(1), the
Administrator shall--
(A) review the method used to develop the
methodology under paragraph (1); and
(B) if necessary, update that methodology.
(d) Reports.--
(1) Reports to congress.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the
date on which the methodology under subsection (c)(1)
is published in the Federal Register, the Administrator
shall submit to Congress a report that describes the
method that the Administrator used to develop the
methodology.
(B) Updates.--Not later than 180 days after each
review carried out by the Administrator under
subsection (c)(2)(A), the Administrator shall submit to
Congress a report that describes--
(i) the review; and
(ii) any updated methodology developed by
the Administrator under subsection (c)(2)(B).
(2) Reports to the administrator.--Not later than 180 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, and not less
frequently than annually thereafter, the head of each Federal
contracting agency shall submit to the Administrator and make
publicly available a report that includes, for the period of
time covered by the report--
(A) the total number and value of contracts awarded
by the Federal contracting agency;
(B) the total number and value of contracts and
subcontracts awarded to foreign contractors or
suppliers;
(C) the dollar value of any articles, materials, or
supplies that were manufactured outside of the United
States;
(D) the total procurement value of any funds
expended on eligible materials manufactured outside the
United States;
(E) the total climate product cost of contracts
awarded by the Federal contracting agency;
(F) a comparison of--
(i) the climate product cost of contracts
awarded by the Federal contracting agency; and
(ii) the climate product cost of offers for
contracts that the Federal contracting agency
did not award; and
(G) recommendations for additional disclosures from
prospective contractors to support accurate and
comprehensive assessments of how contracts awarded by
the Federal contracting agency affect--
(i) emissions of greenhouse gases; and
(ii) air, water, and land pollutants.
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