II
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION S. 1446
To direct the Secretary of the Treasury to issue Clean Energy Victory
Bonds.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
APRIL10, 2025
Mr. M
ERKLEYintroduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred
to the Committee on Finance
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of the Treasury to issue Clean
Energy Victory Bonds.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Clean Energy Victory 4
Bond Act of 2025’’. 5
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6
Congress finds the following: 7
(1) Potential exists for increasing clean and re-8
newable energy production and energy efficiency in-9
stallation in the United States. 10
VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:24 Apr 29, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1446.IS S1446
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2
•S 1446 IS
(2) Other nations, including China and Ger-1
many, are ahead of the United States in manufac-2
turing and deploying various clean energy tech-3
nologies, even though many of these technologies 4
were invented in the United States. 5
(3) Climate change represents an existential 6
threat to the safety, security, and economy of the 7
United States. Rapid and robust deployment of 8
clean energy will reduce greenhouse gas emissions 9
and mitigate the effects of climate change on Amer-10
ican society. 11
(4) Many segments of the American public 12
want to take charge of efforts to combat the effects 13
of climate change and practice responsible consumer 14
behavior. 15
(5) The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renew-16
able Energy of the Department of Energy (referred 17
to in this section as the ‘‘EERE’’) estimates that 18
taxpayer investment of $12,000,000,000 into the 19
EERE research and development portfolio has al-20
ready yielded an estimated net economic benefit to 21
the United States of more than $230,000,000,000, 22
with an overall annual return on investment of more 23
than 20 percent. 24
VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:24 Apr 29, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1446.IS S1446
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3
•S 1446 IS
(6) Investments in renewable energy and energy 1
efficiency projects in the United States create green 2
jobs throughout the Nation. New and innovative jobs 3
could be created through expanded government sup-4
port for clean energy and energy efficiency. 5
(7) As Americans choose energy efficiency and 6
clean energy and transportation, it reduces our de-7
pendence on foreign oil and improves our energy se-8
curity. 9
(8) Bonds are a low-cost method for encour-10
aging clean energy, as they do not require direct 11
budget allocations or expenditures. The projects sup-12
ported through Clean Energy Victory Bonds will cre-13
ate jobs and business revenues that will increase 14
Federal tax revenues, while simultaneously reducing 15
nationwide health and environmental costs incurred 16
by the Federal Government. 17
(9) Bonds are voluntary measures that allow 18
Americans to contribute financially in whatever 19
amount is available to them. 20
(10) During World War II, over 80 percent of 21
American households purchased Victory Bonds to 22
support the war effort, raising over 23
$185,000,000,000, or over $2,000,000,000,000 in 24
today’s dollars. 25
VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:24 Apr 29, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1446.IS S1446
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4
•S 1446 IS
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 1
For purposes of this Act: 2
(1) C
LEAN ENERGY PROJECT .—The term 3
‘‘clean energy project’’ means a technology that pro-4
vides— 5
(A) performance-based energy efficiency 6
improvements; or 7
(B) clean energy improvements, includ-8
ing— 9
(i) electricity generated from solar, 10
wind, geothermal, small-scale hydropower, 11
and hydrokinetic energy sources; 12
(ii) fuel cells using non-fossil fuel 13
sources; 14
(iii) advanced storage technologies; 15
and 16
(iv) electric vehicle infrastructure. 17
(2) S
ECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 18
the Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary’s del-19
egate. 20
SEC. 4. CLEAN ENERGY VICTORY BONDS. 21
(a) I
NGENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 22
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in con-23
sultation with the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary 24
of Defense, shall issue bonds to be known as ‘‘Clean En-25
ergy Victory Bonds’’, the proceeds from which shall be 26
VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:24 Apr 29, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1446.IS S1446
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 5
•S 1446 IS
used to carry out the purposes described in subsection (c) 1
of section 9512 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as 2
added by section 5). 3
(b) S
AVINGSBOND.—Any Clean Energy Victory 4
Bond issued under this section shall be issued by the Sec-5
retary— 6
(1) as a savings bond of series EE, or as ad-7
ministered by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service of 8
the Department of the Treasury, in a manner con-9
sistent with the provisions of section 3105 of title 10
31, United States Code; and 11
(2) in denominations of $25 and such other 12
amounts as are determined appropriate by the Sec-13
retary, and shall mature within such periods as de-14
termined by the Secretary. 15
(c) A
MOUNT OFCLEANENERGYVICTORYBONDS.— 16
The aggregate face amount of the Clean Energy Victory 17
Bonds issued annually under this section shall be not 18
greater than $50,000,000,000. 19
(d) I
NTEREST.—Clean Energy Victory Bonds shall 20
bear interest at the rate the Secretary sets for Savings 21
Bonds of Series EE and Series I, plus a rate of return 22
determined by the Secretary which is based on the valu-23
ation of— 24
VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:24 Apr 29, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1446.IS S1446
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 6
•S 1446 IS
(1) savings achieved through reduced energy 1
spending by the Federal Government resulting from 2
clean energy projects funded from the proceeds of 3
such bonds; and 4
(2) interest collected on loans financed or guar-5
anteed from the proceeds of such bonds. 6
(e) F
ULLFAITH ANDCREDIT.—Payment of interest 7
and principal with respect to any Clean Energy Victory 8
Bond issued under this section shall be made from the 9
general fund of the Treasury of the United States and 10
shall be backed by the full faith and credit of the United 11
States. 12
(f) P
ROMOTION.— 13
(1) I
N GENERAL.—The Secretary shall take 14
such actions, independently and in conjunction with 15
financial institutions offering Clean Energy Victory 16
Bonds, to promote the purchase of Clean Energy 17
Victory Bonds, including campaigns describing the 18
financial and social benefits of purchasing Clean En-19
ergy Victory Bonds. 20
(2) P
ROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES .—For purposes 21
of paragraph (1), promotional activities may include 22
advertisements, pamphlets, or other promotional ma-23
terials— 24
(A) in periodicals; 25
VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:24 Apr 29, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1446.IS S1446
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 7
•S 1446 IS
(B) on billboards and other outdoor 1
venues; 2
(C) on television; 3
(D) on radio; 4
(E) on the internet; 5
(F) within financial institutions; or 6
(G) any other venues or outlets the Sec-7
retary may identify. 8
SEC. 5. CLEAN ENERGY VICTORY BONDS TRUST FUND. 9
(a) I
NGENERAL.—Subchapter A of chapter 98 of the 10
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at 11
the end the following new section: 12
‘‘SEC. 9512. CLEAN ENERGY VICTORY BONDS TRUST FUND. 13
‘‘(a) C
REATION OFTRUSTFUND.—There is estab-14
lished in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund 15
to be known as the ‘Clean Energy Victory Bonds Trust 16
Fund’, consisting of such amounts as may be apportioned 17
or credited to such Trust Fund as provided in this section 18
or section 9602(b). 19
‘‘(b) T
RANSFERS TOTRUSTFUND.—There are here-20
by appropriated to the Trust Fund— 21
‘‘(1) amounts equivalent to revenue from the 22
issuance of Clean Energy Victory Bonds under sec-23
tion 4 of the Clean Energy Victory Bond Act of 24
2025, and 25
VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:24 Apr 29, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1446.IS S1446
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 8
•S 1446 IS
‘‘(2) any gifts or bequests made to the Trust 1
Fund which are accepted by the Secretary for the 2
benefit of such Fund or any activity financed 3
through such Fund. 4
‘‘(c) E
XPENDITURESFROMTRUSTFUND.—Amounts 5
in the Trust Fund shall be available, without further ap-6
propriation, to finance clean energy projects (as defined 7
in section 3 of the Clean Energy Victory Bond Act of 8
2025) at the Federal, State, and local level, which may 9
include— 10
‘‘(1) providing additional support to existing 11
Federal financing programs available to States for 12
energy efficiency upgrades and clean energy deploy-13
ment, 14
‘‘(2) providing funding for clean energy invest-15
ments by all Federal agencies, 16
‘‘(3) providing funding for electric grid en-17
hancements and connections that enable clean en-18
ergy deployment, 19
‘‘(4) providing funding to renovate existing inef-20
ficient buildings or building new energy efficient 21
buildings, 22
‘‘(5) providing tax incentives and tax credits for 23
clean energy technologies, 24
VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:24 Apr 29, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1446.IS S1446
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 9
•S 1446 IS
‘‘(6) providing funding for new innovation re-1
search, including ARPA–E, public competitions simi-2
lar to those designed by the X Prize Foundation, 3
grants provided through the Office of Energy Effi-4
ciency and Renewable Energy of the Department of 5
Energy, or other mechanisms to fund revolutionary 6
clean energy technology, 7
‘‘(7) providing additional support to existing 8
Federal, State, and local grant programs that fi-9
nance clean energy projects, and 10
‘‘(8) providing funding for zero-emission vehicle 11
infrastructure and manufacturing. 12
‘‘(d) P
ROJECTPRIORITY.— 13
‘‘(1) I
N GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ensure 14
that not less than 40 percent of the amounts ex-15
pended under subsection (c) in each year are ex-16
pended for clean energy projects which are located 17
in and reduce energy rates in disadvantaged and vul-18
nerable communities. 19
‘‘(2) D
ISADVANTAGED AND VULNERABLE COM -20
MUNITIES.—For purposes of paragraph (1), the 21
term ‘disadvantaged and vulnerable communities’ 22
means communities— 23
VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:24 Apr 29, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1446.IS S1446
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 10
•S 1446 IS
‘‘(A) which bear disproportionate burdens 1
of negative public health effects, environmental 2
pollution, or impacts of climate change, 3
‘‘(B) have significant representation of 4
people of color, low-wealth individuals, or Tribal 5
and Indigenous members, or 6
‘‘(C) which have a high concentration of 7
low- and moderate-income households as com-8
pared to other communities, 9
as determined by the Secretary.’’. 10
(b) C
LERICALAMENDMENT.—The table of sections 11
for subchapter A of chapter 98 of such Code is amended 12
by adding at the end the following new item: 13
‘‘Sec. 9512. Clean Energy Victory Bonds Trust Fund.’’.
Æ
VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:24 Apr 29, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1446.IS S1446
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS