H.R. 8448

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8448 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8448

To establish an Office of Energy Affordability within the Department of 
Energy, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

April 22, 2026

Mr. Lawler (for himself and Mr. Gottheimer) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To establish an Office of Energy Affordability within the Department of 
Energy, 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 ``Energy Affordability and Reliability 
Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF ENERGY AFFORDABILITY.

(a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall establish within 
the Office of Policy of the Department of Energy an office to be known 
as the Office of Energy Affordability (in this section referred to as 
the ``Office'').
(b) Duties.--The duties of the Office shall be to--
(1) review each proposed regulation or policy of the 
Department of Energy that would require, or otherwise relates 
to, a transition between types of energy or sources of energy, 
to determine whether such regulation or policy--
(A) incorporates transparent and rigorous analysis 
of the short-term and long-term effects of such 
regulation or policy on energy affordability and on 
related economic costs;
(B) includes strategies to ensure that such 
regulation or policy does not negatively affect energy 
affordability and that related economic costs are 
mitigated; and
(C) supports reliable access to energy by consumers 
and promotes cost-effective energy solutions; and
(2) provide advice and guidance based on the results of 
such review.
(c) Timely Review; No Prevention of Issuance.--In carrying out the 
duties under subsection (b), the Office--
(1) shall complete the review of each proposed regulation 
or policy pursuant to such subsection by not later than 30 days 
after the date on which the Office receives notice of such 
proposed regulation or policy; and
(2) may not prevent the issuance of any regulation or 
policy.
(d) Annual Reports.--On an annual basis, the Office shall submit to 
the appropriate congressional committees a report containing, with 
respect to any regulation or policy specified in subsection (b) 
proposed to be issued or issued during the year covered by such 
report--
(1) an analysis of the effects specified in subsection 
(b)(1)(A); and
(2) recommendations for the strategies specified in 
subsection (b)(1)(B).
(e) Report on Effectiveness of Office.--Not later than 5 years 
after the date on which the Office is established under subsection (a), 
the Secretary of Energy shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
committees a report on the effectiveness of the Office.
(f) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the 
Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 
and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.
(2) Energy affordability.--The term ``energy 
affordability'' means the cost of energy transmitted to a 
residential, commercial, or industrial consumer proportional to 
the income or operational costs of such consumer.
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