PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Feb 14, 2012
Smart Energy Act - Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (NECPA) to direct each federal agency to implement requirements for the use of energy and water efficiency measures in federal buildings through private financing instead of appropriations, unless: (1) to do so conflicts with the primary mission of the agency or facility, or (2) if greater cost savings can be generated under a different program
Requires a federal agency, in carrying out energy management requirements, to participate in demand response programs offered by electric utilities, Independent System Operators, Regional Transmission Organizations, and demand response aggregators, where such programs are available, in order to support electric grid reliability and security and reduce energy bills for the agency or facility.
Directs the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to direct the Federal Chief Information Officer to require: (1) agencies, when updating their federal data center inventories in the third quarter of each fiscal year, to state what actions have been taken to verify the inventories; (2) the agencies to complete the missing elements in their respective federal data center consolidation plans and submit them; and (3) the Data Center Consolidation Task Force to assess such plans to ensure they are complete and to monitor their implementation as well.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Directs the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to issue guidelines for federal agencies to employ advanced tools allowing energy savings through the use of computer hardware, energy efficiency software, and power management tools.
Amends NECPA to require federal agencies to create an implementation plan for achieving requirements for advanced metering of energy use in federal facilities, buildings, and equipment.
Requires the energy manager, for each facility meeting certain criteria, to use the web-based tracking system to publish energy and water consumption data on an individual facility basis.
Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to establish a loan program for energy efficiency upgrades to existing buildings.
Directs the Secretary to establish collaborative research and development partnerships with other programs within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, and the Office of Science that: (1) leverage the research and development expertise of those programs to promote early stage energy efficiency technology development; (2) support the use of innovative manufacturing processes and applied research for development, demonstration, and commercialization of new technologies and processes to improve efficiency, reduce emissions, reduce industrial waste, and improve industrial cost-competitiveness; and (3) apply the knowledge and expertise of the Advanced Manufacturing Office to help achieve the program goals of the other programs.
States that it is the goal of the United States to achieve by the end of 2020 a doubling of the production of electricity from combined heat and power and waste heat recovery in the United States from the current level of approximately 85 to at least 170 gigawatts.
Directs the Secretary to transmit to Congress, make available to the public, and update biennially a strategic plan to achieve this national goal.
People & committees
Rep. Bass, Charles F. [R-NH-2] · R–NH
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform, and Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform, and Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform, and Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Aug 14, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze H.R.4017 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.4017 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine H.R.4017 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine H.R.4017 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.