PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Dec 4, 2019
Energy and Water Research Integration Act of 2019
This bill requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to integrate water considerations into its energy research, development, and demonstration programs and projects.
Specifically, the DOE must develop and implement a strategic plan that advances energy and energy efficiency technologies and practices to
minimize freshwater withdrawal and consumption, seismic impacts, and deleterious impacts on water bodies, groundwater, and waterways;
increase water use efficiency; and
utilize nontraditional water sources.
Further, the strategic plan must (1) consider the effects climate variability may have on water supplies and quality for energy generation and fuel production, and (2) improve the understanding of the energy required to provide reliable water supplies as well as the water required to provide reliable energy supplies. The plan must be updated every five years.
In addition, DOE must establish an Energy-Water Committee to promote and enable improved energy and water resource data collection, reporting, and technological innovation.
People & committees
Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV] · D–NV
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. 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 S.2978 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 S.2978 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 S.2978 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 S.2978 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.