Sponsors (2)
Official title: To amend the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act to place certain restrictions on members and activities of the Foundation for Energy Security and Innovation of the Department of Energy, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 14, 2025 by Daniel A. Webster · Last progress February 14, 2025
The bill reduces perceived foreign-influence risk and increases disclosure alignment by restricting Foundation personnel to those with strong U.S. ties, but does so at the cost of narrowing the expert talent pool and adding legal and administrative burdens.
Taxpayers and federal employees: Foundation Board voting members and senior staff will be limited to people with permanent or near-permanent U.S. ties, reducing perceived foreign-influence risk in energy-security decision-making.
Government contractors and federal employees: The rule clarifies alignment with existing disclosure and security statutes (42 U.S.C. 6605), which should strengthen background checks and transparency for Foundation personnel.
Federal employees and taxpayers: DOE employees are barred from serving as voting Board members, narrowing the pool of experienced federal energy experts advising the Foundation and potentially reducing policy and program expertise.
Government contractors and specialized tech workers: Limiting eligibility to U.S. citizens, nationals, refugees, or lawful permanent residents excludes other lawful nonimmigrant experts (e.g., visa-holders), reducing talent diversity and potentially slowing recruitment of specialized staff.
Government contractors and federal employees: Tying personnel eligibility and rules tightly to immigration status could prompt legal challenges and create extra administrative compliance burdens, increasing operational costs for the Foundation.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Adds citizenship and limited immigration-status requirements for Foundation voting Board members, Executive Director, officers, and employees and ties implementation to an existing disclosure/security rule.
Changes who may serve in leadership and staff roles at the Foundation for Energy Security and Innovation by adding immigration- and citizenship-based eligibility limits for voting Board members, the Executive Director, officers, and employees and by requiring implementation consistent with an existing disclosure/security provision. It also explicitly bars Department of Energy employees from serving as voting members of the Foundation's Board.