Sponsors (6)
The bill directs federal funding and market mechanisms to accelerate domestic low‑carbon industrial production and prioritize polluted or distressed communities, while imposing notable fiscal costs for taxpayers, raising some firms' financial risk, potentially increasing consumer prices, and adding administrative complexity.
Domestic manufacturers, small businesses, and energy workers receive grants, rebates, and low‑interest loans to invest in lower‑carbon industrial technology, helping reduce emissions and boost U.S. competitiveness.
Low‑carbon producers and project developers receive auctioned contracts‑for‑difference that provide predictable per‑unit payments, reducing market risk and making it easier to plan and finance domestic clean production.
Communities with high pollution burdens and economically distressed areas are given funding preference, which can improve local air quality and expand job prospects in those neighborhoods.
Taxpayers face increased federal spending (including large appropriations and formula payments tied to new revenues), which could raise the fiscal burden on the general public.
Consumers and households may see higher prices because the carbon intensity charge and program priorities can increase production costs for some goods.
Small businesses and manufacturers face higher financial risk because eligible projects must provide at least 50% cost‑share and are subject to recapture and penalties if performance requirements are not met.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Adds a carbon-intensity charge framework to the tax code and creates a DOE competitive grant/loan program to fund advanced industrial technologies tied to covered goods.
Introduced December 17, 2025 by Sheldon Whitehouse · Last progress December 17, 2025
Creates a new tax-code framework for a "carbon intensity charge" and sets up a DOE competitive program to pay for advanced industrial technologies that reduce emissions. The bill adds detailed definitions for terms like carbon intensity, baseline and benchmark intensities, the EPA Administrator, and the Secretary of Energy and requires the Secretary to run a competitive grant/rebate/low‑interest loan program to help eligible industrial facilities adopt qualifying technologies tied to covered goods and contracts for difference. The text defines who counts as an eligible entity and eligible good, ties covered industrial processes to an existing Energy Independence and Security Act list, and adds Chapter 38 to the Internal Revenue Code table. It does not specify dollar amounts, tax rates, deadlines, or appropriation authority, and many operational details (such as how a carbon intensity charge would be calculated or collected) are left to implementing rules or to other new Code sections referenced but not reproduced here.