Cost-Share Accountability Act of 2025

SI-generated grade · five published checks · not individually reviewed by a person · methodology

This bill is a routine congressional oversight measure requiring the Department of Energy to report on its use of existing authority to waive cost-sharing requirements. It does not expand federal power, restrict rights, or consolidate decision-making. It is fully consistent with the Constitution.

• ✓ Passes · Enumerated powers
  Congress has the enumerated power to legislate regarding energy policy under the Commerce Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3) and the Spending Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 1). The bill merely requires reporting on the use of existing authority under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which is within Congress's power to oversee the execution of laws it has enacted. No new substantive author…
• ✓ Passes · Bill of Rights
  The bill imposes no restriction on speech, religion, press, assembly, petition, arms, quartering, search and seizure, self-incrimination, due process, trial by jury, or cruel and unusual punishment. It is a reporting requirement on a federal agency and does not implicate any provision of the Bill of Rights.
• ✓ Passes · Individual sovereignty
  The bill does not restrict any individual's use of their person, property, speech, labor, or belief. It merely requires a federal agency to report on its waiver authority. No individual is compelled to act or refrain from acting. The burden of government justification is not triggered because no individual liberty is affected.
• ✓ Passes · Decentralization
  The bill does not consolidate decision-making at a higher level of government. It is a federal oversight measure over a federal program that already exists. The reporting requirement does not shift authority from individuals, local communities, or states to the federal government. It simply provides transparency regarding existing federal discretion.
• ✓ Passes · Due process and takings
  The bill does not deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, nor does it take private property for public use. It imposes no penalty and requires no adjudication. It is a straightforward reporting requirement that does not implicate the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment or the Takings Clause.

Sources: Congress.gov: HR 359 summary