Blue Ocean Energy Innovation Act of 2024
Latest action. Referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
Blue Ocean Energy Innovation Act of 2024
This bill provides for the research and development of blue energy technologies , which are technologies that (1) derive or generate energy from renewable energy resources or capture, remove, and sequester greenhouse gases; and (2) are located in aquatic environments. Specifically, the Department of Energy (DOE) must establish and implement the Integrated Blue Economy and Blue Energy Technologies Program to provide funding for research and development of such technologies for purposes such as
increasing blue energy technology generation capacity while reducing the cost to produce such energy;
improving performance of blue energy technologies;
capturing, removing, and sequestering greenhouse gases;
developing new blue energy technology market opportunities;
promoting job creation in the blue energy technology sectors;
remediating and improving coastal and aquatic ecosystems; and
addressing technical and development challenges that are unique to operating in marine and freshwater environments.
DOE must establish a Blue Economy Center of Excellence to support the program. The center must be located at an existing DOE National Laboratory that is working to develop blue energy technologies, hosts a blue energy technology research and development program, and has other specified qualifications.
In carrying out the bill, DOE must coordinate with (1) other federal agencies that share mission objectives with the program; and (2) state and tribal agencies, institutions of higher education, nonprofit research institutions, and National Laboratories.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on March 19, 2024. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on March 19, 2024: Referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 118th Congress (2023-24), 274 of the 16,565 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 1.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Derek Kilmer (D-WA) introduced it on March 19, 2024, and 4 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 3 Democrats, 1 Republican.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 19, 2024, 905 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 905 days ago, on March 19, 2024.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 118th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2025 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers