# 119-hr-447: Reliability for Ratepayers Act

119-hr-447, Reliability for Ratepayers Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Perez, Marie Gluesenkamp [D-WA-3] (D-WA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-447
- As of: 2026-09-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-447
- Congress: 119
- Title: Reliability for Ratepayers Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-01-15
- Sponsor: Rep. Perez, Marie Gluesenkamp [D-WA-3] (D-WA)
- Cosponsors: 7
- Policy area: Energy
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-21

## Summary

**Compensation flexibility for Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) employees.** This bill would create an Employee Compensation Program that lets BPA set pay, broaden hiring authority, and require annual reviews and public reporting. - BPA employees and executives: Would cover BPA staff including Senior Executive Service members and require an initial compensation plan within one year and implementation within one year after the plan is developed. The plan must be based on annual surveys and make pay competitive with consumer-owned utilities in the Western Interconnection. - Administrator hiring and pay authority: Would let the BPA administrator appoint officers and employees, fix compensation consistent with the plan, employ laborers and workers for construction and maintenance, and exempt BPA from specified civil service chapters. The administrator could hire physicians and outside experts without regard to those civil service laws when needed. - Ratepayers and budgeting: Plans must be consistent with BPA's approved general and administrative budget and promote diversified electric power delivery at the lowest possible rates consistent with sound business principles. - Oversight and transparency: The plan must be developed in consultation with the Office of Personnel Management and approved by the Secretary of Energy not to be unreasonably withheld. BPA would annually review and publish the compensation plan and report salaries above Level IV of the Executive Schedule in public reviews.

## Cosponsors (7)

- Rep. Newhouse, Dan [R-WA-4] (R-WA), 2025-01-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Randall, Emily [D-WA-6] (D-WA), 2025-02-10T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Salinas, Andrea [D-OR-6] (D-OR), 2025-03-05T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. DelBene, Suzan K. [D-WA-1] (D-WA), 2025-03-10T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Baumgartner, Michael [R-WA-5] (R-WA), 2025-04-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Smith, Adam [D-WA-9] (D-WA), 2025-05-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Schrier, Kim [D-WA-8] (D-WA), 2026-05-04T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- New pay and hiring rules at Bonneville Power Administration: mixed, medium. The Bonneville Power Administration would set up a new pay plan for all staff within 1 year, with Energy Secretary approval after consulting the federal personnel office. The plan would be put in place within 1 year after it is written and updated each year. It would cover salary, bonuses, benefits…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-8800: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027
- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-3838: Streamlining Procurement for Effective Execution and Delivery and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026
- 119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025
- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-447 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/447)

## Related
- [119-hr-8800: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8800)
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-3838: Streamlining Procurement for Effective Execution and Delivery and National Defe…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3838)
- [119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4206)
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1262)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-447 (as of 2026-09-21).