[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 655 Engrossed in House (EH)]





104th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 655

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

To authorize basic research, development, and demonstration on hydrogen 
                   as a fuel, and for other purposes.



104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 655

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To authorize basic research, development, and demonstration on hydrogen 
                   as a fuel, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Hydrogen Future Act of 1995''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) fossil fuels, the main energy source of the present, 
        have provided this country with tremendous supply but are 
        limited and polluting;
            (2) additional basic research and development are needed to 
        encourage private sector investment in development of new and 
        better energy sources and enabling technologies;
            (3) hydrogen holds tremendous promise as a fuel, because it 
        can be extracted from water and can be burned much more cleanly 
        than conventional fuels;
            (4) hydrogen production efficiency is a major technical 
        barrier to society collectively benefiting from one of the 
        great energy sources of the future;
            (5) an aggressive, results-oriented, multiyear research 
        initiative on efficient hydrogen fuel production and use should 
        continue; and
            (6) the current Federal effort to develop hydrogen as a 
        fuel is inadequate.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to provide for a basic research, development, and 
        demonstration program leading to the production, storage, 
        transport, and use of hydrogen for industrial, residential, 
        transportation, and utility applications; and
            (2) to provide for advice from academia and the private 
        sector in the implementation of the Department of Energy 
        hydrogen research, development, and demonstration program to 
        ensure that economic benefits of the program accrue to the 
        United States.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act--
            (1) the term ``demonstration'' means a validation of the 
        technical feasibility of a theory or process;
            (2) the term ``Department'' means the Department of Energy; 
        and
            (3) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Energy.

SEC. 5. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.

    (a) Authorized Activities.--Pursuant to this section, the Spark M. 
Matsunaga Hydrogen Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1990 
and the Energy Policy Act of 1992, and in accordance with the purposes 
of this Act, the Secretary shall provide for a hydrogen energy basic 
research, development, and demonstration program relating to 
production, storage, transportation, and use of hydrogen, with the goal 
of enabling the private sector to demonstrate the technical feasibility 
of using hydrogen for industrial, residential, transportation, and 
utility applications. In establishing priorities for Federal funding 
under this section, the Secretary shall survey private sector hydrogen 
activities and take steps to ensure that activities under this section 
do not displace or compete with the privately funded hydrogen 
activities of United States industry.
    (b) Schedule.--Within 180 days after the date of the enactment of 
the later of this Act or an Act providing appropriations for programs 
authorized by this Act, the Secretary shall solicit proposals from all 
interested parties for carrying out the research, development, and 
demonstration activities authorized under this section. The Secretary 
may consider a proposal from a contractor who manages and operates a 
Department facility under contract with the Department, and the 
contractor may perform the work at that facility or any other facility. 
Within 180 days after such solicitation, if the Secretary identifies 
proposals worthy of Federal assistance, financial assistance shall be 
awarded under this section competitively, using peer review of 
proposals with appropriate protection of proprietary information. The 
Secretary shall use appropriations authorized by this Act that are not 
allocated for such awards to carry out research, development, and 
demonstration activities in accordance with the purposes of this Act.
    (c) Cost Sharing.--(1) Except as otherwise provided in section 6, 
for research proposals funded under this Act, the Secretary shall 
require a commitment from non-Federal sources of at least 25 percent of 
the cost of the proposed program. The Secretary may reduce or eliminate 
the non-Federal requirement under this paragraph if the Secretary 
determines that the research is of such a purely basic or fundamental 
nature that a non-Federal commitment is not obtainable.
    (2) The Secretary shall require at least 50 percent of the costs 
directly and specifically related to any development or demonstration 
project under this Act to be provided from non-Federal sources.
    (d) Certifications and Requirements.--Before financial assistance 
is provided under this section or the Spark M. Matsunaga Hydrogen 
Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1990--
            (1) the Secretary must ensure that providing such financial 
        assistance is consistent with the Agreement on Subsidies and 
        Countervailing Measures as approved in section 101 of the 
        Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3511); and
            (2) industry participants must certify that they have made 
        reasonable efforts to obtain non-Federal funding for the entire 
        cost of the project, and that such non-Federal funding could 
        not be reasonably obtained.
    (e) Duplication of Programs.--The Secretary shall not carry out any 
activities under this section that unnecessarily duplicate activities 
carried out elsewhere by the Federal Government or the private sector.

SEC. 6. HIGHLY INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES.

    Of the amounts made available for carrying out section 5, up to 5 
percent shall be used to support basic research on highly innovative 
energy technologies. Such amounts shall not be subject to the cost 
sharing requirements in section 5(c).

SEC. 7. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER.

    The Secretary shall foster the exchange of generic, nonproprietary 
information and technology, developed pursuant to section 5, among 
industry, academia, and the Federal Government. The Secretary shall 
ensure that economic benefits of such exchange of information and 
technology will accrue to the United States economy.

SEC. 8. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

    Within 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 
annually thereafter, the Secretary shall transmit to the Congress a 
detailed report on the status and progress of the Department's hydrogen 
research and development program, with particular emphasis on 
activities carried out pursuant to section 7 of this Act. Such report 
shall include an analysis of the effectiveness of such program, to be 
prepared and submitted by the Hydrogen Technical Advisory Panel 
established under section 108 of the Spark M. Matsunaga Hydrogen 
Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1990. Such Panel shall 
also make recommendations for improvements to such program if needed, 
including recommendations for additional legislation.

SEC. 9. COORDINATION AND CONSULTATION.

    (a) Coordination With Other Federal Agencies.--The Secretary shall 
coordinate all hydrogen research and development activities within the 
Department, and with the activities of other Federal agencies involved 
in similar research and development, including the Department of 
Defense, the Department of Transportation, and the National Aeronautics 
and Space Administration. Further, the Secretary shall pursue 
opportunities for cooperation with such Federal entities.
    (b) Consultation.--The Secretary shall consult with the Hydrogen 
Technical Advisory Panel established under section 108 of the Spark M. 
Matsunaga Hydrogen Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1990 
as necessary in carrying out this Act.

SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) General Auuthorization.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated, to carry out the purposes of this Act--
            (1) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 1996;
            (2) $35,000,000 for fiscal year 1997; and
            (3) $40,000,000 for fiscal year 1998.<plus-minus>
    (b) Related Authorizations.--(1) For each of the fiscal years 1996, 
1997, and 1998, the total amount which may be obligated for Energy 
Supply Research and Development Activities shall not exceed the total 
amount obligated for such activities in fiscal year 1995.
    (2) Paragraph (1) of this subsection does not authorize the 
appropriation of any Federal funds.

            Passed the House of Representatives May 2, 1995.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.