[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5270 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5270

To authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006 
  for the Department of Energy Office of Science, to ensure that the 
United States is the world leader in key scientific fields by restoring 
a healthy balance of science funding, to ensure maximum utilization of 
  the national user facilities, and to secure the Nation's supply of 
        scientists for the 21st century, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 26, 2002

Mrs. Biggert (for herself, Mr. Ehlers, Mrs. Tauscher, Ms. Woolsey, Mr. 
  Grucci, Mr. Holt, Mr. Honda, Mr. Wamp, Mr. Johnson of Illinois, Mr. 
  Andrews, Mr. Calvert, Mr. Houghton, Mr. Hastings of Washington, Mr. 
  Rush, Mr. Capuano, and Mr. Boswell) introduced the following bill; 
             which was referred to the Committee on Science

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006 
  for the Department of Energy Office of Science, to ensure that the 
United States is the world leader in key scientific fields by restoring 
a healthy balance of science funding, to ensure maximum utilization of 
  the national user facilities, and to secure the Nation's supply of 
        scientists for the 21st century, 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 ``Energy and Science Research 
Investment Act of 2002''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The Department of Energy Office of Science is the 
        Nation's primary supporter of the physical sciences, providing 
        an important partner and key user facilities in the areas of 
        biological or life sciences, physics, chemistry, environmental 
        sciences, mathematics, computer science, and engineering. More 
        specifically, the Office of Science is the steward, and 
        principal funding agency, of the Nation's research programs in 
        high-energy physics, nuclear physics, and fusion energy 
        sciences, and is the Federal Government's single largest funder 
        of materials and chemical sciences. It also manages programs of 
        fundamental research in basic energy sciences, biological and 
        environmental sciences, and computational science, all of which 
        support the Department's other mission in environmental 
        restoration, defense, and energy security. The Office of 
        Science also supports unique or critical pieces of United 
        States research in climate change, geophysics, genomics, and 
        the life sciences.
            (2) The Department of Energy Office of Science supports a 
        unique system of programs based on large-scale, specialized 
        user facilities and large, interdisciplinary teams of 
        scientists focused on national priorities in scientific 
        research. This Federal research and development funding goes to 
        scientists and students not just at our national labs, but at 
        our colleges and universities as well. The Office of Science 
        allocates almost 20 percent of its budget to university-based 
        research, with 49 States receiving funding. This makes the 
        Office of Science unique among, and complementary to, the 
        scientific programs of many other Federal science agencies, 
        including the National Institutes of Health and the National 
        Science Foundation.
            (3) While investments in these agencies have increased, for 
        the most part these increases have not gone to support physical 
        science and engineering, according to the National Research 
        Council. In constant dollars, the Federal investment in the 
        physical and engineering sciences has stagnated for the last 30 
        years; the budget for the Department of Energy Office of 
        Science is still only at its 1990 level. During that same 30-
        year period, the Federal investment in medical and life 
        sciences has more than tripled, according to the National 
        Science Foundation and American Association for the Advancement 
        of Science. The growing imbalance between biomedical fields and 
        physical sciences and engineering research in the United States 
        investment portfolio will hamper the vital connections and 
        reliance among fields of science.
            (4) According to a report entitled ``Road Map for National 
        Security Imperative for Change'', by the United States 
        Commission on National Security in the 21st Century, ``. . .  
        the U.S. government has seriously underfunded basic scientific 
        research in recent years. The quality of the U.S. education 
        system, too, has fallen well behind those of scores of other 
        nations.  . . . The inadequacies of our systems of research and 
        education pose a greater threat to U.S. national security over 
        the next quarter century than any potential conventional war 
        that we might imagine.'' The national laboratories and research 
        universities have a demonstrated ability to form 
        interdisciplinary teams capable of addressing national crises, 
        such as the current threat of biological, chemical, and nuclear 
        terrorism.
            (5) Department of Energy research in the physical sciences 
        and engineering has produced the knowledge that enabled major 
        medical breakthroughs and technological advances such as 
        diagnostic x-rays, Ultrasounds, PET Scans, and MRI's. Basic 
        research initiated by the Department of Energy Office of 
        Science in 1986 culminated in the publication of a complete 
        draft of the Human Genome sequence in February 2001. This 
        breakthrough holds the promise of deepening the understanding 
        of fundamental life processes and then, treatment and cures of 
        disease. Future medical advances and technological 
        breakthroughs will continue to rely heavily upon the critical 
        disciplines of science and engineering supported by the 
        Department of Energy.
            (6) Many of the energy and environmental technologies that 
        we take for granted today have come from Department of Energy 
        science programs. Basic energy research funded by the 
        Department of Energy Office of Science will help address 
        current and future energy challenges with technologies that 
        improve the efficiency, economy, environmental acceptability, 
        and safety in energy generation, conversion, transmission, and 
        use. For example, basic energy research at the Department of 
        Energy is largely responsible for continued reductions in 
        carbon dioxide  emissions from fossil fuels as well as from 
substantial improvements in the efficiency and affordability of solar, 
wind, biomass conversion, and other renewable energy sources. 
Department of Energy basic energy research is also playing a central 
role in helping to create new technologies--such as fuel cells--which 
will eliminate harmful automobile emissions. Our future economic 
strength will be strongly tied to the cost and availability of energy.
            (7) Fully half the growth of the United States economy in 
        the last 50 years was due to the Federal investment in 
        scientific and technological innovation, much of which flowed 
        from our Nation's research universities and national 
        laboratories. Computers, the Internet, fiber optics, 
        communications equipment and technology, consumer electronics, 
        defense technologies, global positioning systems, and catalytic 
        converters are but a few examples of the contributions of the 
        physical sciences to the overall strength of our economy.
            (8) The Office of Science has prime responsibility for 
        developing, constructing and operating some of the Nation's 
        most advanced research and development facilities, located at 
        national laboratories and universities. These national research 
        facilities, including the synchrotron light sources, neutron 
        sources and high-energy and heavy-ion accelerators, are used 
        annually by more than 17,000 researchers from universities, 
        other government agencies, and private industry from across the 
        country and around the world. Users of the facilities include 
        academic scientists sponsored by many Federal agencies, among 
        them the Department of Defense, the National Aeronautics and 
        Space Administration, the National Institutes of Health, the 
        National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the 
        National Science Foundation, as well as the Department of 
        Energy, itself.
            (9) Despite long queues of experiments, many of the 
        Department's facilities often operate at less than full 
        capacity because of operating budget strictures. Furthermore, 
        reductions in facilities research and development budgets are 
        now jeopardizing the development of the next generation of 
        accelerators, upon which many areas of science depend.
            (10) The Council on Competitiveness projects that the 
        number of jobs requiring technical skills will grow by more 
        than 50 percent over a 10-year period ending in 2008, and the 
        Department of Energy estimates that almost 50 percent of its 
        science and technology managers will be eligible for retirement 
        in the next 5 years. By contrast, and reflecting constrained 
        research budgets, university enrollment in the physical 
        sciences has shrunk by more than 10 percent during the last 
        decade, and graduate programs have come to rely heavily on 
        foreign students, with non-United States citizens now 
        accounting for more than 50 percent of Ph.D. recipients in most 
        fields. However, during the period 1996 to 1999, according to 
        the National Science Board, foreign enrollment in the physical 
        sciences has fallen by 15 percent.
            (11) The Department of Energy Office of Science plays a 
        critical role in supplying the scientific workforce of the 
        future. Each year, it supports more than 11,000 students and 
        post-doctoral investigators who eventually enter industry, 
        academia, or government laboratories. The national laboratories 
        also provide internships for undergraduates in universities and 
        community colleges, who represent the base of the next 
        generation of the Nation's scientific workforce.
            (12) Current appropriation levels allow the Office of 
        Science to fund only 10 percent of the unsolicited peer-
        reviewed proposals it receives annually. By contrast, the 
        National Science Foundation is able to fund 33 percent of the 
        proposals it receives from a similar applicant pool.
            (13) Increased allocations would enable the Office of 
        Science to take advantage of scientific opportunities in key 
        spheres central to the mission of the Department of Energy. 
        These include Homeland Security, particularly in the area of 
        sensing and tracking of biological, chemical and radiological 
        weapons; advanced energy technologies, among them fusion and 
        hydrogen; climate science, especially investigations requiring 
        complex computer simulations; the search for dark energy; 
        multidisciplinary biotechnology, highlighted by the Genomes to 
        Life program; the expansion of nanoscale research, especially 
        where advances rely on Department's strength of 
        interdisciplinary programming; upgrades of existing synchrotron 
        light sources, particularly for structural biology and 
        materials research; accelerator research and development, 
        especially for the development of the next generation of x-ray 
        light sources and the Linear Collider project; and 
        environmental science, particularly the application of 
        bioremediation to toxic sites. Added budget capability would 
        also allow the Department to expand its graduate fellowship 
        program and its laboratory internship program that are vital to 
        developing the technical workforce of the 21st century.
            (14) Budgetary constraints have restricted the development 
        and construction of new scientific facilities, one of the 
        central missions of the Office of Science. The list of proposed 
        construction projects that have already undergone significant 
        scientific study has grown considerably. It includes the Linear 
        Coherent Light Source (LCLS), the Rare Isotope Accelerator 
        (RIA), the National Compact Stellerator Experiment (NCSX), the 
        upgrade of the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility 
        (CEBAF), the high-energy physics Linear Collider Project, the 
        Super Nova/Acceleration Probe (SNAP), and the International 
        Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). Deferred maintenance 
        has also created a backlog of infrastructure construction 
        projects at many of the Department's laboratories.

                TITLE I--OFFICE OF SCIENCE AUTHORIZATION

SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Program Direction.--The Secretary of Energy, acting through the 
Office of Science, shall--
            (1) conduct a comprehensive program of fundamental 
        research, including research on chemical  sciences, physics, 
materials sciences, biological and environmental sciences, geosciences, 
engineering sciences, plasma sciences, mathematics, and advanced 
scientific computing;
            (2) maintain, upgrade, and expand the scientific user 
        facilities maintained by the Office of Science and ensure that 
        they are an integral part of the departmental mission for 
        exploring the frontiers of fundamental science;
            (3) maintain a leading-edge research capability in the 
        energy-related aspects of nanoscience and nanotechnology, 
        advanced scientific computing and genome research; and
            (4) ensure that its fundamental science programs, where 
        appropriate, help inform the applied research and development 
        programs of the Department.
    (b) Fiscal Year 2003.--
            (1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
        the Office of Science $3,492,000,000 for fiscal year 2003.
            (2) Specific allocations.--The amount authorized under 
        paragraph (1) shall be allocated as follows:
                    (A) General research activities (including 
                university programs, facilities operations, national 
                laboratory programs, accelerator research and 
                development, workforce development, construction 
                carryovers from years prior to fiscal year 2003, and 
                program administration): $3,402,000,000.
                    (B) Initiatives consistent with interagency 
                guidance (among them nanoscience centers, advanced 
                complex-simulation computing, and Genomes-to-Life 
                centers): $40,000,000.
                    (C) New construction: $50,000,000.
    (b) Fiscal Year 2004.--
            (1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
        the Office of Science $4,015,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.
            (2) Specific allocations.--The amount authorized under 
        paragraph (1) shall be allocated as follows:
                    (A) General research activities (including 
                university programs, facilities operations, national 
                laboratory programs, accelerator research and 
                development, workforce development, construction 
                carryovers from years prior to fiscal year 2003, and 
                program administration): $3,820,000,000.
                    (B) Initiatives consistent with interagency 
                guidance (among them nanoscience centers, advanced 
                complex-simulation computing, and Genomes-to-Life 
                centers): $130,000,000.
                    (C) New construction: $65,000,000.
    (c) Fiscal Year 2005.--
            (1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
        the Office of Science $4,618,000,000 for fiscal year 2005.
            (2) Specific allocations.--The amount authorized under 
        paragraph (1) shall be allocated as follows:
                    (A) General research activities (including 
                university programs, facilities operations, national 
                laboratory programs, accelerator research and 
                development, workforce development, construction 
                carryovers from years prior to fiscal year 2003, and 
                program administration): $4,243,000,000.
                    (B) Initiatives consistent with interagency 
                guidance (among them nanoscience centers, advanced 
                complex-simulation computing, and Genomes-to-Life 
                centers): $205,000,000.
                    (C) New construction: $170,000,000.
    (d) Fiscal Year 2006.--
            (1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
        the Office of Science $5,310,000,000 for fiscal year 2006.
            (2) Specific allocations.--The amount authorized under 
        paragraph (1) shall be allocated as follows:
                    (A) General research activities (including 
                university programs, facilities operations, national 
                laboratory programs, accelerator research and 
                development, workforce development, construction 
                carryovers from years prior to fiscal year 2003, and 
                program administration): $4,815,000,000.
                    (B) Initiatives consistent with interagency 
                guidance (among them nanoscience centers, advanced 
                complex-simulation computing, and Genomes-to-Life 
                centers): $215,000,000.
                    (C) New construction: $280,000,000.

SEC. 102. REPORTING.

    Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of legislation 
providing for the annual appropriation of funds for the Office of 
Science, the Director of the Office of Science, henceforth referred to 
as the Assistant Secretary of Science, in accordance with section 
201(b) of this Act, shall submit to the Committee on Science of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources of the Senate a plan for the allocation of funds authorized 
by this Act for the corresponding fiscal year. The plan shall include a 
description of how the allocation of funding will--
            (1) affect trends in research support for major fields and 
        subfields of the physical sciences, mathematics, and 
        engineering, including emerging multidisciplinary areas;
            (2) affect the utilization of the Department's facilities;
            (3) address the workforce needs by field of science, 
        mathematics, and engineering; and
            (4) ensure that research in the physical sciences, 
        mathematics, and engineering is adequate to address important 
        research opportunities in these fields.

                      TITLE II--SCIENCE MANAGEMENT

SEC. 201. IMPROVED COORDINATION AND MANAGEMENT OF CIVILIAN SCIENCE AND 
              TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMS.

    (a) Effective Top-Level Coordination of Research and Development 
Programs.--Section 202(b) of the Department of Energy Organization Act 
(42 U.S.C. 7132(b)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(b)(1) There shall be in the Department an Under Secretary for 
Energy Research and Science, who shall be appointed by the President, 
by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Under Secretary 
shall be compensated at the rate provided for at level III of the 
Executive Schedule under section 5314 of title 5, United States Code.
    ``(2) The Under Secretary for Energy Research and Science shall be 
appointed from among persons who--
            ``(A) have extensive background in scientific or 
        engineering fields; and
            ``(B) are well qualified to manage the civilian research 
        and development programs of the Department of Energy.
    ``(3) The Under Secretary for Energy Research and Science shall--
            ``(A) serve as the Science and Technology Advisor to the 
        Secretary;
            ``(B) monitor the Department's research and development 
        programs in order to advise the Secretary with respect to any 
        undesirable duplication or gaps in such programs;
            ``(C) advise the Secretary with respect to the well-being 
        and management of the science laboratories under the 
        jurisdiction of the Department;
            ``(D) advise the Secretary with respect to education and 
        training activities required for effective short- and long-term 
        basic and applied research activities of the Department;
            ``(E) advise the Secretary with respect to grants and other 
        forms of financial assistance required for effective short- and 
        long-term basic and applied research activities of the 
        Department; and
            ``(F) exercise authority and responsibility over Assistant 
        Secretaries carrying out energy research and development and 
        energy technology functions under sections 203 and 209, as well 
        as other elements of the Department assigned by the 
        Secretary.''.
    (b) Reconfiguration of Position of Director of the Office of 
Science.--Section 209 of the Department of Energy Organization Act (41 
U.S.C. 7139) is amended to read as follows:

                          ``office of science

    ``Sec. 209. (a) There shall be within the Department an Office of 
Science, to be headed by an Assistant Secretary of Science, who shall 
be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of 
the Senate, and who shall be compensated at the rate provided for level 
IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United 
States Code.
    ``(b) The Assistant Secretary of Science shall be in addition to 
the Assistant Secretaries provided for under section 203 of this Act.
    ``(c) It shall be the duty and responsibility of the Assistant 
Secretary of Science to carry out the fundamental science and 
engineering research functions of the Department, including the 
responsibility for policy and management of such research, as well as 
other functions vested in the Secretary which he may assign to the 
Assistant Secretary.''.
    (c) Additional Assistant Secretary Position to Enable Improved 
Management of Nuclear Energy Issues.--(1) Section 203(a) of the 
Department of Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7133(a)) is amended by 
striking ``There shall be in the Department six Assistant Secretaries'' 
and inserting ``Except as provided in section 209, there shall be in 
the Department seven Assistant Secretaries''.
    (2) It is the sense of the House of Representatives that the 
leadership for departmental missions in nuclear energy should be at the 
Assistant Secretary level.
    (d) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--(1) Section 202 of the 
Department of Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7132) is further 
amended by adding the following at the end:
    ``(d) There shall be in the Department an Under Secretary, who 
shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent 
of the Senate, and who shall perform such functions and duties as the 
Secretary shall prescribe, consistent with this section. The Under 
Secretary shall be compensated at the rate provided for level III of 
the Executive Schedule under section 5314 of title 5, United States 
Code.
    ``(e) There shall be in the Department a General Counsel, who shall 
be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of 
the Senate. The General Counsel shall be compensated at the rate 
provided for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of 
title 5, United States Code.''.
    (2) Section 5314 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 
striking ``Under Secretaries of Energy (2)'' and inserting ``Under 
Secretaries of Energy (3)''.
    (3) Section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by--
            (A) striking ``Director, Office of Science, Department of 
        Energy.''; and
            (B) striking ``Assistant Secretaries of Energy (6)'' and 
        inserting ``Assistant Secretaries of Energy (8)''.
    (4) The table of contents for the Department of Energy Organization 
Act (42 U.S.C. 7101 note) is amended--
            (A) by striking ``Section 209'' and inserting ``Sec. 209'';
            (B) by striking ``213.'' and inserting ``Sec. 213.'';
            (C) by striking ``214.'' and inserting ``Sec. 214.'';
            (D) by striking ``215.'' and inserting ``Sec. 215.''; and
            (E) by striking ``216.'' and inserting ``Sec. 216.''.

SEC. 202. SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD FOR THE OFFICE OF SCIENCE.

    (a) Establishment.--There shall be in the Office of Science a 
Science Advisory Board, comprising the chairs of the advisory panels 
for each of the programs.
    (b) Responsibilities.--The Science Advisory Board shall--
            (1) serve as the science advisor to the Assistant Secretary 
        of Science;
            (2) advise the Assistant Secretary with respect to the 
        well-being and management of the multipurpose laboratories;
            (3) advise the Assistant Secretary with respect to 
        education and workforce-training activities required for 
        effective short- and long-term basic and applied research 
        activities of the Office of Science; and
            (4) advise the Assistant Secretary with respect to the 
        well-being of the university research programs supported by the 
        Office of Science.
                                 <all>