[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5342 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5342

 To establish a grant program to fund eligible joint ventures between 
United States and Israeli businesses and academic persons, to establish 
    the International Energy Advisory Board, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 8, 2004

 Mr. Sherman (for himself, Mr. Engel, and Mr. Cardoza) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                                Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish a grant program to fund eligible joint ventures between 
United States and Israeli businesses and academic persons, to establish 
    the International Energy Advisory Board, 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 ``United States-Israel Energy 
Cooperation Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) It is in the highest national security interests of the 
        United States to ensure secure access to reliable energy 
        sources.
            (2) The United States relies heavily upon the foreign 
        supply of crude oil to meet its energy needs, currently 
        importing 58 percent of its total oil requirements, of which 45 
        percent comes from member states of the Organization of 
        Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
            (3) Revenues from the sale of oil by some of these 
        countries directly or indirectly provide funding for terrorism 
        and propaganda hostile to the United States and Western values.
            (4) In the past, these countries have manipulated the 
        dependence of the United States on their oil supplies to exert 
        undue influence upon United States policy, as during OPEC's 
        1973 embargo on the sale of oil to the United States, which 
        became a major factor in the ensuing recession.
            (5) Research by the Energy Information Administration of 
        the Department of Energy has shown that the dependence of the 
        United States on foreign oil will increase by 33 percent over 
        the next 20 years.
            (6) A rise in the price of imported oil sufficient to 
        increase gasoline prices by 10 cents per gallon at the pump 
        would result in an additional outflow of 18 billion dollars 
        from the United States to oil-exporting nations.
            (7) For economic and national security reasons, the United 
        States should reduce, as soon as possible, its dependence on 
        nations that do not share its interests and values.
            (8) The state of Israel has been a steadfast ally and a 
        close friend of the United States since its creation in 1948.
            (9) Like the United States, Israel is a democracy which 
        holds civil rights and liberties in the highest regard and is a 
        proponent of the democratic values of peace, freedom, and 
        justice.
            (10) Cooperation between the United Sates and Israel on 
        such projects as the development of the Arrow Missile has 
        resulted in mutual benefits to United States and Israeli 
        security.
            (11) The special relationship between Israel and the United 
        States has been and continues to be manifested in a variety of 
        jointly-funded cooperative programs in the field of scientific 
        research and development, such as the United States-Israel 
        Binational Science Foundations (BSF), the United States-Israel 
        Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund (BARD), 
        and the United States-Israel Binational Industrial Research and 
        Development (BIRD) Foundation.
            (12) These programs, supported by the matching 
        contributions from the Government of Israel and the Government 
        of the United States and directed by key scientists and 
        academics from both countries, have made possible many 
        scientific breakthroughs in the fields of life sciences, 
        medicine, bioengineering, agriculture, biotechnology, 
        communications, and others.
            (13) Israeli scientists and researchers have long been at 
        the forefront of research and development in the field of 
        alternative renewable energy sources.
            (14) Many of the world's top corporations have recognized 
        Israel's technological and scientific expertise by locating 
        important research and development facilities in Israel.
            (15) Among the technological breakthroughs made by Israeli 
        scientists and researchers in the field of alternative, 
        renewable energy sources are the development of a cathode that 
        uses hexavalent iron salts which accept 3 electrons per ion and 
        enable rechargeable batteries to provide 3 times as much 
        electricity as they currently do, the development of a 
        technique that vastly increases the efficiency of utilizing 
        solar energy to generate hydrogen for use in energy cells, and 
        the development of a novel membrane utilized in new and 
        powerful direct-oxidant fuel cells which is capable of 
        competing favorably with hydrogen fuel cells and traditional 
        internal combustion engines.
            (16) Cooperation between the United States and Israel in 
        the field of research and development of alternative renewable 
        energy sources would be in the interests of both countries, and 
        both countries stand to gain much from such cooperation.

SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Assistant Secretary of Energy for Policy 
and International Affairs (hereafter referred to as the ``Assistant 
Secretary'') shall establish a grant program to award grants to 
eligible entities.
    (b) Eligible Entities.--For the purposes of this Act, ``eligible 
entity'' means a joint venture comprised of both Israeli and United 
States private business entities or a joint venture comprised of both 
Israeli academic persons (who reside and work in Israel) and United 
States academic persons, which--
            (1) carries out an eligible project; and
            (2) is selected by the BIRD or BSF using the criteria 
        established by the International Energy Advisory Board 
        established under section 4.
    (c) Eligible Projects.--For the purposes of this Act, ``eligible 
project'' means a project to encourage cooperation between the United 
States and Israel on research, development, and commercialization of 
alternative energy, improved energy efficiency, and renewable energy 
sources.
    (d) Application.--
            (1) Submission of applications to bird or bsf.--To receive 
        a grant under this section, an eligible entity must submit an 
        application to BIRD or BSF containing such information and 
        assurances as the Directors of BIRD and BSF may require.
            (2) Selection of eligible entities by bird and bsf.--The 
        Directors of BIRD and BSF may review any application submitted 
        by any eligible entity and select any eligible entity meeting 
        criteria established by the Advisory Board for a grant under 
        this section.
    (e) Amount of Grant.--The amount of each grant to be awarded in a 
fiscal year under this section shall be determined by BIRD or BSF.
    (f) Report.--Not later than 6 months after receiving a grant under 
this section, each recipient shall submit a report to the Assistant 
Secretary documenting how the recipient used the grant funds and 
evaluating the level of success of each project funded by the grant.

SEC. 4. INTERNATIONAL ENERGY ADVISORY BOARD.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established in the Department of 
Energy an International Energy Advisory Board (hereafter referred to as 
the ``Advisory Board'').
    (b) Duties.--The Advisory Board shall--
            (1) establish criteria for the recipients of grants awarded 
        under the grant program established in section 3(a); and
            (2) determine the total amount of grant money to be awarded 
        to all grantees selected by BIRD and the total amount of grant 
        money to be awarded to all grantees selected by BSF for each 
        fiscal year.
    (c) Membership.--
            (1) Number and appointment.--The Advisory Board shall be 
        composed of 4 members as follows:
                    (A) One member shall be appointed by the Secretary 
                of Commerce.
                    (B) One member shall be appointed by the Secretary 
                of Energy.
                    (C) Two members shall be Israeli citizens and shall 
                be appointed by the Secretary of Energy after 
                consultation with appropriate officials in the Israeli 
                government.
            (2) Deadline for appointments.--The appointments under 
        paragraph (1) shall be made before the expiration of the 60-day 
        period which begins on the date of the enactment of this Act.
            (3) Term.--Each member shall be appointed for 4 years.
            (4) Vacancies.--A vacancy in the Advisory Board shall be 
        filled in the manner in which the original appointment was 
        made.
            (5) Basic pay.--
                    (A) Compensation.--Members shall serve without pay.
                    (B) Travel expenses.--Each member shall receive 
                travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 
                subsistence, in accordance with applicable provisions 
                under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United 
                States Code.
            (6) Quorum.--3 members of the Advisory Board shall 
        constitute a quorum.
            (7) Chair.--The Chair shall be designated by the Secretary 
        of Energy at the time of the appointment.
            (8) Meetings.--The Commission shall meet at least once 
        annually at the call of the Chair.
    (d) Termination.--Section 14(a)(2)(B) of the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.; relating to the termination of advisory 
committees) shall not apply to the Advisory Board.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 
$30,000,000 for fiscal year 2005 and each succeeding fiscal year.
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