[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1676 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1676

    To permanently authorize the National Oilheat Research Alliance.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 29, 2003

  Ms. Snowe (for herself, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Warner, Mr. Bunning, and Mr. 
Reed) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 
            to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To permanently authorize the National Oilheat Research Alliance.

    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 ``National Oilheat Research Alliance 
Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    (a) Congress finds that--
            (1) in 2000, Congress enacted the National Oilheat Research 
        Alliance Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 6201 note), authorizing a 
        referendum to create the National Oilheat Research Alliance;
            (2) before enactment of that Act, similar legislation had 
        passed the Senate by unanimous consent with 21 bipartisan 
        Senate cosponsors and the House of Representatives with 148 
        bipartisan cosponsors;
            (3) the Alliance was approved by an industry-wide 
        referendum held in January 2001, with 97 percent of oilheat 
        retailers and 99 percent of oilheat wholesalers voting in favor 
        of creation of the Alliance;
            (4) during its nearly 3 years of existence, the Alliance 
        has operated in 21 States and the District of Columbia, 
        providing benefits for its members and oilheat consumers in the 
        areas of research and development, safety, energy efficiency, 
        training, and education;
            (5) the Alliance successfully created the National Oilheat 
        Research Institute, which is leading the way toward developing 
        a low-sulfur heating oil product that will allow significant 
        progress in reducing emissions;
            (6) the Institute is also at the forefront of developing 
        new efficiency techniques for existing heating oil units, 
        providing substantial savings for the energy costs of 
        consumers;
            (7) the Alliance is providing improved and up-to-date 
        training material for oilheat technicians, establishing a 
        standardized certification program and encouraging continuing 
        education methods that result in efficient and highly trained 
        professionals to service their customers;
            (8) the Alliance has prepared material for realtors and 
        prospective home buyers for houses with existing heating oil 
        systems, explaining how to make the best use of oilheat and 
        providing crucial safety and energy efficiency information;
            (9) the legislation providing for the creation of the 
        Alliance included a sunset provision that will require the 
        Alliance to terminate activities in February 2005 unless 
        Congress acts to extend the authorization; and
            (10) the outstanding progress of the Alliance in the fields 
        of research and development, safety and training, and 
        education, the nearly unanimous support from industry, and the 
        strong potential to yield future benefits for industry and 
        consumers make the Alliance deserving of permanent 
        authorization by Congress.

SEC. 3. PERMANENT AUTHORIZATION.

    Section 713 of the National Oilheat Research Alliance Act of 2000 
(42 U.S.C. 6201 note) is repealed.
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