[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1862 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1862

 To establish a joint energy cooperation program within the Department 
 of Energy to fund eligible ventures between United States and Israeli 
businesses and academic persons in the national interest, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

              October 7 (legislative day, October 6), 2005

Mr. Smith (for himself, Mr. Johnson, and Mrs. Feinstein) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                           Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish a joint energy cooperation program within the Department 
 of Energy to fund eligible ventures between United States and Israeli 
businesses and academic persons in the national interest, 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 that--
            (1) it is in the highest national security interests of the 
        United States to develop alternative renewable energy sources;
            (2) the State of Israel is a steadfast ally of the United 
        States;
            (3) the special relationship between the United States and 
        Israel is manifested in a variety of cooperative scientific 
        research and development programs, such as--
                    (A) the United States-Israel Binational Science 
                Foundation (BSF); and
                    (B) the United States-Israel Binational Industrial 
                Research and Development Foundation (BIRD);
            (4) those programs have made possible many scientific, 
        technological, and commercial breakthroughs in the fields of 
        life sciences, medicine, bioengineering, agriculture, 
        biotechnology, communications, and others;
            (5) on February 1, 1996, the Secretary of Energy and the 
        Israeli Minister of Energy and Infrastructure signed an 
        agreement to establish a framework for collaboration between 
        the United States and Israel in energy research and development 
        activities;
            (6) Israeli scientists and engineers are at the forefront 
        of research and development in the field of alternative 
        renewable energy sources; and
            (7) enhanced cooperation between the United States and 
        Israel for the purpose of research and development of 
        alternative renewable energy sources would be in the national 
        interests of both countries.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) BIRD.--The term ``BIRD'' means the United States-Israel 
        Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation.
            (2) BSF.--The term ``BSF'' means the United States-Israel 
        Binational Science Foundation.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Energy, acting through the Assistant Secretary for Energy 
        Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--In implementing the Agreement entitled the 
``Agreement between the Department of Energy of the United States of 
America and the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure of Israel 
Concerning Energy Cooperation'', dated February 1, 1996, the Secretary 
shall establish a grant program to support research, development, and 
commercialization of alternative renewable energy sources.
    (b) Types of Energy.--In carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary 
may make grants to promote--
            (1) solar energy;
            (2) biomass energy;
            (3) energy efficiency;
            (4) wind energy;
            (5) fossil energy; and
            (6) other types of energy, as determined by the Secretary.
    (c) Eligible Applicants.--An applicant shall be eligible to receive 
a grant under this section if the project of the applicant--
            (1)(A) addresses a requirement in the areas of alternative 
        energy, improved energy efficiency, or renewable energy sources 
        determined by the Secretary and applies for the grant in 
        accordance with procedures established under this section; or
            (B) is a joint venture between--
                    (i)(I) a for-profit business entity, academic 
                institution, National Laboratory (as defined in section 
                2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005), or nonprofit 
                entity in the United States; and
                    (II) a for-profit business entity, academic 
                institution, or nonprofit entity in Israel; or
                    (ii)(I) the Government of the United States; and
                    (II) the Government of Israel; and
            (2) meets any other qualifications that the Secretary may 
        require.
    (d) Applications.--
            (1) In general.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
        this section, an applicant shall submit an application for the 
        grant to--
                    (A) the Secretary, in accordance with procedures 
                established by the Secretary; or
                    (B) the BIRD or BSF, in accordance with procedures 
                established by the respective entity.
            (2) Use of bird and bsf.--
                    (A) Allocation for bird and bsf.--The Secretary 
                shall use not less than 50 percent of the funds that 
                are provided to make grants under this section for a 
                fiscal year to make grants through the BIRD and BSF.
                    (B) Allocation between bird and bsf.--The Secretary 
                shall determine the manner in which funds made 
                available for a fiscal year under this paragraph are 
                allocated between the BIRD and BSF.
    (e) Advisory Board.--
            (1) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish an 
        advisory board to--
                    (A) monitor how grants are awarded under this 
                section; and
                    (B) provide to the Secretary periodic performance 
                reviews of actions taken to carry out this section.
            (2) Composition.--The advisory board shall be composed of--
                    (A) a representative of the Government of the 
                United States, appointed by the Secretary; and
                    (B) a representative of the Government of Israel, 
                appointed by the Government of Israel.
    (f) Repayment.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary 
        may require a recipient of a grant under this section to repay 
        to the Secretary, the BIRD, or the BSF, as determined by the 
        Secretary, an amount equal to--
                    (A) the amount of the grant, including interest at 
                a rate determined by the Secretary; and
                    (B) such charges for the administration of the 
                grant as the Secretary determines appropriate.
            (2) Limitation.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the 
        Secretary may not require a grant recipient to repay more than 
        150 percent of the amount of the grant, adjusted in accordance 
        with the Consumer Price Index for all-urban consumers, United 
        States city average, as published by the Bureau of Labor 
        Statistics.
    (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $20,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2006 through 2012.
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