[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1950 Referred in House (RFH)]


109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1950


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 25, 2006

          Referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To promote global energy security through increased cooperation between 
    the United States and India in diversifying sources of energy, 
stimulating development of alternative fuels, developing and deploying 
  technologies that promote the clean and efficient use of coal, and 
                      improving energy efficiency.

    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-India Energy Security 
Cooperation Act of 2006''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The December 2004 National Intelligence Council report 
        entitled ``Mapping the Global Future in 2020'' states that the 
        single most important factor affecting the demand for energy 
        will be global economic growth, especially that of China and 
        India. It is estimated that the current economic growth rate in 
        India is approximately 7 percent of gross domestic product. 
        India will need to double its energy consumption within the 
        next 15 years to maintain steady rates of economic growth.
            (2) The United States and India launched an energy dialogue 
        on May 31, 2005, aimed at building upon a broad range of 
        existing energy cooperation and developing new avenues of 
        collaboration on energy. These efforts will promote increased 
        trade and investment in the energy sector by utilizing 
        resources in the public and private sectors, focusing on oil 
        and gas, power and energy efficiency, new technologies and 
        renewable energy, coal and clean coal technology, and civil 
        nuclear cooperation. In his testimony before the Committee on 
        Foreign Relations of the Senate on July 26, 2005, Under 
        Secretary of Energy David Garman said, ``The United States and 
        India recognize their mutual interests are best served by 
        working together in a collaborative fashion to ensure stability 
        in global energy markets.''.
            (3) As the sixth largest energy consumer in the world, 
        India satisfies 70 percent of its oil demand with imports and 
        has embarked on an aggressive oil and gas exploration program. 
        The largest discovery of natural gas in the world in 2002 
        occurred in India. In 2003, the largest discovery of oil in the 
        world occurred in the state of Rajasthan in India. External 
        funding and investment in the oil and gas industry in India is 
        necessary to maximize recovery from oil fields, but an improved 
        investment environment in India is needed to attract such 
        investment.
            (4) India is the world's third largest producer of coal and 
        will continue to rely on coal as a major energy source to 
        support expanding industrial and electric power generation 
        needs. However, many of India's coal-fired plants are 
        inefficient and lack adequate pollution control equipment. In 
        his address to a joint session of the United States Congress on 
        July 19, 2005, Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh noted the 
        importance of allowing greater access for developing countries 
        to clean coal technologies and of exploring partnerships that 
        encourage more efficient use of hydrocarbon resources.
            (5) India provides a market for United States technologies 
        that promote the clean and efficient use of energy.
            (6) India has announced plans to develop a 5,000,000 ton 
        strategic crude oil reserve, which is expected to be completed 
        by 2009.
            (7) United States energy experts have emphasized the need 
        for the United States to increase collaboration with other 
        countries--
                    (A) to develop and deploy energy technologies that 
                will not be pursued absent greater Federal support;
                    (B) to increase investment in cooperative 
                international energy research; and
                    (C) to expand the global network of strategic 
                petroleum reserves.

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States--
            (1) to cooperate with India to address common energy 
        challenges, to ensure future global energy security, and to 
        increase the world-wide availability of clean energy;
            (2) to promote dialogue and increased understanding between 
        the United States and India on our respective national energy 
        policies and strategies as an integral part of the expanding 
        strategic partnership between the two countries; and
            (3) to collaborate with India in energy research that 
        fosters market-based approaches to energy security and offers 
        the promise of technological breakthroughs that reduce oil 
        dependency globally.

SEC. 4. ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT ENERGY COOPERATION.

    (a) Authorization.--The President is authorized to establish 
programs in support of greater energy cooperation between the United 
States and India.
    (b) Activities.--Assistance may be provided under this section for 
cooperation related to--
            (1) research, development, and deployment of clean coal and 
        emission reduction technologies and carbon sequestration 
        projects;
            (2) research, development, and deployment of alternative 
        fuel sources, such as ethanol, bio-mass, and coal-based fuels;
            (3) research, development, and deployment of energy 
        efficiency and renewable energy projects and technologies;
            (4) research related to commercially available technologies 
        that promote the clean and efficient use of energy in India; 
        and
            (5) technical assistance in support of the development by 
        the Government of India of a strategic oil reserve to allow 
        India to cope with short-term disruptions to global oil 
        supplies without causing shocks to India's market or the global 
        market.

SEC. 5. REPORT ON ENERGY COOPERATION.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall, in coordination 
with the Secretary of Energy, submit to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 
Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on 
International Relations of the House of Representatives a report on 
energy security cooperation between the United States and India.
    (b) Content.--The report required under subsection (a) shall 
describe--
            (1) the ways in which the United States and India have 
        cooperated on energy research and development activities;
            (2) joint projects that have been initiated using 
        assistance authorized under section 4, and the contribution 
        such assistance has made to improving global energy security; 
        and
            (3) plans for future energy cooperation and joint projects 
        between the United States and India.

            Passed the Senate July 24, 2006.

            Attest:

                                             EMILY J. REYNOLDS,

                                                             Secretary.